A Valentine Voyage

one of many boats docked
on the Anclote River

Although last week's adventure (and resulting blog post, "Island Hopping to Key West") was enough to satisfy any of the wanderlust the two of us have, with this week's Valentine holiday, we decided to observe it in a special way. 

Of course with our usual pre-dawn* coffee there was the exchange of cards and chocolate. 

*Early to bed,

early to rise,

makes a man healthy,

wealthy, and wise.

Benjamin Franklin

headstone blurred for reasons of privacy

Then we drove to the cemetery to place flowers at the graves of our Valentines from years gone by.

headstone blurred for reasons of privacy

They are never forgotten, always in our hearts. They helped make us who we are, and without a doubt prepared us for where we are today.

Dodecanese Blvd.

Then we drove the nearly 70 remaining miles to Tarpon Springs, on the Gulf coast, located north of Clearwater. For those who have not heard of this place, it is the "Sponge Capital of the World," a leader in the global natural sponge market. Home to the Sponge Docks, visitors can see the sponge industry from harvesting to auctions. (thank you, Wikipedia, for this information) 

This fishing village is known for its very Greek style, white-columned Hellas Authentic Greek Cuisine Restaurant and Bakery. After parking our car, that was our intended destination, but we first needed to get our tickets for a boat tour. If we learned nothing else from our trip to Key West last week, we knew to secure tickets for such tours sooner rather than later, then do all the other things that can be more flexible.

We hoofed it down the street (past our lunch choice) to find the ticket window for the boat, and not seeing it, we had to retrace our steps to discover the address on their website was actually a white tent near this plaque on the waterfront. Okay, that was a little strange, but our tickets were purchased without a problem. 

ticket stubs

By this time we were some distance from the famous Hellas. We didn't want to get too far away lest we miss our boat's launch time in a little over an hour. Dimitri's was literally just next door and highly recommended, so that's what got our lunch money that day.

Dimitri's
https://dimitrisonthewater.com

Any thoughts of regret for not dining at Hellas vanished when I realized our lunch would be on the water, while Hellas was on the other side of the street (NOT on the water). My long-time blog readers may remember that one of my very favorite things about Florida is to eat on the water (a treat not so common in my former Colorado home). 

me, waiting to order
(east is behind me)

Gary, waiting to order
(west is behind him)

Tarpon Springs sits on the Anclote River, which pretty much runs east to west, emptying out into the Gulf of Mexico (or Gulf of America, per President Trump).

menu at Dimitri's

I wanted to embrace the culture, so my order was the Moussaka. 

If you have seen the chick flick, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, you may remember mention of this dish in the school lunch room. It's pretty much a Greek version of lasagna made with baked or pan-fried eggplants, potatoes, a rich beef or lamb sauce, and topped off with a creamy béchamel sauce. Considered a comfort food, I definitely agree!

the moussaka wasn't quite as large as this picture shows

As you can see, the servings were generous. My Moussaka was a surprising large serving, although this picture makes it look more generous than it actually was. But with that said, there was no way I could finish it all, and since we were a 2-hour drive away from home, plus a 90-minute boat tour, I knew it was not wise to ask for a doggy bag. I ate a little over half of it and had to leave the rest. But it was very good. Gary enjoyed his burger and fries.

kayakers on the river

As to be expected, we saw lots of marine traffic go past our table on the literal water's edge. The weather was perfect for all of it. I highly recommend Dimitri's food and the waterfront tables, the service was good, and the rest rooms clean.

our tour boat

The timing of our lunch and the launch of our tour boat was perfect. We climbed this metal staircase and stepped onto that wide orange lip of the boat (with help from the crew members) to get on. That was a little dicey but okay. The seating was wood benches lining the outer part and more benches in the middle. We sat on the edge and I'm so glad we did. We could see and hear (relatively) everything. 

the sponge diver, in his 60s, 
and from Cheyenne, Wyoming!

We were able to watch the laborious process of the diver putting on his suit, which as you can see, is quite bulky, and heavy.

me

Before he put on his helmet, passengers were encouraged to try it on themselves. I was the first to step forward. While I did not line up the windows with my face, I could easily see Gary snapping my picture. I had to smile to myself -- this headgear gave illustration to the popular hair style from about 20 years ago, "Helmet Head."

Anclote River

While this voluntary 'fashion show' was in progress, the diver continued to get geared up for his dive. The boat captain described what is involved with diving for these natural sea sponges. They are the second lowest form of life, just above the amoeba, and invertebrate animal. Thriving in abundance all along the Gulf coast waters from the Big Bend area (north of Tarpon Springs) clear down to Key West. 

diver under water

When our diver dropped into the water, the depth at this spot was about 14 -20 feet. He had an air hose and another rope that was used for communication purposes (pull if in trouble). 

diver with a sponge he had just harvested

From the deeper location, he walked under water to a depth of only about 5 or 6 feet where he used a grabbing, fork-like tool to pull a sponge from where it was attached on the river floor. 

diver returns to the boat

In total on this trip, the diver was probably in the water no longer than about 15 minutes before he climbed back into the boat -- with help. 

am I helping???

Our diver said he has no need to go to a gym for exercise. The weight of the suit, helmet, and shoes, combined with navigating himself both in the boat, in the water, and climbing in and out requires a great deal of physical strength. In his 60s, I don't know how he does it.

Again, we were encouraged to have our snapshot taken with the diver. Just as with the spirit of embracing the experience with ordering Moussaka and trying on the diving helmet, I got this picture taken, too. (it's all blog fodder, after all!!)

the freshly-harvested sea sponge

The sponge he harvested was passed around to everyone. They are black like this under water.  The slimy black stuff is cleaned through a somewhat laborious effort and then they are put out to dry.

cleaned sponges drying on a boat

While we typically see these sponges as brown or a golden yellow, when harvested from the river floor they are covered with a black slime.

This boat tour was good, well worth the money because we saw so much, were educated on sponges, and got plenty of show'n tell in the process.

sea sponge art

After we exited the boat, we began the walk back to our car, with some shopping along the way (of course!). Since we are bikers (bicycles, not motorcycles), I had to capture this example of art using the sponges.

logo on my shirt front

Just as with our shopping in Key West and the Everglades last week, my primary purchases are refrigerator magnets and T-shirts. I did not find any magnets that I liked (I'm very particular on that), but Gary got this T-shirt for me, which I modeled after we got home:

Salty air
Messy Hair
Don't care
Tarpon Springs, FL

While we did not have a meal at Hellas, we did stand in a long line to buy Baklava from their equally famous bakery. Not an inexpensive purchase, one has to appreciate the price when examining the product. 

a slice of Baklava

It was way too sticky to eat in the car on the way home, so last night we enjoyed some of it. Look closely to see the extremely thin, very fine layers of phyllo dough that make this treat so special. Below those layers is a delightful mixture of nuts and honey.

I have said many times over the past three years that ours is a "Hallmark movie romance." Many of our friends have said the same.

While Gary has agreed, he is NOT a chick-flick kinda guy. Cops 'n robbers, westerns, FOX news, and Leave It To Beaver comprise his entertainment preferences. Oh, and car racing. We like to watch the races..... the Daytona 500 is tomorrow (weather-permitting. They've already changed the start time due to predicted rain.)

However, since he is a nice guy and affectionately aims to please me, plus perhaps the fact that it was Valentine's Day, he agreed to put my DVD copy of My Big Fat Greek Wedding into the TV to cap off our wonderful day.

How shall I bring this post to a close? What Bible verse seems applicable? A lot, of course. I am struck with the wonders of God's creation of earth as well as how He has enabled humans to explore, to discover, and to put to very practical use what we find.

A favorite verse I've shared with you many times is this:

Call unto me

and I will answer thee

and will show you

great and mighty things

you know nothing about.

Jeremiah 33:3

Until next time, grace and peace.

Island Hopping to Key West

 

refrigerator magnets recently purchased

Since my last post, interesting things have been entered into my personal journal, some of which will be shared in this blog post. I'll let my snapshots tell much of the story because there are so many of them. 

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino

Early in the week we left home in a thick, pre-dawn fog to head south on Florida's Turnpike, heading for the Everglades. By the time we got to the Fort Lauderdale area, the fog [finally] had lifted so we could see this iconic example of architecture of a giant guitar. 

We see this casino on TV commercials a lot. The very top of the guitar projects straight vertical beams of light into the night time sky to more clearly define the instrument. We only saw this daytime version, which was still very impressive. 

We don't gamble (except with each other's cooking at home 😆), so we did not stop. It was just an interesting site as we drove past on the turnpike.

airboats lined up for boarding

It took until nearly lunch time to reach our first destination, which was Everglades National Park.

large fan of the airboat

If you've never been on (or seen) an airboat, it is a very large, very loud fan positioned at the back of an open-air boat. 

wind shield of the airboat,
as seen from the front row

Since the boat has no walls or ceiling, and is very open, plus the fact that the captain likes to "slide" as they whip around in turns, passengers are wise to dress with the understanding they may get wet (or sprayed, at the least) with swamp water.

me, waiting to board the boat

We road another airboat a year or so ago and got pretty wet. This ride was more tame with just a little spray on those sitting on the outside ends of the benches (i.e. ME!) Any headwear (hats/vizors, etc) should be firmly on the head or they will blow off into the water. And ear plugs .... a wise accompaniment! The tour guide gave us individually-wrapped foam ear plugs. 

us on the front row

Sister and her husband visited the Everglades years ago when the "ear plugs" provided was a roll of toilet paper passed around to all the passengers. With that experience in mind, I had brought my own plugs. Our previous ride with another vendor had given headphones for ear protection. So a word to the wise, be prepared one way or another. 

lily pads were everywhere

The boat has several rows like pews (benches with backs) for the riders, and the captain/tour guide is at the back by the fan so he can steer. 

the first gator

Of course, the main appeal (for us, anyway) was to see alligators on this boat ride. Within the first couple of minutes into our journey (literally) we saw this big guy lounging in the weeds to our left.

look to the center

With the instruction of our tour guide/boat captain, we easily understood where to look for more of these pre-historic-looking creatures.

another one

We were told that the gator's main activity during daylight hours is to do absolutely nothing. I'm sure if 'dinner' suddenly appeared in front of a gator, he would show more life, but generally speaking, they are more active in the dusk and dawn hours, as well as at night.

Bouganvillea

I think we saw about 5 gators (all of them big) that day, plus a baby one sunning himself atop his mother's back. We were told the babies stay on the mother's back for the first 3 months. After that, she wants them to leave or she will eat the baby. Ugh. That bordered on TMI (too much information) for me!

Gary and his pet gator goofing around

We saw about 3 different airboat businesses as we drove along highway 41 in the Everglades. At the visitors' center, we learned a lot about gators and crocodiles. Gators prefer fresh water, although they will tolerate salt water briefly. Crocs prefer salt water. We have both in Florida.

Also of interest is that the weather in south Florida is about as warm as gators like to be whereas south Florida is about as cold as a crocodile wants to be. So there is a little intermingling or overlap there, but they do have their preferences. 

Our lunch that day was late: sandwiches from a refrigerator case at the visitors' center. After poking around and seeing all that interested us in the Everglades, we drove to our hotel in Miami, kicked off our shoes and turned on the TV to catch up with FOX and the ever-evolving political news.

Our supper was from Panda Express, the orange chicken over rice -- one of my favorite meals in the entire world. (not exaggerating here)

The next morning we began our trek south to the Florida Keys. We first got back onto the Florida Turnpike, continuing south on that until it was no more, in the Homestead area. From there we got onto Highway 1 which turned into the Overseas Highway at the very southern tip of mainland Florida.

the Overseas Highway (1)

The drive to Key West was long (as my sister-in-law had advised beforehand) but nonetheless interesting. This, from the internet, says it better than I can:

"....thanks to a stunning engineering marvel known as the Overseas Highway that stretches 113 miles from the mainland's southern tip across 44 tropical islands on 42 bridges, I was seemingly floating across a necklace of mangrove forests and cays as I drove to a place where North America and the Caribbean meet."

the Overseas Highway (2)

Something I learned along the way: "cay" is another word for "key" which on this stretch of geography means "island." 

the Overseas Highway (3)

The highway took us through Key Largo, Marathon, Cudjoe Key, past the Key West Naval Air Station, and eventually onto Key West, with a lot more lesser-known known islands all along the way. (lesser-known to us, anyway)

the Overseas Highway (4)

I had expected one continuous bridge above water the entire way, but instead it was a continuous highway over MANY bridges that linked the keys en route. In the towns on the keys were some traffic lights, but not many, so we didn't stop much. We did stop at one of the larger tourist spots to use the restrooms and to buy T-shirts and refrigerator magnets.

the Overseas Highway (5)

Arriving in Key West in late morning, our first goal was to find the famous buoy marking the southernmost tip of continental USA and get our picture taken.

us on the south end of the USA

A lot (A LOT!!) of other people had the same objective. The line was long. I was ready to scrap that idea when Gary said we should just stand on the street curb and make sure the marker was visible behind us. That would be better than nothing. 

He was so right -- so much so, that others around us did the same thing. One couple remarked they liked that idea, and they offered to take our picture. Of course, we reciprocated by taking their picture, too! 

We crossed that item off our mental list and stood in the shade to decide what to do next. We had found a parking place some blocks away on the crowded, narrow streets, which included feeding a parking meter. So we had to keep that in mind. 

Seaside Cafe at Key West

Happily, after just a little bit of walking, we came across this place that looked to me just like where the stars of a Hallmark movie would dine. 

Italian..... Beside the sea (Atlantic Ocean)..... Shirt-sleeves, shorts, and sandal weather....

The wait for our food was not too long. With the comfortable sea air, light breeze, sunshine, and just being on vacation with my dear one -- it really did feel like we were in a wonderful movie! (chick-flick, of course!)

We enjoyed the 3-cheese pizza with added pepperoni. It was 6 slices, the perfect amount for two people. Delicious!

Of course, we could not forget to order Key Lime Pie for dessert, with the unexpected bonus of a coconut cream dipping sauce on the side!

The famous chickens for which Key West is known picked and pecked around our feet. This one even had some of her chicks scurrying about with her (look closely in front of her). We saw a lot of colorful chickens in town. Not a bother at all, they definitely contributed to the charm of the town.

VERY narrow hallway

Speaking of charm, while waiting for our food, Gary found his way to the rest rooms. When I later asked where they were, he told me a very narrow outdoor passageway between two brick buildings was the way to get there.

I found it and was glad he had warned me. It looked like something out of a movie in Europe, but it was broad daylight and if I did not return soon, I knew Gary would come looking for me, so I walked through it. I'm not kidding about the narrowness of the passageway. A really large person would need to find another facility!

view from concrete pier

In walking away from our restaurant, we saw a large concrete pier extending out into the water with beach-goers on one side. A stroll onto that pier gave us a different view of our restaurant (the aqua table umbrellas).

chicken sculptures outside a gift shop

After lunch we faced quite a conundrum. Taking into consideration the length of time left on our parking meter, the distance required to walk to the Hemingway House, etc, previous expectations were threatened. 

Hemingway House and Museum

We chose a swift stroll to Mr. Hemingway's home but upon arrival we saw that the long line we saw at the southern buoy was now at this place. That wasn't going to work with our parking situation. 

Of course, shopping is usually an option in a tourist town... There were many more very interesting shops than we had time to explore.

(purchased at the Everglades)

I do love hoodies!

We attempted to find President Truman's Little White House but arrived too late in the afternoon to get in. I did not know until this trip that he spent working vacations in Key West and even returned after his presidency to enjoy the place.

Truman Little White House

Even though we were not able to tour these two places in person, one can really learn a lot with Internet research, which is free, comprehensive, and does not require standing on tired feet for long periods of time. I'm okay with that. I really am. 

Then of course, as the afternoon wore on, ice cream was a good use of our time (Gary has accepted the fact that I consider him to be "good blog fodder.")

hotel lobby

We found our hotel and discovered to our amazement they had upgraded our reservation to a suite. For just the two of us, we had FOUR queen-sized beds, two bathrooms, and a kitchenette. That was very nice and made up for my dismay when I spied this sign at their beach area:

 Hmmm. That's okay. We had no plans to get into the water anyway.

I had wondered before this trip if we might get to see any flamingos. As it turns out, the only ones we saw were on this birthday card I sent to a girlfriend:

card by Leanin' Tree

Speaking of birthdays, our family had an unexpected Birth Day this past week.... my nephew's wife gave birth to a precious little boy who was only 25 weeks into the pregnancy. He weighed 1 pound 14 ounces at birth and measured a little over 13 inches long. He and his mama are doing well. Just  this afternoon his daddy (my nephew) got to change the little guy's diaper in the incubator. 

Please join me in praying for this child's continued healthy development and the family's necessary adjustments to the premature event.

I close with something I read yesterday in a book of quotes by theologian E.M. Bounds. On the subject of faith, "Faith needs to be cultivated. Faith is increased by exercise; by being put to use. Faith is nourished by trials." 

That is something to turn over in the mind.

Until next time, grace and peace.

Bicycles, Nutrition, and Friendships

In another month or so it will be three years since Gary told me he wanted to get a bicycle for my [March] birthday. As just one of several adventurous ideas he was coming up with in our early days together, I stuffed my misgivings for the sake of love, took a deep breath and said "yes." 

My long-time readers may remember in our first years, Gary took me on a kayak, a canoe, an air boat, a two-passenger catamaran (boat), and zip lining. (He also took me to Minnesota to meet his family, but that required no athleticism on my part and they were not scary.)

I had not pedaled a bike in some 30 years and that was an extremely short ride. Before that, my biking experience was back in the early 1960s when my parents gave me a bike for my 11th birthday. A couple of years after that, we moved cross-country several times and out of practicality, our bikes were sold.

When given my first bicycle, it took me just one day to learn to ride it, and at my age, there were no training wheels. Then two months later when Sister celebrated her 9th birthday, she was given a new bike, too. After school we often rode down to Beth and Rhonda's house (two sisters close in age like us) and spent the remaining time before supper riding our neighborhood streets together.

Today I am responding to the weekly Hodgepodge questions. The first one reminded me of my early experiences with a real two-wheel bicycle, hence the memories in the previous paragraphs. 

                                                        Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 587

http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com/2025/01/hodgepodge-questions-volume-587.html

1. What was your after school routine like when you were a kid?

When sister and I came home from school, we would change into our "play clothes." I graduated from high school in 1968, just before public schools began allowing girls to wear slacks/jeans to school. Our usual school clothes were skirts and dresses and flats (pumps) for shoes ("sneakers" for gym class along with the obligatory gym uniform). "Play clothes" were slacks or pedal pushers (today's "capri pants") and sneakers. In Southern California, our pedal pushers were perfect for after-school bicycle rides. (Mama did not allow us to wear shorts after we got to the middle elementary school years.) 

2. January 26 is National Green Juice Day. Do you juice, as in make your own in an attempt to get healthy? Do you do the green juices? What's your favorite kind of juice (home blended or store bought, either one)?

Once upon a time (and for many years) I juiced a lot, especially carrots, greens, and apples.  When I grew tired of cleaning the juicer (I had 3 different models over several years), I morphed into green drinks in my "Vitamix" blender with all manner of fresh greens and protein powders, etc. 

Now I have a small glass of orange juice to moisten my daily Cheerios (instead of milk) and swallow 6 Balance of Nature capsules throughout the day. I gave my Vitamix to my daughter, and use my Oster Blender a few times a month for other recipes as may be needed. I've been subscribed to Balance of Nature for two years and it's working well for me.

3. What's something trivial about which you have a strong opinion?

Disclaimer: if I have a strong opinion, then it's not trivial to me, but it may be to others. 

Most likely due to my upbringing of modest clothing choices, I am very critical of what TV news anchor women choose to wear. A female teacher I had in my latter teen years was a public speaker. She told us (girls) we should not wear clothing that is more interesting than what we have to say. Not only do many TV anchors wear distracting clothes, but often very provocative. Their wardrobe choices distract from the news stories they are supposed to be communicating. Do they want people to hear the news they are paid to report or to focus on their appearance? 

.... of course, that's just it. Some want to communicate a very self-focused message with their clothing.

4. What do you need more of in your life? Less of?

I'm blessed to have what I need for myself but perhaps [based on the previous question-and-answer] I need to give more forbearance with the idiosyncrasies of others.

What do I need less of? Crazy drivers weaving in and out at breakneck speed. For a retirement-dense population, we have a lot of insanity on our roads.

5. Give us three adjectives to describe your January. I'm answering this question with 3 nouns describing my January.

appointments

successes

Brrr!

We did not get any snow where we live, but we still covered some of our more vulnerable bushes in anticipation of the cold and rolled out the space heater on the lanai.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

A highlight since my last post was the visit to our home of one of my long-time blog readers and her husband, who live up in the Frozen North but are in our area to thaw out. Our unusually frigid weather arrived with them, but it's warmer now.

She contacted me last year at about this time to introduce herself as a reader of mine since about 2018 (!!!), having found my blog after reading the blogs of mutual friends. The four of us had such a nice visit last year that we were eager this year to pick up where we had left off. 

good friends from
the Frozen North

Recently I came across a quote that I have since misplaced but the gist of it is that we benefit ourselves when we spend time with people who make us better. 

Here are some validating scriptures on that line of thought:

Proverbs 12:26 The righteous choose their friends carefully ...

Proverbs 13:20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise ...

I Corinthians 12:26 Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.

Our conversation over coffee and red velvet cake (with white frosting) was a treat we hope to repeat in future visits!

Until next time, grace and peace!