While we were in Florida, we had a long weekend and a chance to get out and explore the area a little bit. We were in Tampa two years ago, and spent a lot of time at the beach, including Sanibel Island which is a little south of Tampa. Which, by the way, is the most amazing beach for shelling I have ever seen. So, since we had already explored south of Tampa, we decided to head north this time, specifically to Tarpon Springs. Tarpon Springs was also closer, which was an added benefit since we had a curious two month old along with us this time who absolutely hated the monstrous SUV we got stuck with for a rental car. But that's a story for another day. So. Tarpon Springs. :-)
Tarpon Springs is famous for its natural sponge beds - apparently it used to be a huge industry in this area of Florida - so much so that they invited Greeks to come over and teach them about harvesting the sponges, something the Greeks had been doing for ages. As you might imagine, there are is quite a "greek" flavor to the area because of this. There were several "sponge factories" that were just blatant cleverly disguised souvenir shops, but it was still a fun little place to explore.
Plus, the day we were there, they were having a special exhibit - Bugs on the Pier! Maybe it was because I grew up with three brothers, but I instantly imagined a bunch of specimen boxes of bugs and was instantly bored at the thought. Imagine my surprise when it was a completely different sort of bug!
It was neat to see all of the different restored (or not!) VW beetles. Very creative.
It was a beautiful day, and we still couldn't believe we were walking around, outside, in short sleeves! Thanks for being so summery Florida!
cute cute bugs on the pier! one thing I love about California is all the vintage cars still rolling around out here…cars just don't last that long in NY!
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