Mark Tetrault, foreground, sailing along at a very fast pace!
Wind surfers at Tarpon Springs, Florida’s Howard Park
Florida travel
Sunset Beach at Tarpon Springs has free concerts planned
The band setting up
Everyone loves a bonfire!
We had left the Sponge Docks shopping and attractions area and were headed towards one of the Tarpon Springs beaches. We wanted to see the sun set over the Gulf. We ended up at Sunset Beach and much to our surprise and delight we spotted signs for a free concert on the beach that evening.
When we first pulled up a nice lady stopped us and she thought we were one of the food vendors there to set up! Once she realized we were not the food truck she politely directed us to the other parking areas.
I spoke with Craig Dolan, the Superintendent of the Tarpon Springs Department of Recreation. The free concert series will be on the first Thursday of the month from February through November, with bonfires in February, March, October and November. I told Craig that we were happy to have discovered this neat free beach concert event.
Ashley Friend, Special Events & Volunteer Coordinator making some announcements
The Sunset Beach is just beautiful. The covered stage was perfect for live music, and everyone of the many folks there enjoyed the music, the bonfire and the available refreshments.
The sunset was stunning: one of those cloudless events that brought a beautiful orange hue to the entire skyline. It was pretty windy, but folks just bundled up, brought their own chairs, and enjoyed The 75 South Band. Free marshmallows and sticks were also provided for everyone who wanted a toasted marshmallow.
Delicious food and great drinks at the food trucks
Hand made cigars at Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks
The master cigar maker at work
In a neat little stand alone shop on Dodecanese Blvd. Sponge Docks is a sign for hand made cigars. That prompted a look for me. Sure enough, inside the booth sat Don Esteban making fine cigars by hand. I had never seen cigars made. Don was a delight to chat with, and with a big grin stated that he was the mayor of Little Cuba in Tarpon Springs.
He had quite the selection of cigars for sale, both in packages or for sale individually. It was fun watching this craftsman at work.
Cigars for sale
Kite boarding at Sunset Beach, Tarpon Springs
We headed to one of the beaches at Tarpon Springs, Florida. It turns out there will be a free concert tonight at the beach, much to our surprise.
You can see the size of the board and the ropes leading to the kite.
When we approached the beach we saw some huge kites in the air. It turned ot that these kites were being used by some folks to pull them through the water on a single board that looked like an oversized skate board. Did they ever fly through the water! Don’t know if I could do it, but it sure looked like fun.
The huge kite
Enjoying a relaxing day at Tarpon Springs, Florida
We decided to take a day and just do some fun tourist things. So off to Tarpon Springs we went this morning. Sher and I had been here before last year but had not really explored the Sponge Dock area very well.
I say just some touristy type things, however we did spot a sign for an estate sale and had to stop. What a great stop it was. The building was packed with some beautiful things ranging from high end antique furniture to some nice glass ware to some old saddles and about everything in between.
Statue honoring the Greek sponge divers. That is a real sponge boat tied to the dock.
Sponges for sale in the market
We had a great time just walking along Dodecanese Blvd. and visiting most of the many shops. We met some nice people and I even found a leather vest that fit. We decided to grab a bite to eat at the Parthenon, one of many Greek restaurants in the Sponge Docks area. I’ll have a full review up soon, but I can tell you it was good eating!
Right now we are back in the RV enjoying some rest time, and planning the rest of the evening. There are a couple of beaches and some parks that look interesting. We may have to stay around here overnight and continue sightseeing tomorrow.
Tile mosaic on the side of one of the market buildings
Plaque with the sponge diver mosaic
Our set up at Renninger’s Flea Market in Mt. Dora, Florida
There was a Civil War re-enactment Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There were thousands of people going through the flea market.
Red Oaks Carefree RV Resort is a top RV stop in Florida
The 10 o’clock shuffleboard games in full swing
Steam coming off the heated pool at the main office complex
Several friends of ours who are traveling in Florida recommended Red Oaks RV park in Bushnell, Florida. Both a Good Sam Club and Passport America park, it has exceeded our expectations. This park is part of the Carefree Resorts chain.
A feathered friend strolling down the street
Starting with the exceptionally friendly office staff and including the escort to our site we knew that we were in good hands at this RV park. Our site is close to the main office, one of the heated pools, laundry and the largest community building. Full hook-ups including a great line up of cable TV stations and a level site made our parking and setup a breeze.
This morning it is rather chilly, but the sun is out and temps are on the rise. I took a stroll to the shuffleboards court where the 10 o’clock games were in full swing. Sher and I are going back for the 2 o’clock games. Horseshoe pits and bocce ball are available and I spotted some corn hole games near the pool. There are some fishing ponds
This park has over 1000 full hook-up sites. The park is one of the cleanest that we have ever seen, and the seasonal residents have been very friendly to us. Any RVer looking for an RV park in central Florida should consider a stay at Red Oaks. Unlike most Florida RV parks, Red Oaks will give the Passport America discount during the “peak season” months. This is one of the few PA member parks that we have found that will honor the discount rate in the winter months.
Our site
We like and would recommend this RV park for a short or a long term stay. Our only complaint is the slow and sometimes intermittent WiFi through the paid Tango Internet service offered at the park. We might just take a break from blogging and go to the karaoke tonight.
1952 Ford truck on an ’87 Ranger frame with a 302 with a C4 tranny: parked across from our site
This guy was about 3 feet away from me
Main Office complex
What a colorful macaw
Pretty bird
We were at the Renniger’s Flea Market in Mt. Dora, Florida when I saw a fellow walking down the aisle with what looked like a large and colorful stuffed parrot. Well, much to my surprise the stuffed bird spread its wings and let out a loud squawk.
The fellow said that the macaw parrot was still young and they actually had been feeding it baby bird formula. It will be a third again longer when full grown. It sure looked big to me. Yes, its wings had been clipped so it can’t fly. That, he said, keeps it from flying into the walls at his house, which it has done once and nearly hurt itself.
Some pretty driving on the way to and from a couple of flea markets
A street tunnel from spreading oak trees and Spanish moss
The last couple of days we have set up at some different flea markets. One of the neat things about our time here in Florida is that we are seeing a lot of areas that are new to both of us. On our way to Stokes Market in Crystal River we drove down a street that looked like it was a tunnel comprised of huge wide spreading oak trees draped in flowing garlands of Spanish moss.
We also have seen some absolutely magnificent horse farms. For miles we passed one after another farm with signage indicating the race horse stable, equestrian training center, and even a polo club. Each had elaborate masonry flanking huge wrought iron double gates, many of which had the farm logo or name displayed in the gates.
Tree farms on both sides of the nice four lane highway
We also drove through some wide open cattle country. One pasture, obviously irrigated, must have had over 400 or so yearly steers and heifers. It was common to see large pastures with huge tree farms in between. We also saw several timber hauling trucks loaded with incredibly long fresh cut pine logs destined to be telephone poles somewhere.
All in all Sher and I have enjoyed the pretty scenery of central Florida. Some areas we have driven through have not been so pretty, but we just enjoy th real pretty ones.
This Walmart lot looked like an RV park
That’s our Four Winds on the right.
Ever pull into a Walmart parking lot for an overnight stay and it looks like a paved RV park? This happened to Sher and I tonight when we pulled into the Walmart at Chiefland, Florida. We had just been through the Chiefland Flea Market grounds and did not see a good place to park for the night. (We are either going to set up tomorrow for the weekend or just shop the market and maybe set up Saturday and Sunday.) So off to the Walmart we went.
There is also a nice diesel pusher behind the other coaches
We spotted the Walmart on Highway 19, aka North Young Blvd. and saw several RV’s already in the far side of the lot. I backed in a few spots away from a nice Itasca coach. As soon as we parked a sweet diesl pusher came in, followed by another nice C.
This rig is a monster from Ontario. Never seen anything like this before
There was also a high riding rig of some type with a pair of spare tires mounted on the front. It looked like some kind of military comand vehicle. I had to walk around it and noticed Ontario plates. What a rig! Maybe I’ll get a chance to talk to those folks in the morning.
All RVers should thank the Walmart managers who allow overnight parking in their lots. And remember, it is a simple overnight stop, not a camping spot. Don’t set out the chairs, run out the awning and fire up the grill. Don’t ruin it for others!
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