Hand made cigars at Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks

The master cigar maker at work

The master cigar maker at work

IMG_1628_resizedIn 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

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.

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

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.

Statue honoring the Greek sponge divers. That is a real sponge boat tied to the dock.

Sponges for sale in the market

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

Tile mosaic on the side of one of the market buildings

Plaque with the sponge diver mosaic

 

Clearwater: A beautiful place

The boardwalk to the Sand Key Beach

The boardwalk to the Sand Key Beach

We are in Clearwater,Florida today. We got here around 11 this morning. The strip down by the beach was packed with cars and pedestrians enjoying the nice weather. It is cloudy, but the temperature is very mild, and it is so much warmer than the midwest now we are really loving it!

We found a very nice public park with lots of beach frontage. Sand Key Park has lots of parking, although there were very few people there when we were. I guess Tuesdays are not the busiest times for beach visits.

Pretty widflower on the beach

Pretty widflower on the beach