Mark Tetrault, foreground, sailing along at a very fast pace!
Wind surfers at Tarpon Springs, Florida’s Howard Park
photography
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
Clearwater: A beautiful place
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
Sunlight on the water as the fog rolls
We were fortunate enough to take a whale watching cruise this past fall. We love the Island Mariner cruises out of Bellingham, Washington. The sun was out and there were dramatic fog banks rolling in and out of some of the San Juan Islands.
Sunset over the Gulf
There is something about a Florda sunset
Portrait of a sea gull
When we were out a couple of days ago, I noticed a sea gull on a low perch on the beach. The photo is a result.
We cracked nuts for this squirrel
Driving around Snohomish, Washington our truck (and other vehicles on the street) did a good job of cracking open the nuts that had fallen from a tree. You could clearly hear the “popping” sound as the tires cracked the shells .
This cute pointy eared guy took advantage of the nuts!
