Best Value Inn Tarpon Springs

Arriving in balmy Florida to familiar faces was fantastic! After a long long time of not knowing anyone or anything, the comfort of a beautiful South African accent face to face was music to our ears (never thought I'd say that)

Being met at the airport by my family and being driven in an actual car with actual airconditioning was the next marvelosity! To be driven to a clean house with clean bathrooms and hot showers and SPACE was almost too much to bare...only copious ...

... news. Why is it always horrible news? This is probably why I don't watch it all that often. Too depressing.
Our connecting flight arrived and we finally got to board. The plane had an odor to it that I can't explain. Thankfully, our flight only took about 25 mintues or so. We were finally home. Or close enough for it to count. We couldn't get in touch with Bruce, the owner of Gram's Place, so we took a taxi there. He had a room waiting for ...

We both woke up at 0730 am. Restless all night; nervous energy. We had breakfast at the Gold Lion. Apparently, Conrad had eaten there previously for lunch. Hopefully lunch was better b/c the breakfast was less than memorable. But, it was food. Running last minute errands picking up a few things at Wal-Mart ...

After a long day of work for both of us, we finally hit the road at 0630 pm. The dogs were less than happy with us, as evidenced by the pictures. They knew once all of the luggage was in the living room that something was up. Chloe was actually trembling! But, Marv will take good care of them, as well as good care of my ...

... was cranked to about 60° F, asked for a blanket. The flight attendant muttered, “Nap packs are $8,” as she turned her head to scratch her knee. Not sure if she heard right and a bit surprised my friend asked her to repeat the price and the classy flight attendant quickly replied, “Honey, your plane ticket’s just as good as a movie ticket. You gotta pay for popcorn and a drink when you go to the movies don’t ya?” Interesting analogy.

... We got to see a gator feeding show. Bradley actually touched the gator! I had a chance to pet some rays and small sharks--strange feeling! After the show, we headed down mainstreet, passing by sponge boats. Turns out, Tarpon Springs is known for sponge harvesting! Bradley was right when he said it was hot--mid to upper 90's plus plenty of humidity. We then headed back to our car to continue our tour...

... And then, we had our chops set for Greek food since there is a large population of Greek sponge divers here, but the marina is too far away from town and we are told that the 5' tides will make it almost impossible to get on and off the boat when the tide comes in (remember, no floating docks). So, we took a picture of the boat next door, OPA, and consoled ourselves with a burger on the grill. The hospitality of boaters never ...

... road trip, staying in motels next time? So if anyone would like an American classic I would be willing to come out and "drive one home" , however it may end up with a bit more mileage on it than you expect. A job I do fancy though... By the way, Bree is now for sale, so if you want me to drive that home for you, just say the word - and I'm serious about that! www.classiccorvettes.com

... jumped overboard and showed us how they search for sponge, pull it up with a small rake, and then put it in their cage. Keegan and Collin learned that if the divers leave some of the sponge base attached they will grow back. Did you know that they are animals not plants? After leaving historic Tarpon Springs, we head up 19 north an hour and a half for Homosassa Springs. Arrival: 6:30 pm Nature's Resort in Homosassa, FL

Seeing as this was my first cruise, this whole experience was new to me. This trip was taken with my family (Father, Step-Mother, Brother and Step-Brother) I had been to Florida on many occasions, but never to a major port city. When you arrive in Tampa, you can immediately tell you are in a coastal Florida town. The bright colors, the amusement parks and the smell of the ocean blowing ...