Sun, Oct 23 thru Mon, Oct 24 – Tarpon Springs, GIWW mile 150.7

 
 
 In the heading for this entry, the mile mark is shown on the GIWW which stands for the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The waterway runs from Brownsville, TX to Flamingo, FL with an open water gap between Carabelle (near Apalachicola) on the Florida panhandle and Tarpon Springs.

Sunday morning, we spent some time with a few chores aboard the boat. Gale decided to bait up a line and his first cast brought in a beautiful flounder. He caught a few small ladyfish for fun and then put the pole away.

 


 
 







After lunch on Sunday, we picked up Roger and Dita in our dinghy and motored over to Spring Bayou to explore old Tarpon Springs. We were especially interested in touring St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral. As luck would have it, a baptism was about to begin and the priest invited us to stay for the ceremony. A 25-year old man was being baptized that day and his sponsor was his fiancée. The ceremony was very moving and the priest did a nice job of explaining the traditions.

 
 
 
 After our time at the Cathedral, we walked around town a bit and visited the Chamber of Commerce office. We pulled into an area back in a canal that had been the site of a new condo development but was abandoned when the economy fell. We were able to get on shore by climbing aboard a small barge and putting a plank up to the dock. Not the safest and we were, technically, trespassing, but sometimes you need to be a little creative get your shopping done. We left Dita with the dinghy and Roger, Gale and Maureen walked across the street to Winn Dixie to pick up a few needed groceries.


 
Sunday evening we shared a very tasty crab-stuffed flounder with Roger and Dita aboard Blue Heron. It was late by the time dinner was prepared and enjoyed but we declared the day to have been one of the best.

 













Monday was a day for relaxation. In the afternoon, Gale and Maureen decided to take a dinghy ride and went into the City Dock to pick up a few more sponges. We stepped into a few of the shops and then found ourselves at Mama’s Greek Cuisine restaurant where we shared an entrée of wonderful Greek chicken on pasta. Opa!!