Tarpon Springs, Florida

Well, one last blog about Florida. I wish I had a couple of pictures to share with you. I haven't figured out how to nab them off of the Internet yet, and haven't gotten pictures from Amy yet. They are on face book, though. Margaret and I went to the Tarpon Springs area after one of our many trips to the beach. It is a wonderfully fun area. Tarpon Springs has the highest Greek population in the US. In the 1880's, the Greeks came to dive for sponges in the bay there at Tarpon Springs. By the early 1900's, the sponge trade was a thriving million dollar business. The area was also a popular one for winter visitors for their summer homes. Tarpon Springs got it's name from the Tarpons that dove out of the water there in the bay.....In 1947 there was a red algae bloom that killed off all of the sponge population. Most of the sponge divers turned to fishing or shrimping. The community pulled together and turned the warehouses along Dodecanese Avenue into little tourist and import shops. Margaret and I loved to browse the little stores. It is a great area to pick up reasonably priced souvenirs. I loved the Greek Americans. They were very nice. Margaret and I ate lunch in a Greek Restaurant. We had the biggest, best pita filled with tender gyro meat. I almost needed a nap afterward, but did manage to do some shopping. Later in the week, we were back at Tarpon Springs with Amy in tow so she could do some shopping. It is a beautiful, wonderfully fun and historic area that I enjoyed exploring.