NORTHWEST GULF COAST of FLORIDA

We have been on the NORTHWEST GULF COAST of FLORIDA the last few days.

Our first stop after "The Crossing" was Tarpon Springs. Early settlers saw Tarpon jumping out of the water and so named the location Tarpon Springs.

Tarpon Springs is famous for its sponge industry. In the 1800's, John Cheyenne founded the first local sponge business. Many people from Key West and the Bahamas settled in Tarpon Springs to hook sponges. In 1905, John Cocoris introduced the technique of sponge diving. He recruited divers and crew members from Greece. The sponge industry soon became one of the leading maritime industries in Florida. In 1947 a red tide alge bloom wiped out the sponge fields in the Gulf of Mexico. Eventually, the sponges recovered, allowing a small but consistent industry today.

The 1953 film "Beneath the 12-Mile Reef", depicted the sponge industry, takes place and was filmed in Tarpon Springs. 

Tarpon Springs has the highest percentage of Greek Americans of any city in the United States. We both like Greek cuisine and were very happy with our dining experience.

Our next port was Dunedin. The towns name comes from the Scottish name for Edinburgh, the Capitol of Scotland. It's a small town known for its bike trail and unique business district. The business district is notable for its absence of commercial signage and lack of franchise restaurants or chain stores. Our favorite shop was named Thistle :)

On to Sarasota and we docked at Marina Jack. Sarasota was once the winter home of the Ringling Brothers Circus. Today the City has a number of cultural centers, notably The Ringling Museum of Art. There are many barrier islands that separate Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. These islands are known as keys and have some of the prettiest beaches in the world!

Our next port was Longboat Key Moorings on Longboat Key. Longboat Key is the largest barrier islands in Sarasota County.  We agree the beach is absolutely gorgeous:) 

Looper Tip: Be Thankful for you Loop experience... its unbelievable!

The last few days we have traveled from Tarpon Springs to Longboat Key.

(red line)

Yummmmm...The Stone Crab Festival.

Herb, the Tarpon Springs Harbor Host, had a celebration for the Loopers who Crossed together:)

Tarpon Springs is famous for their sponging.  

There is a large Greek population in Tarpon Springs.

Hellas was our favorite Greek restaurant.

The Pinellas Trail is 38 miles long.

It connects Saint Pete to Clearwater.  

We rode our bikes to Old Tarpon Springs and enjoyed breakfast at the Trailside Cafe.

We waited for the tide to rise and departed Turtle Cove.

It was very shallow!

Our depth gauge read 4 feet 6 inches at low tide?

Thistle's draft is 4 feet 1 inch.....

A beautiful day heading south on the ICW.

We went under a drawbridge and had dolphins jumping in our wake before docking in Dunedin. 

Thistle docked in Dunedin. 

Our favorite shop in Dunedin. 

We rode our bikes to Clearwater and had an interesting lunch at Kara Lynn's, our first ever Paleo Restaurant!

Then got caught in a rainstorm and rode the Jolly Trolly back to Dunedin. 

Back on the ICW headed to Sarasota.

Tooooooo close ... on a few bridges?

We made it :) 

Thistle is docked at Marina Jack. 

We are near the "Unconditional Surrender" statue. 

The BIG smooch is 26 feet tall, it honors a famous photo of V-J Day in Times Square. 

The statue has been a very controversial addition to Sarasota, people either love it or hate it? 

We  Love it XO 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Missing family and friends today, but we are unbelievably Thankful for our Great American Loop Adventure.  

XO 

We enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving dinner aboard Thistle.

(With a little help from Whole Foods :) 

The next morning we had rain and clouds.

Thistle had some pretty nice company on the guest docks!

( 100 + foot yachts :) 

The rain stoped...

We docked at Longboat Key Marina.  

We spotted a pink bird (Roseate Spoonbill) near the golf course on Longboard Key 

and

a Manatee in the Marina (red circle). 

Longboat Key was featured on the cover of Marina Life.

While docked at the Marina we have use of the Resort.

A very nice day on the beach relaxing and collecting seashells :)