Yippeeee!! It's Getting Warmer

Sunday the 9th

This morning we got up early, had breakfast and drove to Honeymoon Island to take advantage of the low tide. There were few other people there and we were able to spend a couple of hours walking along the beach, wading out into the shallows and being choosy about what we collected. We didn't have much luck with any of the bigger conch types but were able to collect quite a few really nice spirals, some orange scallops, a couple of tellens and several other assorted pretty shells. After we got home we put the shells in a bath of bleach to kill any parasites, then Tina got out a couple of picture frames and her glue gun and created a lovely frame of small shells from some of the ones we've been collecting since we hit the gulf.

Later that evening I went out and shot a little pool at Styx Billiards. Another really nice billiards hall and lounge with ten Brunswick nine foot tables in very good shape. There were a lot of younger people there and a few oldsters like me. I shot well for a couple of hours then went home. The only bad thing about the billiard halls I've been in is that smoking is still allowed. So the first thing I did when I got home was to take a quick shower before going to bed.


Monday the 10th

Today we planned to go to a movie matinee and see the new Tim Burton flick, Coraline. We had a very lazy morning getting the laundry ready for later. About 12:15 we left for town, stopped at the bank and drove to the theater. There were probably three cars in the lot. I got out and went over to get our tickets. We had about 40 minutes before the movie started so we drove to a restaurant down the street. After getting our drinks we waited 15 minutes before someone came to take our order. Needless to say, we politely declined to order as we had run out of time. We drove back to the theater and with one other couple watched the movie. For anyone who has seen any of Burtons movies (Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, Rocky Horror Picture Show) you'll appreciate this one too.

After the movie we came home and did the laundry, relaxed and watched another beautiful sunrise over the Anclote River!

Tuesday the 11th

Another warm morning! After taking care of breakfast and the dogs we set off for a bike ride into town. We wanted to go out to the nature preserve and ride the trails. On the way into town I had a phone call from my good friend John LaPorta. He just called to say hi and see how we were doing.

When we got to town we headed over the the Pinellas Trail and rode northeast to pick up the cross river bridge. Just as we got to the cut-off we realized that we didn't bring any water. Since we were close to Hwy 19 we road to the access ramp and stopped to ask a couple if there might be a convenience store near by. They suggested riding quite a ways down towards Palm Harbor. When we decided not to go back into town, they offered to give us a bottle of water if we wanted to follow them to their house which was just up the road. We declined their offer but thanked them for their generosity and headed back toward the cut-off.

Reaching our turn we rode across the Anclote River and into the preserve. Last week when we were out here we had our lunch at one of the picnic tables just of the trail. Today we turned in the opposite direction down to the map at the trailhead. After checking the map we rode along the main segment and ended up at the opposite end of the preserve where we turned around. Heading back we took a left turn and rode along the river for quite a ways finally ending up at a bird viewing station. We stopped here for a breather and to watch the fish jumping in the river.

Mounting up again we slowly rode along the various paths that wound in and out along the trail we came in on until we cut across a marsh. We rode through rushes that were over our head, past bushes of various types and bumped our way back to the main trail. After returning to our starting point we decided to see if we could follow the trail past the "Trail Ends" sign and come out on one of the roads north of town. After a while we had to dismount and walk our bikes along a fence for about 25 yards with the wilderness pressing in on us on the other side leaving us about 18 inches. We made it out the other end and found the road I was expecting. From here we rode back to Hickory Point doing some exploring on the way. Probably rode about eight miles all together. Tina did really well!!

Later in the afternoon Tina worked on her shell collection, cleaning and sorting the last batch we picked up on the table outside the rig. She had soaked them in a light solution of bleach to get some of the smell out and to kill any critters we missed. Meanwhile I sat and read my book with the kids at our feet. About 3:00 PM, just for something to do, I took another spin on the bike and rode into town to check on the manatees in Spring Bayou. They were still there bobbing to the surface periodically to breathe.

Wednesday the 12th

Another beautiful day. We saddled up and rode into town to see the Manatees and visit a couple of landmarks. First we stopped at the thrift store to look for things Tina could apply some of her shells to. Then we rode back to Spring Bayou where we watched the Manatees - kinda like watching grass blow in a light breeze or those little sipping birds that sit on the edge of a glass and bob up and down.

Next we crossed to the other side of town and had lunch at the Trailside Cafe, located right on the Pinellas Trail in Historic Downtown Tarpon Springs. We had a very nice lunch, black bean soup, Cuban sandwiches and a salad. Before leaving, I went next door to the bike shop and purchased a mirror for my bike, Tina already has one on hers. From the restaurant we rode back across town to the Unitarian Universalist Church to see the paintings done by George Innes Jr. who did the paintings for the church.

We were fortunate to have a knowledgeable docent to take us around and describe the paintings and their imagery. Apparently, when a hurricane struck the town in the early 1900's there wasn't enough money to replace the windows and they were bricked up. Eventually, the congregation was presented with paintings to be placed on the inside of the church along with several others for the niches in the main sanctuary.

http://www.uutarpon.org/uutarpon_inness.htm.

After visiting the church we continued riding around town then headed back across the river and back to the park. We spent the rest of the afternoon reading and taking the dogs for walks.

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