DECEMBER 2-7: CLEARWATER TO ST. PETERSBURG

December 2:  As the weather did not look too promising today, we decided to spend another day in Hudson.  We joined Chris and Kerm on Southern Belle that evening to celebrate the crossing of their wake and completing the Loop.  They are now Gold Loopers.

Captain Kerm and Admiral Chris displaying their new "gold looper flag".

The Admirals celebrating with Chris:  Mary from Mary Francis and Mary from Passport-the other boat that made the Gulf crossing with us.

After toasting Chris and Kerm, we all went to Sam's for supper.

The crew having dinner and waiting for the sunset.

The sunset was worth the wait.

December 3:  As the day dawned with a good weather prediction, we left Hudson for Clearwater with Mary Francis.

Mary Francis leaving Hudson via the narrow channel markers.  This is the channel that we came through in the dark and in stormy conditions.  YIKES! We could never have done it without Kerm.  Note how far the narrow channel goes out.

As a much faster boat, Mary Francis took off at a fast clip once we cleared the channel.  We enjoyed calm water conditions and enjoyed the clear water and white sands to Clearwater.

Entering Clearwater harbor.

Our neighbor in the Clearwater Beach Marina.  Numerous pelicans in the marina.

December 4:  Having mastered the local trolley routes, we took off for a side trip to Tarpon Springs.  For $7.00 we can travel all day on the Clearwater trolleys.  The trip to Tarpon Springs took about an hour.

Tarpon Springs has the highest percentage of Greek Americans in the United States.  Greek Immigrants began arriving in the early 1880's and helped establish the sponge diving industry there.  This is a statue to those early sponge divers.  Tarpon Springs is one of the few areas in the world were natural sponges occur. The sponge industry here has recovered after suffering a serious setback from a red tide algae in the late 1940s.

Colorful sponge and tour boats decked out for the holidays

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The historic sponge docks are crammed with stores selling sponges and the usual tourist fare.

Greek Orthodox Cathedral

Shrine to St. Michael

Greek music in the park

December 5-7:  St. Petersburg: We headed down the Intercoastal Way (ICW) today to St. Petersburg.  It was a slow run as a large part of the ICW here is lined with houses and marinas that mandate a slow, no-wake speed. 

Some of the houses on the route.

The welcoming committee in St. Petersburg

The marina that we stayed at is located within walking distance of downtown St. Petersburg which is surrounded by parks and pedestrian walkways.  A really enjoyable town!

A short walk from our marina along the promenade.

We saw a school of dolphins herding fish for their lunch.  Not a great photo as they are very fast.

Outdoor art in one of the parks.

Lots of yachts and marinas in this town.

St. Petersburg is home to several  museums.

More parks and fountains to enjoy.

Performing arts center on the waterfront

Inside the Salvador Dali museum.  The building itself is quite a masterpiece. We took a docent tour and learnt a lot about abstract art and the Maestro himself....still fans of classical art though.

We were so taken with St. Petersburg that we contacted a real estate agent who gave us a tour of several of the districts including the historic Northeast district which is close to downtown.

During our walkabout, we came upon this sign.  This may be the deal clincher for Peter-if we moved here he would not even have to change the name!

Peter was so enthralled by this lady...I may be replaced....