From
Florida’s Panhandle to its Peninsula: February 13 2023
Steinhatchee
has us beyond the Forgotten Coast and into the Big Bend region of Florida where
the panhandle transitions to the peninsula.
Dense woodlands and low population are the name of the game. Heck, Steinhatchee’s population is a mere 537
and a true sportsman’s paradise. Scallop
season is June 15 thru Labor Day and today is the Florida Redfish Series
Kick-off Tournament. Sixty-five boat
teams and thirty-five kayaks ($22,000 in prizes) paraded out just before
sunrise bundled up like eskimos (1/28). Ha
– we had it better as we watched them from inside the warm boat with a cup of
hot coffee. Later, we biked the area while the teams fished. It is a pleasant town. In the afternoon I went to Sea Hag Marina to
watch the fishing tournament’s weigh-in. Looks like this was the team with the
winning weight at 7.81lbs - and don't they look happy...especially after a cold
and breezy day on the Gulf.

Crabbie
Dad’s is a mash up between dive bar and community center. And this town certainly looks out for each other:
raising money for transportation costs to cancer treatment only available miles
away; tonight’s homemade, three layer chocolate birthday cake (Happy 70th
Birthday); the waitress who started out the night as a patron until the bar got
short-handed; the scattering of ashes into the river across the street as the
sun set (momentarily emptying the bar) and a celebration of life scheduled for
tomorrow (bring a side dish). This
community cares for each other and parties together. Okay, back to the karaoke.

After
the rain cleared we wandered a few of the paved and unpaved roads of
Steinhatchee (1/29). Humble, stalwart,
salt of the earth people. Not sure how
we can feel that so quickly but we do.
Ssshhh – don’t tell anyone. We’ll
turn around at this sign to return to Barefeet (gulp).

Next
up – the two NFL playoff games. Roy’s does
not have TVs and Crabbie Dad’s is out (remember the celebration of life) which
leaves the marina’s tiki bar. Let’s
go! Well, the marina has only been open
for three months and they’re still working out a few kinks. Oh boy.
There were six TVs but the remotes were only able to get the game on one
of the TVs. Plus, live music (although
good) meant no game commentary.
Pivot. Nice chit chat with bar
mates because in this low density area people come out to be social: 1) a
couple who live 30 minutes away (gas can be more money than lunch but they like
the social); 2) two brothers who were fishing yesterday but stayed to watch the
games (one of their sons got a full college scholarship for bass fishing…they
both lamented being born too early); 3) another guy who just returned from a
trip to Australia is staying at his river house (when the last hurricane
barreled through Sea Hag Marina’s owner lifted his boat to a high spot on the
road where he immediately hitched it to his truck and drove home to Gainesville,
FL). All this before last call for the
kitchen. The kitchen is closing?! What?! The first game is not even over yet. Pivot.
Back we went to the boat for game #2 on the laptop and a favorite
underway passage dinner: canned chili heated with cream cheese and dipped with
tortilla chips. Done.

The
winds died down on cue so we tossed the lines from Steinhatchee (1/30). The day started as a lumpy ride but ended in
a mill pond anchorage at Cedar Key just outside marker R8. We are about five miles from town which makes
for a longer dinghy into town; however, it will make for a quicker departure in
the expected fog tomorrow morning. Cedar
Key has a population of 700 and is the second oldest town in Florida (thanks to
seafood and timber). We found a beach
town vibe with wooden decks perched over water, Victorian main street and ice
cream cones before returning to Barefeet for dinner…and a pelican getting a
head start on dinner munching on a jellyfish.
Sometimes an anchorage just grabs you and this one grabbed us. Something about being the only boat in sight,
distant lights ashore twinkle here and there, the air is salty and moist and
the stars above that just did not quit.
We are lucky travelers.
The
morning came and so did the fog (1/31).
We followed our track out the channel for a nine hour ride to Anclote
Key. It was a love-your-electronics kind
of day and we, indeed, love our radar et al.
Just a few small fishing boats and unsuspecting turtles kept us company
under the blanket of fog until it lifted about 2pm. Bye bye Florida panhandle, hello Florida
peninsula! Temps have jumped to 79F
where we are anchored at Anclote Key.
Yippee!

After
the quiet night at anchor we headed up the Anclote River (once the fog lifted)
to Tarpon Springs (2/1). It’s a detour
to the Greek Isles of the Med and we love it.
Docking at the Municipal Marina is similar to Med mooring…back into the
docks, nuzzled gunnel to fendered gunnel and you are smack, dab in the center
of town. We walked around in what truly
feels like a Greek Island. The Greeks
first came for the sponge industry in the early 1900s, mainly from the
Dodecanese Islands, and they just kept coming and coming and coming. It’s 80F weather, powdered sugar covered
wedding cookies are in tiny bakeries, mountain oregano is sold still on the
stalk, towers of canned dolmades line the shelves and on and on. Where do we begin?! Dinner of gyros, fries and Greek wine (yes –
retsina for me) on Barefeet’s top deck.
Opa! Thanks Limani – we have been
transported back to Greece.

A
morning bike to Toula’s Trailside Café for breakfast was a nice start to the
day…with bouzouki music already filling the yet uncrowded streets of
Dodecanese, Athens, Lemon and Cedar (2/2).
This water centric town helped fill our need for new shorty
wetsuits…twenty years is a good run but it is at an end. Thanks Narcosis Scuba. But Mother Nature likes to mix things up and
the next day was foggy wet conditions with lots of wind. We deployed every fender and attached every
line to keep our swaying in the slip to a minimum (2/3). The afternoon cleared so we headed to Fournos
Bakery for some Greek coffee and cookies.

The
next few days were a bit of a blur with both of us knocked down by some
cold/flu crud (covid tests were negative and sense of taste intact). We got it in series so one of us was down
while the other explored and brought food back to the boat. And with countless Greek restaurants within
arm’s reach we had our choice of meals…avgolemeno for me and moussaka for Chris…still
warm spanakopita and tiropita from Fournos Bakery…afternoon coffee and a
cookie…you get the idea. This really is
the Med! The crud finally lifted and we
were back to fun…and a bit of normal stuff (like laundry to expel all the
germs).

A
day for playing tourist was pushed out one day to be sure we were both
energetic and crud free. We’re off to
see the mermaids! On the way we had a
quick breakfast at Ant’s Kitchen Café in New Port Ritchey (2/7). It was a fun Latin/Cuban sampler of potato
balls, beef and cheese empanadas, spicy chicken empanadas and
chicharrones. The Weeki Wachee Springs
have had a mermaid show for 75 years – now that’s a tourist trap worth its
salt. We were second in line for the
show and plunked ourselves right in the front row. Yes, it was schmaltzy but it was a hoot. We left smiling from ear to ear and
understand the mermaid’s star studded fan base like Elvis, Esther Williams and Arthur
Godfrey as well as generations of visitors who come back again and again. And the show really is in a natural spring;
117 million gallons of fresh water, 74F and a strong current. We saw fish and even a turtle amble through
the show.

After
the show we picked up some souvenirs and even got a photo with a mermaid. We took the slow road back to the boat with a
stop for a Dairy Queen cone and a look-see at Carl’s Store/Northfleet’s Fish
Camp. Carl’s is five miles off the
highway from the DQ but a world away. We
were transported to the Keys where dirt roads and liquid roads merge and autos
and boats are interchangeable. It’s an
80 year old convenience store that is the hub of the small fishing village of
Aripeca. Cool!
Before
returning the car we scooped up boat and people needs; 5 gallons of oil for the
main engine, food from the supermarket and hooch from the liquor store. It was a full day but let’s keep the fun
going. Hellas restaurant is the biggest
restaurant in town. We thought it might
be overrated but EVERYONE recommends it. We have to say that we concur – it is
fantastic! And server Alma was a total
treat. After dinner I wandered around
taking night photos while Chris played poker on zoom with the guys back home.
Sunny
warm weather continues so we biked 11 miles to Dunedin along the Pinellas Bike
Trail (2/8). This will be our next boat
stop and since we have not been since 2018 we wanted to eyeball the anchorage and dinghy dock to be
sure all was still as we remembered it.
Check – we are good to go. A bit
of shopping, some sitting in the shade listening to an orchestra practice in
tshirts and shorts, a pedal back to Tarpon Springs, some afternoon coffee and
sweets from Fournos Bakery and dinner at Rusty Bellies. Who doesn’t like complimentary
hushpuppies?! Long term cruisers are
currently the norm at the six slip municipal marina which is a wonderfully
familiar vibe: hellos as we pass boats, smiles, slow pace…our tribe. Nova Scotia to the right, Georgia and South
Carolina to the left.

Continued
sunny weather has us out and about in the residential neighborhoods of Tarpon
Springs (2/9 and 10). All the homes are
carefully tended, crisply painted and neat as a pin; however, Spring Boulevard
is something different. It encircles
Spring Bayou (complete with wintering manatees) and is referred to as the
Golden Crescent. The homes are grand
Victorian in style with modifications to accommodate the Florida
weather…aka…the hot, humid temperatures.
Floor to ceiling windows and large porches clutch at even the slightest
breeze…especially because electricity and ice were not an option when the homes
were built. The Safford House is open to
the public but the others are privately owned. Anson Safford grew up on a farm in Vermont,
worked out west during the California goldrush, was elected to the California
Assembly, was appointed surveyor general of Nevada, was a territorial governor
of Arizona and became a leading citizen in Tarpon Springs. He got around. In addition to his family Anson’s sister, Dr.
Mary Jane Safford, also moved to Tarpon Springs. She went to Medical School in New York as
well as in Europe and later practiced gynecology in Chicago as well as Boston
before moving to Tarpon Springs where she was the first female physician in
Florida. Her medical tools send shivers
up this 21st century gal’s spine but what a woman she was.

Hey
– it’s time for the Superbowl! We
reserved two seats at Johnny’s Taphouse and Grill where all the TVs are showing
the game and audio is piped throughout the restaurant (2/12). The hitch is that we had to arrive at 5pm for
the 6.30pm game start. No worries. We settled in and did not miss a moment of
the action. There was lots of cheering
for both sides and a score squares game that sold out before the game started
($150 per square…these Greeks like their wagers).

With
that we have wrapped up our time in Tarpon Springs. This slice of the Greek Islands has captured
our hearts and made us comfortable and relaxed.
From the fabulous dock staff (Mic and Dylan) to the wafting cooking aromas to
the brick streets to the sponge industry (yes, still harvesting nearby) to the petit shimmering
shrines (and the massive Greek Orthodox Cathedral) to the restaurant and boat
ride touts to the Greek music and language spilling out of speakers as well as
coffee shop sitters. We loved it
all! Back we went down the Anclote River
moving south to Dunedin (2/13). We’re on
the road again and anchored off of town.
We’ll keep moving south, cut east across Lake Okeechobee (as long as the
water level stays deep enough) and point north to Jacksonville. Plenty left to see and do and eat.
