Celebrating our Mothers

Happy Mother’s Day everyone. Although this national holiday is heavily commercialized, it is still REALLY great to connect with family.

And flowers are wonderful, year round.

In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson officially declared the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. Founded in Kansas City (for Craig and MO) in 1910, now that’s fortuitous timing, Hallmark continues to be largest manufacturers of greeting cards in the United States.

“A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else’s.”

— Princess Diana

We are very impressed, grandson Tyler (age 10), makes breakfast!

Miss you mom.

Carlouel (pronounced Car-Lou-El) Yacht Club.

Yes, the name is weird, although the history is sweet – a clever blend of three founding women: Caroline Hobart, Louise Palmer, and Eleanor Randolph. It’s another social Florida Council Club, thus, you don’t need to own a boat to join. PC Greg – they did have the best popcorn display so far!

Private Dining

Reservations are mandatory at Carlouel, it reminded us of Hotel Kenney on the Canal Rideau Canal, when the owners called the kitchen staff to make sure food would be prepared! Again we were the ONLY patrons in the space. Hey Sharyn Morgan, sharing good memories of some delicious ice cream, right??

The food was exceptional – here’s Capt Rick enjoying what he professed was “the tastiest Old Fashioned, ever”, along with his mouth-watering Osso Bucco.

It truly was a private experience – we confirmed with the staff, we were the ONLY diners for the evening.

Sponge Mania!

Tarpon Springs has proclaimed itself the Sponge Capital of the World. Who would dispute that? Why? The city does have the highest percentage (not population, percentage) of Greek Americans in the US – hovering around 10% of its 25,000 residents. Median age is 53. Opa!

The Greeks transformed the sponge industry by using divers to efficiently harvest the deep water treasure. Back in 1908 the Sponge Exchange in Tarpon Springs started as a storage and auction site for sponges, supporting ties to the growing Greek community. More than 100 years later, divers continue to harvest sponges from the Gulf of Mexico. Yep, the G of M.

In case you are curious, Tyler, there were ZERO sightings of SpongeBob.

However, there were plenty of opportunities to buy sponges along the main drag. By far, the best local vendor is Lori’s Soap Shop, where I definitely bought a few sponges and locally made soaps. Click here – they ship.

Today the area is famous for some of the finest Greek Restaurants, Markets, and Bakeries in the Country.  Thanks for the recommendations, Tom and Faye. We ate soo well. Yes. we went to Hellas – boater’s tip, it’s a sprawling tourist destination, so expect both the restaurant and bakery to be busy and noisy.

Our very favorite was Niko’s Grill House, a small family business, slightly off the main drag. MOST of the staff are Greek, likewise, a lot of the customers spoke Greek – a very very good sign. Click here for the menu.

Recommended: Greek Salad, with my very favorite soup, Avgolemono (chicken, rice and lemon soup),

and don’t forget the Grilled Lamb. YUM.

This sponge boat on Anclote River is for our Commodore, Kim. Zoom in!

Next Stop is a return to Clearwater Yacht Club for one night, then we will anchor out in the Manatee River.

Buttercup says thanks for following us! Happy Mother’s Day.