Safety Chick

Biking the PinellasOriginally uploaded by Gasparino1.Why does my DH have to give me such a hard time about following the rules. The rail trail people went to too much trouble (time, effort, money) to post signs explaining trail etiquette for us to just ignore them and do our own thing. When another biker is coming from the opposite direction, it is just common courtesy not to ride two abreast. If it were me, I would feel like someone were trying to force me off the path. If I am about to pass somebody, I call out “left”, to let them know I’m passing. What is so difficult to understand about this, or more importantly, what is so funny that my DH feels the need to call me “Safety Chick”? I wanted to have a nice leisurely ride. The weather was incredible, the scenery beautiful, and we have to argue about bicycle safety. My DH is looking over my shoulder right now, and interjecting “you had to argue”.

Changing the subject…
The Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail is a 34 mile rail trail that runs from North St. Petersburg, FL to Tarpon Springs. We picked up the trail in Dunedin, FL which was just 10 miles from Tarpon Springs. If I had it to do over again, we would have biked to Honeymoon Island, which we were told was a beautiful ride and boasted the second loveliest beach in the world, just behind some beach in Hawaii. Instead, I wanted to bike to Tarpon Springs to see the famous Sponge Docks. Well, turns out we couldn’t actually bike to the Sponge Docks because there was too much construction along the road once we reached the city. The consolation was that we found a wonderful Greek Pizza Kitchen right along the trail in downtown Tarpon Springs, so we stopped to refuel. The restaurant was in a building that was a century old, so it had great atmosphere and even better food. We shared “It’s Chic to be Greek” Quesadillas and a large Greek Salad made the way a Greek Salad should be–with Greek potato salad. Well, the salad was actually large enough for 4 people, but after all of that biking, we had no trouble cleaning our plates. After the meal, we hopped back on the bikes and took the 10 miles back to Dunedin. By this time, I was determined to see the Sponge Docks so we decided to drive there and pay the $5 parking fee. The Sponge Docks are just that, a little seaport town which for nearly a 100 years has been a leader in the world’s sponge industry.  Tarpon Springs is not called the Sponge Capital of the World for nothing. The city is involved in all facets of the sponge trade, from harvesting to selling. The city has a large Greek population, due to the number of Greek immigrants who settled there in the early 1900’s, who continued their traditional trade of sponge diving. I made a quick tour of the Sponge Museum in the back of Spongerama (an area retailer) and was fascinated at the history of sponge harvesting. Then, of course, I had to go sponge shopping. I visited about six different places and was surprised that their was quite a difference in price depending on the quality and size of the sponges.  I finally found some great deals on loofas, as well as natural sponges and picked up a few gifts. There was a lot more to do in Tarpon Springs from cruises to cultural events, but we had dinner plans in another historic town and were soon off on another adventure.