Travel | Travel & Lifestyle Blog

Tarpon Springs Sponge Boat Tours

Tarpon Springs is a city on Florida’s gulf coast. It’s about 30 miles northwest of Tampa. It has a population of about 24,000. The city has the highest number of Greek Americans anywhere in the United States which means some great Greek cuisine! The city is on a series of Bayous which feed into the Gulf of Mexico. The first settlers spotted Tarpon jumping out of the waters so it was named Tarpon Springs. It is also known as the Sponge Capital of the World! It’s a beautiful place to spend the day!

Historic Sponge Docks

We took a stroll along the docks and saw boats that had been gathering natural sponges. In 1880, the first sponge business was started, at that time they would hook the sponges and then process them for use. In 1905, John Cocoris introduced the technique of sponge diving to Tarpon Springs and recruited divers and crew from Greece. By the mid-1930s there were 200 boats working the Gulf of Mexico harvesting sponges. Unfortunately, in the late 1930s, a bacterial blight killed the sponges and destroyed the industry.

Today they are making a comeback with a small active sponge industry in Tarpon Springs.

St. Nicholas Boat Line

Established in 1924, the St. Nicholas Boat Line started providing Sponge Boat Tours and is still giving tours today. They are the second oldest attraction in Florida.

Tarpon Springs Sponge Boat Tour

Location: 693 Dodecanese Blvd., Tarpon Springs
Hours: 10:00-4:30 Daily, the St. Nicholas IV leaves the sponge docks every 40 minutes on a round-trip cruise the Anclote River.
The Tour: Includes the history of the Sponge docks and a live sponge harvesting demonstration
Cost: Adults $10

Sponge Diver Memorial

A statue of a fearless sponge diver stands along the docks of Tarpon Springs. Dedicated in 2002, “In Memory of the Spongers of Tarpon Springs”, the statue depicts a young man in a full rubber diving suit, holding his helmet in one arm. A lot of these spongers died on the job. Today there are safer methods to harvest the sponges.

…

Tarpon Springs Sponge Boat ToursRead More »

Tarpon Springs Sponge Boat Tours Read More »

Airbnb tips for guests

11 Comments / Travel / Cathy

Have you ever considered staying at an Airbnb?

If you want more space than a standard hotel room, along with a full kitchen, deck or patio, and an entire place to yourself, maybe an Airbnb is right for you. But how do you find a good Airbnb? I’m going to give you some tips.

It can take some research to find the right Airbnb for you. The Airbnb in this photo was in Wilmington, NC. Even though I did my research and checked out the photos and reviews, the “Waterview” was not quite what we expected and the entrance was 3 stories up using these outdoor steps.

It turned out to be a great place, but sometimes you don’t get exactly what you think you are getting.

NOTE: This post is not sponsored by Airbnb, these tips and opinions are my own

Airbnb Wilmington NC — Airbnb in Wilmington NC

History

After moving to San Francisco in 2007, roommates Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia came up with the idea of putting an air mattress in their living room and turning it into a bed and breakfast. In 2008, Nathan Blecharczyk joined them as the third co-founder of “AirBed & Breakfast”. They created a website to offer short-term living quarters and breakfast for those who were unable to book a hotel room during a time when they were hard to find. Their first website was; Airbedandbreakfast.com, which was shortened to Airbnb.com in 2009.

Reasons to choose Airbnb

We have almost exclusively changed from hotel visitors to Airbnb renters. Why? It’s because of the endless choices and possibilities! Here are some of our reasons;

Unique and interesting spaces
Great locations
You can get all the amentities you are looking for
It’s your own private space
Many include a patio or balcony
You can blend in and become a “local” for awhile
The pricing will fit your budget
Some SuperHosts treat you like Royalty

We only rent “entire places” and we have only rented with Airbnb in the US, so that’s what I will be talking about here. Airbnb also offers other options such as; Private rooms(sharing common spaces), Hotel rooms, Guest rooms, or Shared rooms.

**If you would like to read more about our adventures and travel tips, please subscribe HERE to receive our newsletters directly in your inbox!**

…

Airbnb tips for guestsRead More »

Airbnb tips for guests Read More »

Things to do In Occoquan VA

20 Comments / Travel / Cathy

Have you heard of Occoquan VA? It’s a Charming and Historic Town on the Occoquan River. It’s also a suburb of Washington DC and has a population of about 1200. Occoquan is located in Prince William County. Prince William County includes Washington DC and is the largest county in Virginia.

While planning our vacation this year we wanted to stay close to home but still have a new adventure. The states surrounding our state of North Carolina are; South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. We researched places in about a 6-hour driving distance from us. We were also researching reasonably-priced Airbnbs at the same time. Our goal was relaxation in a town with a waterfront, great restaurants, and a reasonably priced place to stay.

We found all that and more in Occoquan!

Occoquan History

Occoquan is derived from an Algonquian Doeg Indian Word meaning “at the end of the water”. It’s located on the Occoquan River and was home to several indigenous people. The Dogue Indians were the first to settle in the Occoquan Valley. In 1608, the first Europeans arrived and found the Tauxenent tribe. Their main village was at the mouth of the Occoquan River.

In the early 1600s, Captain John Smith(he established the first English settlement at Jamestown, VA) sailed and explored the Occoquan River

By 1755, the Anglo-American colonists had established an industrial settlement at Occoquan, with bakehouses, grist mills, tobacco warehouses, and dwellings.

In 1759 the Merchants’ Mill was built and became one of the first fully automated grist mills in America. It’s said that they produced cannonballs for the Revolutionary War!

The Mill was destroyed by fire in 1924, all that remained was the Mill House. The Mill House soon fell into disrepair until the Alexandria Water Company purchased the Mill House in the middle of the 20th century and restored it for use as office space. The company’s successor, the Fairfax Water Authority (now known as Fairfax Water) eventually turned the structure over to the Town of Occoquan, which leases it to the Occoquan Historical Society for use as a museum.

Things to do in Occoquan

Stop by the Visitor’s Guide
Check out the Mill House Museum
Kayak rentals
River Mill Park
Rockledge Mansion
Shopping at the many stores
Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Take the Occoquan Ghost Tour
Scuba dive, Patriot Scuba

…

Things to do In Occoquan VARead More »

Things to do In Occoquan VA Read More »

Fun Things to do in Morehead City, NC

24 Comments / Travel / Cathy

Unique small towns can be found in every state across the United States. Many times we just drive through them on our way to somewhere else. If you would take time to stop, shop, and eat in these towns, I think you would be pleasantly surprised! Small towns are “hidden gems” among the big, bustling, more popular cities.

In this series, I will highlight unique small towns from each state. You may be interested in reading about another great small town in North Carolina, Murphy.

Morehead City

Newport RIver — A Barge on the Newport River

The town of Morehead City is located on the Crystal Coast of North Carolina. It’s a beautiful town bordered by two bodies of water, the Bogue Sound to the south and the Newport River to the north and east. The town has a population of about 8700. It’s a fisherman’s paradise. The Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament is held every year at Big Rock Landing in Morehead City.

History

In the 1850s a group of investors formed a land development project known as the “Shepard Point Land Company”. They purchased 600 acres of land on the eastern tip of the peninsula bordering the Newport River known then as “Shepard’s Point” which is the present-day location of Morehead City. Their purpose was to take advantage of the deep channel of the topsail inlet known today as the Beaufort inlet. They were trying to develop another access point for North Carolina’s timber products to relieve the pressure at the port around the city of Wilmington further south.

Governor John Motley Morehead was a member of the “Shepard Point Land Company”, the city was eventually named after him. The city was officially incorporated in 1860. The town prospered until the Civil War began and in 1862 it was occupied by Federal Troops. This greatly disrupted the progress of the town and it wasn’t until 1880 with the construction of the Atlantic Hotel and promoting the railroad, that they fully recovered and prospered once again. With this grand hotel, the railroad, and the natural beauty of the area, it became a premier summer destination.

**If you would like to receive information about great travel destinations sent directly to your inbox, Sign up HERE, You will also have access to several free printables**

…

Fun Things to do in Morehead City, NCRead More »

Fun Things to do in Morehead City, NC Read More »