From Tracks to Trails

We had a special overnight guest last night....Grand Wonder Eddie.   He thinks sleeping on a boat is “awesome”!  I thought he might be bored but didn't seem to be.... he told me he “heard” his first Dolphin last night when a “splash” occurred near the V-berth (guest cabin) where he was sleeping. It is so shallow here that we doubt it was anything as big as a dolphin.  At low tide his morning Walter took a boat hook and measured the depth... 3.5 ft on one side of Miss gg and 4 on the other … we were sitting on the bottom! Glad for soft mud.

I left the Captain and Eddie while I went for my morning walk which was partly a search and discover mission for the snow. Sadly, it was all gone and so was the street fair....we thought it might be continuing all weekend.

While I was out I took a few photos of the section of the Pinellas Trail that is in Tarpon Springs.  It is a wonderful walking, biking, skating & jogging path that runs all through this county and will eventually be 47 miles long!

All through Tarpon there are warning signs with flashing lights like this one for cars approaching the Trail to make sure they look both ways before crossing.

This Trail started as a dream in 1983 of a man whose son was killed while riding a bike..... he wanted to develop a bike trail with pretty Florida scenery that was also safe.  At the same time the county had the problem of what to do with miles and miles of abandoned railroad track.  These two came together in 1990 when the track came up and the first 6 miles of the Trail went down.  It now runs along beaches, quiet waterways and through many parks. It has bike racks, water-fountains, rest stops & refreshment areas.  Each month over 70,000 people use the trail.

Here it passes by the old train station in Tarpon Springs.

The Trail goes by old oak trees with Spanish moss hanging from them.  However, there are some very busy intersections where it goes underground and on many overpasses to make it even safer....no wonder this Trail Park has received National awards as well as state honors.

We didn't do the Trail today after our walk along the Sponge Docks in Tarpon....and a long LONG deliberation by Eddie to select the most perfect sponge from the many vendors....this was about the only time he slowed from a run to a walk!!

We are alone.......Grand Wonder safely delivered to his daddy......Oh! The Joy of Grand Parenting!!!