Tarpon Springs is north of Tampa along Florida’s Gulf Coast. In the early 1800s, a visitor saw tarpon jumping out of the water and subsequently the city was named after the fish. Now, the area is known for its Greek community and sponge industry. Tarpon Springs has the highest percentage of Greek Americans compared to any other city in the United States.
Tarpon Springs
Tarpon Springs became a city in 1882. By the late 1880s, the area was known for its sponge business.
Greek immigrants arrived in the 1890s to work the sponge industry. In 1947, a red tide algae bloom wiped out the sponges, but the business did somewhat recover years later.
The area is touristy with lots of traffic and difficulty parking but there was plenty of shopping, bars and restaurants. The Greek community is prevalent. Our dinner at Mykonos was delicious and authentic. We even drank Greek beer.
Hickory Point RV Park, Tarpon Springs
Hickory Point had full service, decent wifi and good satellite reception. The sites were tight and we would not consider it a resort RV park, but the views were spectacular. From Everglades City, we drove a few hours north along some very congested city streets with stop and go traffic and low branches to reach the RV park. Later, we found a better route to exit the area.
It’s Florida, so it would be very difficult to not see the ubiquitous herons and egrets each day.
Our site had a nice paved patio with water views and the occasional dolphin. The perfect setting.
Every evening, we stopped whatever we were doing to watch the sunset.
Dunedin, Florida
South of Tarpon Springs is Dunedin pronounced DONE-EE-DIN. It’s a Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Dunedin is a fun town to explore with unique art, boutique shops, bars and restaurants, along with quaintness and charm.
Dunedin is known for it’s elaborate dog murals by Anna Hamilton.
A glass of wine and a light lunch at the Living Room on Main were just what we were looking for.
Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater beach consists of 2.5 miles of powdery white sand. It’s been rated one of the best beaches in the United States. Sandy could have spent hours shelling.
