GLORY DAYS ON THE GREAT LOOP: BACK TO BOATING

DAYS 177 – 183
TUES. JAN 10 – TUES.17, 2012

AT GULFPORT

We arrived at Tampa Airport around 5 PM, picked up a rental car for the week and were back on the GLORY DAYS by 6:30. After a quick stop to replenish some essentials we had dinner at Isabelle’s, a charming "old south" restaurant. On Wed. Lydia and John Russo picked us up for a fun day of sightseeing and lunch in Tarpon Springs, an historic Greek sponge fishing village, about an hour north. We all, except for Pat, had the grilled octopus and it was delicious. On Thurs. and Fri we cleaned the boat and even started to wax. On Sat. old friends and former neighbors Goody & Paul Gibbs came to see us. After cocktails they gave us a tour of St. Pete’s Beach and St Petersburg. What a nice small city. I can see why they like it there. They have their own RE agency and also manage rental properties. That evening we went to a Tapas Restaurant, first time for us, and had a fantastic dinner. After dinner they took us to their waterfront condo where we caught the second half of the Pats/Broncos game, and then back to the boat. Sun. we drove over to St. Petersburg Pier, and Mon. we spent doing errands and getting the boat ready to cruise.