Tarpon Springs January 2008

Sunday, 6 January 2008

Where are we, you ask? Well, we're right here on the west coast of Florida in Tarpon Springs, about an hour north of St. Petersburg and about an hour west of Tampa, if that helps you situate where we are. We're staying in the second home of our friends Joni and Bob Cooke, who live just a couple of miles away on Kreamer Bayou, a short boat ride to the Gulf of Mexico.

After our trip to New Orleans, we packed up the dogs and my great-grandfather's pump organ (Joni has volunteered to take it in again since the children don't want it.) in a U-Haul trailer and drove from Fairhope to here. It was a very long day, driving from west of Pensacola all the way to I-75 and then south. Florida is very big. We spent New Year's Eve and New Year's Day with Joni and Bob. Joni prepared lavish meals for both. So this past week we've been getting settled in our new place.

Since this home is a double-wide in a no-pets park, Joni and Bob have Howdy at their house. For the moment, we're smuggling Daisy in here with us. The neighbors on either side aren't here, and there are no neighbors to the back, so Bob and I do a tag team routine when it's time for Daisy to go out. Bob goes around the back, and I open the window in the screened porch and we pass Daisy in and out. Bob is sure that the neighbors will report the suspicious behavior of her tenant who has this penchant for hanging out in the back yard.

The house is very spacious and comfortable. For all the jokes we make about double-wides, this defies them all. From inside, you would never know you're not in a regular--and large--3 bedroom, 2 bath house. Our bedroom has a king-sized bed and a huge master bath with garden tub, separate shower, double vanities--all the comforts of home! And the kitchen is very large and well-equipped.

Last week we had a cold snap, but it warmed up very quickly and today it's a gorgeous warm, sunny day. Florida at its winter best. We went out in the boat with Joni and Bob yesterday but it was pretty chilly when we were speeding along. We'll go out again sometime this week now that it's warmed up some more. We found the library just a few blocks away and are reading quite a bit. All the stores are just a couple of minutes away. Everything is very convenient. We'll be here the rest of the month.