Once we got there, we looked at the brochures in the hotel lobby to see if there was anything interesting we wanted to do. We saw that there was a renaissance fair and we decided immediately we had to go. Justin and I love renaissance fairs. As usual, Justin got a giant turkey leg.
Another place we discovered from the brochure rack was Big Cat Rescue. It is exactly as it sounds: a rescue organization for large cats including lions, tigers, cougars, leopards, jaguars, ocelots, etc. They do tours of the facility so the public can get an up close view of giant felines. Justin and I both concluded that this was probably the best experience we have ever had. If you are ever in the Tampa area, I highly recommend you check it out. The tours only take a certain amount of people, so you really get the feeling of personalization on the tour. The guides told stories about how the animals came to be at Big Cat Rescue. Some were rescued from cruelty in circuses and traveling zoos, while others were confiscated from people who thought having a pet tiger in their trailer park was a good idea. How people can be so abusive to animals I will never know. Animal cruelty is the one thing that makes me incredibly angry. While we were there, the guide talked about raising money to build a tall barrier around the perimeter of the sanctuary. Apparently, kids shoot paint balls through the chain link fence at the animals. If I ever saw a kid doing that I would chase him down, take his gun and start firing indiscriminately from point blank range. "How does that feel? Do you like it? I didn't think so." Maybe that would teach them a lesson. Anyway, here are a few of the animals we saw.
The fencing makes for bad pictures but it allows for visitors to stand about 5 feet from the animals, which is really awesome. I really hope our next assignment is in Florida so we can go back to Big Cat Rescue.
Our next stop was the sponge docks at Tarpon Springs. At the turn of the 20th century, sponge diving was introduced to the area by Greek immigrants. It became a highly profitable industry until the creation of synthetic sponges. Tarpon Springs has the largest concentration of Greek-Americans of any city in the country. Today, the docks are lined with shops and restaurants.
Justin and I walked up and down the streets, stopping for pastries at a Greek bakery and looking in all the shops. We took a boat tour of the area where the captain told the history of Tarpon Springs and the sponge diving that took place 70 years ago. One of the most exciting things about the boat tour is looking for dolphins. Both times I've been to this area, I've seen dolphins in the harbor. Here are some of the original sponge diving vessels.
I love going on boats. If I won the lottery, I'd buy waterfront property down in the Gulf and get a boat.One of the last things we did, or at least that I have pictures of, was visit the local aquarium. If you can't already tell, anything with animals is usually a high priority for us. For a long time I wanted to be a marine biologist. Well, more accurately, I wanted to be Jacques Cousteau. Once I realized most marine biologists spend their time in a lab, I gave up that dream and became interested in other things.
This aquarium was pretty good, relative to others I've been to. They had an open-air walk through with all sorts of birds and fish. They also had a penguin demonstration. My favorite part of any animal exhibit is the hands on area. I know, I'm still a child at heart.
I tried to climb in one of the shells for a picture, but they're obviously designed for children so I didn't quite fit.
These giant sea horse creatures were pretty cool. They were one of the few things I was able to capture on film.
All in all, Justin and I had a wonderful trip. It might sound cliche but we really love Florida. Fingers crossed we'll get to live there some day.
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