Tarpon & Berkley

Last week was one that makes me happy to be exactly where I am. Not only were we basking in sunshine while the rest of the country was shoveling snow, but John and I crossed off one of the places on our "Weekend Trips" list. *Probably need a cuter name for this list, but it's a working title...* We decided that we would start a running list of places we wanted to visit - little day trips or short weekend overnight adventures. The idea was that if we come across a weekend where we have no plans, we just look at the list and pick a place.

Here is our list so far:

• Weeki Wachee Springs & Mermaid Show 
• Tarpon Springs (Greek food & sponge docks)
• Sanibel/Captiva Island overnight trip
• Georgia Mountains hike
• Ringling Brothers Museum in Sarasota
• Gainesville for a Gator basketball game 
• Boyd Hill Nature preserve in St Pete for some bikes and kayaks
• Everglades National Park 

Obviously, its a work in progress and we hope to keep adding and crossing off places from our list, but I'm excited to have our little system in place to make sure we keep on exploring!

Well, last weekend we crossed off our first place! We went to Tarpon Springs - a small town north of Clearwater that became famous for the sponge trade. Back in the day, this lucrative industry drew sponge divers from Greece who populated the area and created and really unique culture today. John and I drove about 45 minutes before arriving in the cute little town. It's definitely touristy with lots of cheesy gift shops and such, but the Greek restaurant we ate at (Hella's) was to-die-for! Everything was outstanding and we left stuffed. As we walked around we learned lots about the sponge trade and different types of sponges. Informative and cute. I also got hit on by 2 old men while the hubs was right next to me. Win-win. 

After our little day trip, we were thrilled to visit our friends at the hospital to meet their brand new beautiful addition. 

Berkley Elizabeth: Born 1/20/12 @ 11:20pm.  7lbs 1oz. 

Crying because J is holding her! (J/k - this was actually the beginning of a big, adorable yawn.)

She's so amazing and I am looking forward to heading over to their house tonight to visit again! 

Other updates: Job search continues, I joined the gym finally (yeah!), Real Estate broker classes continue, Charleston bachelorette party is booked and we have another super exciting weekend ahead of us!

Gasparilla is this Saturday! Pretty much the coolest day of debauchery that exists. Arggghh! 

What do you guys think? Any day trips we should add to the list??