You be the judge.
Most of us who are lucky enough to live and work on the water in the Tampa Bay area start to take it for granted after a while but in my opinion, it is almost paradise. We get caught up in our busy day-to-day routine and don’t take the time to appreciate what a paradise we live in. We complain about the snowbirds and spring break traffic and we curse the hurricanes. We hate the heat and we bitch about the winter cold.
I have recently been reminded of how great our backyard really is by the out of town customers who have been using my rental boats and kayaks. Their perspective has reopened my eyes to the beauty that we have in our backyards. Without exception, these nice folks return from their outing on the water with great big beaming smiles and stories of all of the great stuff they discovered. Many of them are surprised to find that we have everything here that is available in places typically considered to be more exotic vacation destinations.
This was previously driven home to my wife and me while visiting in Key West. We were staying in a small rental unit near Duval Street with no pool or yard and we had not brought a boat with us on this excursion. We spent a couple of days partying on Duval and ate some good food but then we realized that back home in Tarpon Springs we had a great house and pool on the water, a couple of boats to use plus our other toys. We had to ask ourselves, why were we staying in a musty little apartment with no amenities? Needless to say, we packed up and came home where we enjoyed the rest of our vacation right here. This is not to say that the Keys aren’t a great place to visit but so is Tampa Bay.
With gas prices somewhere north of insane and all of the other costs of travel going through the roof, why not plan a staycation this year? It just makes sense to stay close to home and save gas while taking advantage of all that is available nearby and helping local businesses. Maybe if we all did this and bought less gas, the prices would even go down to a level that is only ridiculous.
There is so much to do right here. If you want a really wild experience with animals try Giraffe Ranch or Safari Wilderness where you can take a real safari and see lots of exotic wildlife in a naturalistic setting. You can even feed lemurs grapes! If you want to get out on the water, you can come to Belle Harbour Marina and rent one of our great rental boats, try a charter with one of the many great captains who advertise or write in Onshore Offshore or just take a ride on one of the great tour boats running from the Sponge Docks in Tarpon Springs. If you need a change of scenery, try a few days at a hotel on one of our great beaches, I especially like the Opal Sands on Clearwater Beach.
If you like more unusual pastimes here are some fun ways to use some leisure time on your staycation.
- Take a photo safari in your local discount store. You may capture some images of unique wildlife that can even be immortalized on the Internet.
- Dress in stockings and a camisole (particularly if you are a 300 pound man) and go shopping at your local discount store so that others can photograph you, perhaps you will get immortalized on the Internet.
- Wear an aluminum foil hat to shield your brain from the mind control rays.
- Buy birdseed at your local pet store. Ask the clerk how long it will take the birds to sprout after you plant the seed.
- Take a carton of Depends adult diapers into the changing room at your local department store and put one on over your pants. When you come out ask the attendant where the toilet paper is?
Now that I’ve gotten you started, I’m sure you can think of lots of other fun ways to pass your vacation time. Have fun and try to appreciate how lucky we are to be so close to so many great places.
Merle can be reached at Belle Harbour Marina, 307 Anclote Rd, Tarpon Springs, FL 34689, phone # (727) 943-8489