Honeymoon day 11 The Sponge Docks

We had been told that there was a place near where we were staying that was a must visit. It was the sponge docks. Yeah, for sponges that are grown under the ocean! We didn't know where it was, so we drove forever until we got to a AAA. They then informed us that it was about 3 minutes away from the house in the other direction. So, we arrive to see a million people waving flags (okay, like 4) for parking. We drive through and decide that the best parking is right at the front. We park and go!
The whole area is a street lined with shops on one side and shops and docks on the other. The shops had all kinds of cool stuff. The sponging business was mostly run by Greek immigrants, and so there was quite a Greek flair to everything there. The shops sold Greek clothing, handmade soaps and lotions, cool shells and strangely, fisher price toys that speak Greek.We went into the first shop and there were a TON of really cool sponges. There was also a lady selling boat tours. It sounded interesting, so we took a flier. We went and signed up and it was worth it. We toured the shops, looked at all kinds of interesting stuff and then it was time for the nature tour. We and a few other people got onto a pontoon kind of boat and the tour guide told us all about the history of the area, then took us into a bird sanctuary, and an island. We saw all kinds of cool stuff. We saw diving birds, bald eagles, all kinds of fish, dolphins, and just all around coolness. The guide was really knowledgeable, and it was really great. We came back and went shopping for real. I bought a bunch of sponges, Jason got two loooong loofahs, we got some other odds and ends and then last but certainly not least, we got some awesome soap. It's honeysuckle scented and has a little sponge embedded in it. It is really awesome. Oh! Also there was a whole shop filled with hot sauces. Jason got a bunch to complement the collection he had been building. Remind me to post on that later.

At the end of the street was an aquarium. We decided to go in. At the beginning was a talk for you to touch urchins, and starfish. Those were neat. Then there was a HUGE tank full of all kinds of native fish including sharks. I was worried when we went in that it would be poorly kept and grubby, but it was the opposite. The fish were all really healthy and the place was really nice. The employees were extremely knowledgeable. After the huge tank there was a stingray and shark petting tank.


That was really cool too. Even Jason petted stingrays and a shark. The shark's skin was really rough. The rays all had their stingers removed, and the guy had some to show us, but said they could grow back at any time, so there was still a little danger, but rays aren't aggressive. We fed them shrimp. You could hold the shrimp on your hand underwater and they would come suck it off. The next tank also had sharks, but not the petting kind. You could feed them, but had to put the shrimp on the end of knitting needles. It was scary! There were a lot of working boats there. We thought these were derelict, but they were working shrimp boats:

We were tired then, so we went to dinner and it started raining. Pouring really. We decided to go to a movie. We run through the pouring rain and see signs everywhere that say that the power "might" go out, because of the storm. We think they are sissies and go watch Superhero movie. It was funny, but obviously not too memorable as I just had to ask Jason what we saw.

We got back to the house and dried off. EEK!

Honeymoon Day 1 Part 2 : Gypsy Gold

Earlier in this blog, I wrote about a breed of horse that I'd found online and I not only found mesmerizing, it seemed to possess all of the qualities that I want someday in a horse of my own. I talked a little about them in a previous blog. The owners of the farm, Gypsy Gold, were really nice and invited us down for a visit and tour. We got there at around 11 and it was gorgeous even before we saw the horses.
See?
So, we arrive, and before we're even out of the car, a greyhound jumps onto Jason's lap. He wanted to go for a ride! We managed our way out, and all of the sudden there was a Irish wolfhound at my elbow. He was a puppy. I'm not kidding about the elbow part, that's where his head was, and he wasn't even trying. So, we play with the puppies, and make our way in to talk with the owners. They were so nice. They talked for a while about the breed and how it made it's way here courtesy of them just in the last few decades. Then we got to tour the farm. First up was the horse I wanted Jason to see the most, B.B. King. He was born to his music.

A beautiful horse. I hadn't seen the mustaches in the other pictures, but isn't it cute? He was so friendly, as all of them were. When we arrived at each pen, the horses came up to the fence to visit us. Then we went to the next pen and saw some babies! They were so cute, and so soft. they had curly hair, their winter coat. They were with their recipient mothers. If you read the page I directed you to last time, you'll see that the farm rescues horses bound for the slaughterhouse, and uses them on the farm as host mothers to babies. They have a great life on the farm and treat the babies as their own. Take a look!Really sweet. The next one we saw is my favorite Gypsy Vanner. He's gorgeous. He's sweet. He's just so awesome. He's Lachto Drom:

He's so pretty. Yay. Then we moved on past a few other horses, on to two pens full of young horses. Not as young as the first two, away from their mothers, and they loved to lick our hands. Jason got these GREAT pictures.



They were great too. On our way back to the barn we saw that he also raises macaws, ring tailed lemurs and racing doves. They were all cool too. He also had a myna bird that had learned to imitate the beep of the smoke detector low on batteries sound. That was interesting. The husband of the other couple with us almost stuck his finger in her cage, and we were all waiting for that sharp beak to get him, but he got away in time. I'll share a few more pictures at another time, but that's all for now. It was an awesome way to start off our honeymoon. The land itself was breathtaking, and the horses we more than I could have asked for. I really want one...

Tune in next time for the rest of a LOOONG drive.

Stumbled to...

A new obsession. Gypsy Vanner horses are amazing. I want one now. I especially want the one named Rivendell Evenstar. She is a thing of beauty. Go here and see them. The photos were done by Mark Barrett, and the story behind these horses is AMAZING. They are hoses bred to be the perfect caravan horse for gypsies. I've always loved the feathered feet and curly mane of the fresians and this horse combines that with a really interesting coloring. I stumbled upon these so that's my first stumble post! Check this guy out.