On the Road – Page 12

Presentation by Dr. Bob Knight, Florida Springs Institute

February 11, 2015February 10, 2015 by KTgreen

On our continuing quest to understand how we are affecting our springs and aquifer, Terry and I headed up to Yankeetown Saturday morning to hear a presentation by Dr. Bob Knight, founder of the Florida Springs Institute, at the Withlacoochee Gulf Preserve, Ellie Schiller Education Center.

I posted a few weeks ago about a Friends of the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge Complex meeting where the featured speaker was Chris Anastasiou, Ph.D., a chief scientist and the leader of the Springs Team of the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFMD). His presentation was entirely scientific and based on data that SWFMD has collected over a number of years. What struck me was a slide that showed that nitrates are highest at the spring vent. As the water flows out to the Gulf of Mexico, the nitrates are diluted. Nitrates grow plants and cause greening which accounts for the prevalence of lyngbya and other invasive plant species in Kings Bay.

Up until this point, I had believed our springs were being polluted mainly by the coastal areas so Dr. Anastasiou’s slide made me realize that responsibility lies beyond our region.

Dr. Knight’s presentation added some clarity to the issue. I’m oversimplifying this, but the aquifer is one big water-filled cave under the entire state. While we all effect the aquifer since we all use water, the main consumption is from agriculture and mining. Polk County actually pumps the most. In turn, fertilizer, which is mainly nitrogen, drains into the aquifer. So what happens in a distant county ends up in our springs and our kitchen faucet.

Dr. Bob Knight, founder of the Florida Springs Institute

According to Dr. Knight, the only way to fix this issue is to charge for water and also raise prices for fertilizer. While residents usually pay for water at the levels they use, agriculture does not. They also dump more fertilizer than necessary on their crops because it’s inexpensive then it ends up in the aquifer. Simple economics will fix the problem but that’s not going to happen without new legislation.

On our own part to help the springs, Dr. Knight suggests we use fertilizer sparingly and only use slow-release products, clean up spills, don’t fertilize before rain is predicted, conserve water, and contact our legislators to pass laws to protect our springs.

There were many more points that Dr. Knight covered which I do not have space to go into. If you ever get a chance to hear Dr. Knight speak, please go. He’s a very interesting and enlightening speaker.

Out and About: Tarpon Springs

January 26, 2015 by KTgreen

I haven’t reported on the Great Chicken Wing Quest in over nine months! I don’t really like wings but Terry LOVES them. We hit a lot of restaurants, bars, and pubs in the area. And it came down to a tie between Neon Leons and Crackers–per Terry. I voted for Crackers since I like the Tiki Bar, there’s a great view of King’s Bay, and sometimes they have entertainment.

And now we are moving on. To food I like! Which would be everything but chicken wings!

Just to serve my readers (because I’m always thinking about my readers) I’ve decided to hit all the restaurants on “Top 50 restaurants of Tampa Bay” according to the Tampa Bay Times. Lots more fun for me! Hitting all those places could take awhile, though. It just may be way more expensive then our local wing places and we might have to actually make plans.

But it will give us more opportunities for us to get “out and about”!

Our trip to Tarpon Springs started out with Terry’s mom saying that there are a few antique stores in Tarpon Springs. Terry had an appointment in New Port Richey anyhow so we just thought we’d head a few miles south. And I decided to check the list for any restaurants in the area.

There were a lot of antique places. Some a little too precious for me. Lots of crystal and tiny things. I tried to be very small while walking through those. (Very difficult, I’m not a small person.) There was a really nice artsy shop and the general store, “Mad Hatter” was fun.

But my main goal was to have lunch. It’s always about the food. Or the beer. And Dimitri’s on the Water at the sponge docks had made it on the Tampa Bay Times’ top 50 restaurants. YIppee!

The sponge docks are full of touristy things to do. Shops, boat tours, restaurants, bakeries, you name it. Not something we would typically spend any time at unless we had company. Yes, it is a good place to take out-of-town guests. “Come see the Sponge Capital of the World!”

Out and About: Tarpon Springs — The entrance to Dimitri’s

Dimitri’s is right on the water and since it was a lovely day, we sat outside in the covered patio area. The view was beautiful.

I had an Alfred Hitchcock moment when I went over to the rail to take some pictures. A gazillion gulls swooped down immediately. I thought we were going to have a repeat of the Birds. How much do I hate these rats on wings? Kind of like pigeons in New York City. Before they ate my face off, I ran back to our table and they couldn’t figure out how to get in to attack me. They obviously weren’t as smart as those gulls on The Birds. Whew. Lesson learned. Step away from the rail.

We had a very friendly server and when I asked about the beer, he suggested I try the Greek beer. Of course! I always order the beer recommended by the server. Tasty!

Anytime there is grouper on the menu Terry and I usually order it. I did ask about other fish and the server suggested the “whole fish”. Sorry, I don’t eat things that will be looking back at me. If we have a zombie apocalypse I might change my mind because I would probably be really happy to have something to eat. But for now, someone needs to cut the head and fins off before it’s served to me. We both ordered the grouper. And we both ordered it blackened. Are we boring or what?

I started with the soup. I can’t tell you the name of it because they don’t have a website. Should have wrote it down–what kind of reviewer am I? It had a nice creamy base with chicken and orzo and had a slight lemon taste–not overpowering. Very good. We also had a loaf of Greek bread with dipping sauce. Yum.

And onto the main course. The grouper and the blackening were excellent.

But the sides we both ordered were very bland.

If I was in Tarpon Springs with some of our out-of-town guests, I would definitely choose this restaurant over the other places. The grouper, the service, and the view were all extraordinary. But I probably won’t make a special trip to go back.

Happy to report that the gull must have forgot about me and we were able to get home in the convertible without any bird attack (poo or otherwise.)

And onto our next outing!

West Coast Classic Tour

January 20, 2015 by KTgreen

The Citrus County Corvette and Camaro Club had a tour scheduled for this past Saturday of a car restoration facility. Followed by a car show. Wasn’t sure if I wanted to go. I like to ride in a fancy schmancy sports car but that doesn’t mean I want to know how they fix them. It was a cold morning and all I could think about is “do you think they have heat in the garage?”

But I couldn’t find any excuse (believe me I tried) to get out of the excursion so I went along. And actually enjoyed the tour!

Here’s the place. If you take regular trips to Spring Hill down 19, you’ve probably drove right by it without even noticing the building.

First we saw two examples of the seven generations of the Corvette.

Dave and Shannon Rodriguez started West Coast Classic in 2006. It’s a family business with daughter Sabrina also working in the office. Shannon welcomed us when our car club arrived then began the tour in the office. She then moved out to the garage where her husband Dave joined her. They both spoke passionately about the business and restoring cars the right way. Their projects have been featured in many car magazines plus they have been approached about doing reality TV. The Rodriguez’s have declined the TV show because the producers just want to see arguments. And “That’s no way to run a business”. I was very impressed with this young couple.

The Rodrigues's

Several of the employees explained what part they played in restoring the vehicles.

West Coast Classic — 1955 Buick Special, one of the current projects.

49 Chevy PU — And a 1949 Chevy Pickup, one of their past projects.

It was a very interesting tour. They not only do restorations but also do regular automobile maintenance. If you want to learn more about West Coast Classic, check out their website.