Anclote Key State Park is only accessed by a boat. You can take your own personal boat or you can hop on a ferry that will take you out there. Since I do not have a personal boat, the ferry was my only option. I consulted the internet to find out where I would need to go to catch that and I was directed to Spongeorama’s Cruise Lines which left from Tarpon Springs.
I was born in Orlando and only lived outside of Florida for a year and a half of my life and up to that point I had never heard of Tarpon Springs. When I arrived into town I was tickled. It was such an adorable place. I went straight for the ferry so I could make sure I secured my spot on the next tour to the key. I didn’t have much time so I grabbed a beer from a nearby bar and then hopped on the ferry, setting off for my exciting adventure.
The boat ride out and back to the key was the longest part of the trip. The ferry took us to the north side of Anclote Key, tied up and let us roam around. I would have never guessed we were on a state park. It just looked like a very large sandbar. There were private boats as far as you could see and people enjoying the water – swimming, sitting in chairs, playing catch, and walking along – like I was. As I was walking I started to see all of these interesting things floating in the water. They were sponges. It was not until that moment that I realized where sponges came from. I honestly thought sponges were fabricated things, I did not know they came from the ocean. I was in awe. They were everywhere. I did not take any home with me, I only snapped pictures. I had no idea if they were living things or if you just took them home, rinsed them out, and then used them for bathing, so I just admired them from a far.
Not long after we arrived it was time to go. The sky was turning a dark grey and the tide was changing. We had a nice ride back to Tarpon Springs. I spent about and hour there, looking in the shops, and getting the lay of the land. I had a lot of fun and actually learned a whole bunch of new things. The day was a great success.
