Florida TwiTrip: day two – as it happened

It took about an hour and a half to drive from Venice down to its
fellow Italian-named town, Naples.

I'm staying at the Seashell motel on a tip from @RichardA - Richard
Adams - who, in the interest of transparency, is a Guardian but is
also a Real Person.

The main thing to note about the motel is its price - $89 before tax.
It's family run, and they still have actual keys to the room doors,
which I had started to forget was ever a thing.

I rushed out to dinner with photographer Steve, heading over to Sea
Salt on 3rd South Street in downtown Naples. It's quite a posh
neighbourhood - I parked infront of a Ferrari and behind a Range Rover
- but our food was very good. I had oysters, sampling all three types
that Sea Salt do - see the Vine in previous post - followed by crab
linguini, and both were excellent. Not cheap though. With tip, and a
couple of beers, it came to over $50

Tomorrow, the Everglades, and a drive along the Tamiami trail before
arriving in Miami for the evening. I'm hoping to see alligators. Any
other tips for the area would be great - I've heard you can ride bikes
but am also intrigued by air boats. I seem to remember David
Attenborough going on one, and I've packed khakis. That aside,a
breakfast spot in or around Naples would be splendid too. Send tips directly to me by pinging @AdamGabbatt on Twitter. 

Adam made the drive to Naples, where he's currently indulging in three different types of oysters at Sea Salt: 

Adam cools off in the sea toward the end of day two.

I still haven't found a shark tooth. But I've been chatting to a man
who introduced himself as "retired Mike", from Chicago. He's sat on
the pier that extends out from Sharky's on Venice beach, smoking a
cigar and apparently monitoring three fishing rods.

He hasn't caught anything today.

Retired Mike says he wouldn't swim in the water, though, because he
caught a four foot shark here once. And his mate, whose name I didn't
catch, says you can get stung by Stingrays - but it is highly possible
that they were winding me up.

At the end of the pier there's a hardcore fishing group who are trying
to catch sharks and other things. One man had what the group reckoned
was a kingfish - it was about three feet long but deceived him and
escaped as he reeled it in.

Some friendlier wildlife:

My grouper - "Cajun blackened" - was delicious. It came with tartare sauce, which was very good as well. 

We haven't found a shark's tooth yet. I came close but closer inspection revealed that my find was a bendy straw. 

I'm about to defy all medical advice and go for a dip, although worryingly from both the teeth that are rumoured to wash up on the beach, the Sharky's Facebook page and this video, it seems there may be sharks in the area: 

I've arrived at "Sharky's on the pier". It's a restaurant/bar about 15m from the beach. It also has a pier, hence the name, which extends 50m out into the Gulf and is a popular fishing spot - apparently grouper is among the things you can catch. 

This place was suggested by reader Marcia and by @Floridarambler on Twitter.

Sharky's is just south of Venice on the east coast, a nice drive from Tarpon Springs or St Petersburg which takes in the Skyway - a long combination of road and bridge that runs across the Tampa Harbor. 

I've ordered a grouper sandwich. Apparently it's the most popular thing on the menu and, crucially for the Guardian, is locally-sourced. It even comes with quinoa.

We're sat in a booth outside under a palm leaf canopy. 

Adam started his day with an eleventy-million-calorie breakfast at Biff-Burger, an old school diner in St Petersburg that likes to put a smile on people's faces and a notch on their belts.

Next stop: Tarpon Springs, only 28 miles to the north but a little taste of the Greek Islands in North America. He spent his time (and his money) at Spongeorama, which tells the history of sponge diving in the area.

Next stop: the beach at Fred Howard Park, where he mostly grabbed some rays.

Now he's off to Venice in search of shark's teeth on the beach - which are not as rare as hen's teeth. Apparently.

If you have any tips for Adam - not least somewhere to stay tonight that isn't his car or a Bates-style motel - feel free to tip him at @AdamGabbatt #roadtriptips

Adam has managed to wrench himself off from the beach and is now heading down to Venice ...

"Going to look for shark teeth on the beach"

Thanks to a tip from Marcia Douglas (again!) Good work Marcia.

Hey, there's plenty more alligator farms in Florida! lol Venice Beach has shark teeth you can pickup along the beach. Great restaurant there is "Sharkeys"! Used to be a big restaurant in St Pete called The Kapok Tree Inn, but it is not longer there.

Marcia Douglas30 April 2013 5:48pm

The beach at Fred Howard Park looks like a tough place to leave ...

Nice thought from Marcia Douglas - but we can't find the exact store. Marcia, if you're reading, can you supply a name? Just in case Adam wants to cool off after the beach?

One more thought, if you have time to go through Siesta Key (near St. Armands Circle), there's a gelato shop there, that was on one of Oprah's favorites list and the guys who run it, were fire fighters in NYC on 9/11/11. Interesting visit there and delicious gelato.

Marcia Douglas30 April 2013 5:58pm

Moving on from the sponges, Fred Howard Park is a sandbar that shoots out from the coast of Tarpon Springs. You can drive right out into the
Gulf of Mexico along a narrow, sloping blacktop road which plunges down
into the water on either side.

I'm here now snooping around and getting jealous of the people
launching jet skis and canoes from the side of the sloping road.

At its tip, the sandbar fans out like the letter T, with a beautiful
white sandy beach facing out to the west and palm trees galore.
Interestingly some people have decided to ignore the beach and are
sunbathing "on the side of the road" beside their cars.

Anyway, lovely spot.

Tonight we're heading toward Naples, ahead of driving the Tamiami Trail tomorrow - and hopefully seeing some alligators.

Any tips on where to stay would be great. Preferable a (non-Norman Bates-style) motel

View image in fullscreen

Touch down in Tarpon Springs.

Tarpon Springs is about 30 miles north of St Petersburg. It's named after the Atlantic Tarpon fish that can be seen off the coast here.

We mentioned below that the town has the highest Greek-American population of any town in the US. It certainly shows. Most of the restaurants are Greek, as is some of the music twanging out along Dodecanese Boulevard, the main drag through town.

Tarpon Springs had a boom period in the 1930s based around the sponge trade. If you're a sponge enthusiast, this place is a must. Almost every shop is a natural sponge shop, and boats run a variety of sponge diving trips.

The sponge boom, and the Greek flavour, is usually credited to John Cocoris, originally from Greece, who hired Greek sponge divers to come to Tarpon Springs and, well, dive for sponges. He recruited divers from the Dodecanese islands in particular – hence the boulevard name – and kickstarted a multimillion dollar industry. 

I'm at Spongeorama right now. It is a sponge-diving museum (free entry) on Dodecanese Boulevard, which is worth visiting for the circa 1960s sponge film they show alone. The film introduces man's quest for sponge in quite grandiose fashion.

"The treasure sought is a gift of the sea, taken for granted by most," a deep voice says as we watch grainy pictures of weather beaten sailors heading out to the ocean. 

"Since before the time of Christ, since before the time of Moses, since before the beginning of recorded history, man has sought and prized the natural sponge."

By the way, you have to sit through a sales pitch before seeing the film, or visiting the museum. It features a man in a red-striped shirt and moustache, whose name I missed, advising on "The Best Sponge For You".

"The yellow sponge is a really good all-purpose sponge," we learn. The flowerpot sponge is the best seller. "I think this pretty well sums up all you need to know about sponges," our man says.

Too many burger joints and not enough time. We know Adam enjoyed the Biff Burger experience this morning, but unfortunately there wasn't enough time to try another classic drive-in in St Petersburg, the Chattaway (22nd Ave S and 4th), which was recommended on yesterday's blog by dpierce:

Have lunch or dinner at The Chattaway on 22nd Ave S. Super cool garden, great atmosphere, best burgers in the area and super friendly and funky.

There's a nice blog post about the Chattaway here, with some more photos. The family-run establishment has been serving burgers to the hungry folk of St Petersburg for 90 years. We like the sound of its garden, with old bath tubs used as flower beds.

Looking ahead to Adam's next stop, Tarpon Springs, we found this fantastic 1960s footage of "Epiphany celebrations USA style!"

We also found a little explainer:

"Tarpon Springs is a small Greek community located on Florida's Gulf Coast. The city boasts the largest percentage of Greek Americans in the US with a population of 23,434, according to the 2010 census. Once known for its prosperous sponge diving and harvesting business, it's now a charming and popular tourist destination."

There's Dodecanese Blvd, and restaurants with names like Mr Souvlaki and Dimitri's on the Water, no doubt serving great Stifatho and baklava. But after his big breakfast, maybe you could recommend somewhere for Adam to swim like the boys in the video. @AdamGabbatt #roadtrips

Now heading off to Tarpon Springs, which comes highly recommended from readers on yesterday's blog. It's a 30-45 minute drive north from St Petersburg. I'm going to be seeking out Greek cuisine and sponges. More on that unusual combination later.

I'd love some tips of things to do there – possibly something active, given the 5,000 calories I've just taken on.

Just eaten breakfast at Biff. I had two eggs, two sausage gravy
biscuits, two pieces of bacon, grits, toast and jelly.

The sausage gravy in particular was a taste sensation. I don't
normally like biscuits (they're a bit like savoury scones), but these
were nice and soft, and don't appear to have given me heartburn yet.

It came to $6.15, with as much coffee as you can drink for an extra $1.50.

The biscuits and gravy are a Biff institution, Dottie said. She was slightly disappointed I didn't like the grits, which are kind of like porridge but often served with savoury accompaniments. Michael Phelps swears by them, I am confused by them.

"I like them with salt and pepper," Dottie said. "But then I'm a hillbilly, I was raised on these things."

At night she said their barbecue is most popular - that or the Biff burger, which the menu tells me costs just $1.15 and is dipped in a special Biff sauce.

While photographer Steve and I were eating, Dottie was buzzing around
serving diners, chirping out, "How you doing baby?" and other
pleasingly intimate greetings.

Troy Musser came and had a chat, too. He's the owner – the place has
been in his family since 1982. They have a "cruise in" every Friday
night, Troy says, where people drive their classic cars up to the
diner. Every first Friday Biff's gives out prizes for best sedan, best
Ford Lincoln, and lots of other categories. They've got a 28th-
anniversary car show coming up in May, where there's a big prize for
overall best cruiser. If you like classic American cars, this would be
very cool.

This home-made video explains the appeal of Biff-Burger (stick with it, despite the slightly weird narration).

Biff (Best in Fast Food) has also become a bit of beacon in the community, doing more than just flipping burgers. There's a ladies night with a cornhole tournament (basically toss the bean bag), Jammin' Jack Atkin's one-man band, a classic car night and bike nights at the weekend.

Biff-Burger was recommended on yesterday's blog by julianem.

It turns out Biff-Burger is a St Petersburg institution and one of the last relics of a failed franchise bid by the Biff owners in the 1960s.

Back then, buoyed by the success of this small drive-in diner, the
owners expanded across Florida and the rest of south-east US.
They sold the rights to 800 Biff burgers at $13,000 each, which
included built-in friers and rest rooms.

Sadly, the appeal of roadside diners declined, plus it appears the Biff
crew just weren't very well set up financially. Now only two Biff
burgers remain, and only one of those retains the once-sort-of-famous
Biff name: this one, at 3939 49th St North, in St Petersburg.

Dottie Bell, serving us, says she remembers coming here as a little
girl. "It was just that right there," she said, pointing to the
countertop behind plexiglass that greets diners as they walk in. It's
been expanded since then, with a series of booths with faux-wood seats
and alternate faded yellow and orange table tops. There are wicker
lampshades too and, at the side, a large open bar area. It's a popular
spot with bikers, although there's only a couple of hogs outside at
the moment. ("Best to go on Friday about 7pm for hotrod night," said julianem in his tip.)

Dottie has worked here for 10 years, but Biff has been open 48 in total.
Great start. I'm about to have a massive breakfast. More if I survive.

Good morning Florida! The good folks from wvum 90.5fm radio - the voice of the University of Miami - have set up the day nicely with their playlist for Florida, mixing everything from the mellow sounds of West Palm Beach band Surfer Blood - "the perfect soundtrack for driving to the beach" - to the Latin groove of the Spam Allstars. Drivers, start your engines. You can share your Sunshine State sounds via Spotify

This map shows Adam's route so far (in green) and roughly where he will be heading throughout the rest of the week, as he makes his way down to Key West. He's happy to make some detours if you have some good suggestions.

Morning! Today begins in St Petersburg, Florida. I'll be around St Pete and Clearwater this morning before heading south in the afternoon.

To begin with, tips for a slap-up breakfast in St Petersburg would be hugely appreciated. Something cholesterol-heavy, perhaps.

On yesterday's blog Marcia Douglas suggested Tarpon Springs would be a good place to visit, and I'll check that out this morning. I'm intrigued by what she described as Greek sponge divers.

Then I'll be looking for things to do as I head south along the west coast. I'm hoping to be in the Everglades at some point on Wednesday, but before that there's Venice, Fort Myers, Naples, and more. What should I go and see on the way south? Something active might be nice – help burn off the breakfast.

I'm also looking for tips once I get to the Everglades. Yesterday Muratnal suggested taking the Tamiami trail, which sounds great, but I would also quite like to go on an airboat if possible.

Last night ended with a curry in St Petersburg and a video recap of the day, featuring a gun, an alligator, and a woman's foot. Not as sinister as it sounds.