Aunt Lois is on her way to the Sponge Docks at 830, so I am too. I park by Rusty Bellies, and she’s in the fenced-in parking lot for Hellas Restaurant. We start the morning with her buying a new dress from a gift shop, and then we wander into Fatty’s and talk about the owner’s dog, who the place is named after. Terry and Karley have yet to spend any time near Tarpon Springs, so they meet us for coffee and sweets at Hellas.

I try my first Freddo cappuccino (a strong iced espresso with sugar and frothed milk) and share a chocolate baklava cheesecake with my aunt. After brunch, it is time for more shopping, so the four of us walk through the Olive Oil Co, Jerky Emporium, The Spice and Tea Exchange, and part ways after Susan’s Flags & More. We’ll look at shoes while they walk back to their car so they can have a proper lunch at home while we make a reservation at Hellas.

While we wait the 30-45 minutes, we stroll over to Wine At The Docks and add our home pins to their visitors’ map. I get the text, and soon we are seated with a waiter who likes to tell jokes. The restaurant serves two-for-one deals of tea and water, at least during rush hour, which I think other eateries should take note of. After packing down our gullets, a plate of Greek salad and a gyro each, we need to trudge off some calories.

We take her car to Craig Park and watch the manatees frolic before walking down Tarpon Ave. We peruse a shop or two before we decide to find a new parking spot back at the Sponge Docks. Aunt Lois surprises me with a pair of turquoise turtle earrings, to remember her by, which I definitely will. Having moseyed for a few hours, it’s time for dessert for dinner, and Sweeties is on the menu. I chose scoops of coffee cookies & cream and blueberry cheesecake.

Our stomachs agree that we should have chosen one flavor, so it’s back to the sidewalk for more exploration and digestion. I take her to see the sponge in the shape of an alligator’s head, and she gets a turtle tracking bracelet, in keeping with our theme. I escort her back to her car to get my sauce sampler and she drops me at mine. We say our goodbyes as she’ll go back to Kansas tomorrow. I go to Capt’n Jack’s, where Fallon and Marie (her friend visiting from Temecula) are finishing their dinner.

We finish the night with three hours at Johnny’s Taphouse, where I try a peach drink while we talk about our men (theirs are both back in California) and taking a couples’ cruise in the future. I listen to a girl in the bathroom with a wet foot in her croc talk about athlete’s foot and gangrene. I can only think of the movie Idiocracy, which was delayed two years before release, surprisingly around the same time the shoes became popular.