My friends and neighbors and I had been planning for months our big boat trip to view the Epiphany Celebration this year. We had done this 2 years ago and had planned for it last year, except the weather was so cold it (the boat trip, not Epiphany) was called off. Of course we have had beautiful weather this year up to yesterday, when suddenly the forecast was for rain, cold and wind.
The storm began in the early wee hours and when I got up at 6:30 a.m. to make my brunch casserole it was dark, windy, and totally yucky. The plan that morning was changed to take the food to our hosts' house and we'd see what the weather was going to do (instead of serving brunch on the boat as planned). So I made my (delicious, it turned out) potato casserole and took it over at 10:30. By that time Mother Nature had decided to be a good lady, and she brought out the sun for us. After delicious Bloody Marys, we dined on Quiche, Potato Casserole, Fruit Salad and baked goodies - then we quickly drove our cars over to the marina just before the police closed off Canal Street.
On the boat ride out to Spring Bayou we encountered pelicans and gulls, of course, and other boats trying to beat us to our site. Our pilot and co-pilot maneuvered the unweidly boat into an available spot and we managed to tie up to a couple of other boats that were there before us. Unluckily for me, with my photo fixation, the boats and thoughtless people in front of us who were standing on platforms on their boats, were pretty much blocking my photographic view. Speaking of the thoughtless people in front of us, I would probably have done the same thing if we had gotten that spot. That said, I still managed to get off some decent, if not noteworthy, shots (shown below. I have given up on trying to incorporate photos in with text - if you've seen my previous blogs you'll know why.)
My son, Tom Hill, is on the Tarpon Springs Police Department's dive team, and he was in the water in dive gear, protecting the young divers. He is shown in one of the photos above in his dive mask. We were too far out for him to swim over and visit with us.
After the diver had come up holding the cross, there were 105 white doves released to commerate the 105 years of Epiphany celebrations.
The day ended up being beautiful, but the ride back was cold and very windy. I'm just glad I had the sense to bring a heavy jacket. The photos above tell the story of our day. Epiphany is a beautiful celebration and always draws a huge crowd. The best place to view it is from a boat (if you can snag a good spot). Otherwise, come at dawn and establish your favorite spot in a chair with a blanket and good book. Then afterwards, go eat lunch at Zante's.
