Tarpon Springs, a full stomach, and a lunch date.

Had lunch on Tuesday with the third man in my life. Get yer minds out of the gutter, I'm talking about my son. I know I don't talk about him a lot, but in all honesty, I'm very privacy-conscious when it comes to him. (Not to mention safety-conscious.) He's going to be 18 in a couple of months, and last Saturday, he completed his Eagle Scout project. (Yay!) Now he just has to do the paperwork and get it all approved.

So for a celebration, I took him to Tarpon Springs for lunch on Tuesday, to our favorite restaurant, Plaka. Yes, the same Plaka Restaurant I've mentioned in several of my books. LOL It's been there since I was a kid, and I can't begin to tell you how many meals I've enjoyed there over the years.

I know the interior might not look like much to you, but one of the things I love about it is that it's remained nearly unchanged in all these years. It's a comfort to someone Sheldonesque like me who is change-averse in some ways. My son's picture is even on the wall when you first go in, along with lots of pictures of other regulars. So yes, going there is a family tradition.

If you ever get a chance to eat there, GO. Start with an order of saganaki (OPA!) and then where you go from there is up to you. I nearly always get a gyro (pronounced YEE-row, NOT "jyro") because they make their own meat mixture there.

Let me repeat that--they MAKE THEIR OWN. It's not one of these food truck kind of gyros. It's GOOD.

Mmmmm saganaki!

Son got the gyro/souvlaki platter, which also came with a salad and fries. Needless to say, even though we both did a pretty good imitation of locusts, he needed a box to take some home. LOL

I got my usual gyro. As you can see, it's a freaking handful. LOL

And om nom nom, when we finally gave in, we had done a pretty decent job.

Then, it was time for part B of our usual family routine--dessert! We walk a couple of doors down to Hellas to their bakery and get dessert there.

This is only a fraction of their selections. A FRACTION, I say.

And yes, unfortunately, occupational hazard ahead. I ALWAYS giggle when I see the name of this dessert. I'm sorry, I can't help it. I...Just...Do.

You can see why. LOL

And, of course, despite a HUGE inventory from which to choose, we ended up, as usual, with our usuals. LOL

He gets a chocolate dessert (that's a mouse on the top) and I get rice pudding.

Tarpon Springs is a beautiful little town. I've used it as a setting in several of my books, including Safe Harbor. (I'm kicking myself in the butt I didn't get the picture of the fake shark at the Sponge Exchange that I mention in Pinch Me.)

Definitely take a day to come sightsee if you're ever in the area. Park at the gift shop across the street and a few doors down from Plaka ($3, pay inside) and enjoy the food, the shopping, the atmosphere. You won't regret it.