Gasparilla

Where the spine of Florida, the Ridge District, begins its gentle slope westward to the Gulf of Mexico there lies a town at the head of a beautiful bay, unlike any other town in Florida. This is Tampa, named by the Caloosa Indians long before the advent of the Spanish Conquistadors. This is Tampa which has been occupied in turn by Spanish treasure seekers, missionaries, pirates, U. S. troops garrisoned here during the Seminole Indian Wars, a French Count who was the head surgeon of Napoleon’s Navy, pioneers from southern states, pioneers from northern states, Union troops, Confederate troops, Cuban cigar makers from Key West, troops in the Spanish-American War, Tin Can tourists, wealthy tourists, real estate speculators, Air Corps personnel in World War II, and last of all an influx of permanent residents who have made this the fastest growing area in Florida. Tampa is the hub of the region industrially, but more important for our purposes it’s the hub of good food. Great cattle enterprises lie to the south and east, 22 miles down the coast of Tampa Bay is the farming community of Ruskin known as the salad bowl of the nation, across the bay to the west are the Gulf Beaches where seafood is king, all the area is citrus country at any point of the compass, and 28 miles northwest there is a Greek community called Tarpon Springs where the customs, the language, and the recipes are straight from the isles of the Aegean. The natives of this little town came to Tarpon Springs many years ago from Greece to harvest the sponges which are found in the Gulf of Mexico. Curio shops line the docks on the Anclote River where the sponge fleet ties up, but the Greek food affords the visitor’s greatest enjoyment. In a dining room and lounge decorated with Grecian war masks, maps of the world as Homer knew it, models of ancient Greek warships, and the hull of a primitive sponge boat, one may feast on Greek salad which is fashioned as carefully as a mosaic and just as beautiful to behold. This alone would be worth the trip, but you may also have lamb prepared in strange and delicious ways, scarlet stone crab claws, the meat of which is too delicate to describe, or your choice of seafood, followed by honey-and-almond confections. Tampans can and do find a wonderful meal in any direction. All the good restaurants serve succulent steaks, there are several fine Chinese restaurants, there is even a good French restaurant west across Tampa Bay. The notion that all Florida is palm trees, sand, and bathing beauties is false. So is the idea of Florida as a vast interior of sleepy cracker towns with pigs and chickens running the roads, or a steady diet of greasy fried chicken with blackened string beans. Florida is sun and sand, yes, but it is also cool lakes, ancient oaks, and lacy cypress trees, big cities, beautiful farms, and citrus groves covering rolling hills like tufted bedspreads. Florida is lush ranchland, crystal springs, dogwood and maple trees, people from everywhere and all walks of life who came to see, got sand in their shoes, and had to return. Tampa is a composite of all of it. It’s a bountiful land. We wish all could see for themselves. But if that is impossible, then we in our small way, will try to bring it to you. The food of a land tells the life of its people, and we would like to share our good life with everyone. Here is our offering. May it bring you pleasure as we have known it.

This is a story of a small island off the southwest coast of Florida, on the shores of Gasparilla Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, with its varied plant life among numerous types of land and sea birds. The other residents are local Florida crackers, snowbirds from the North, and holidaymakers looking for sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of modernday living. The lucky ones who set foot on this boat-only-access island will have a sense of tranquility and well-being that is the result of being totally free from modern-day encumbrances and surrounded by the sounds of nature. The main characters are Nikki, Lloyd, and George and how they found a contingent of new friends on a small spit of land called Little Gasparilla Island, fondly referred to as LGI Prologue This islands namesake is Juan Gomez Gasparillaor, as hes known today throughout the west coast of Florida, Jose Gaspar. Some think of Gaspar as folklore, while others say he is just a myth. A few locals have stories handed down by ancestors through the ages and say the proof is probably in the United States naval archives, since the pirates were hunted down by the USS Enterprise in the early 1800s. They all were either killed or put on trial in New Orleans and subsequently hung, all except for Jose Gaspar. He was alleged to be sixty-five years old and on his last campaign before dividing up the spoils among his cohorts. Rather than get caught, he wrapped himself in the anchors chain and rope then jumped into the dark blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico to end his life; that was his only way to escape the hangmans noose. It is believed that Gaspar and his band of thieves and murderers had their haven around Charlotte Harbor. The barrier islands, such as Gasparilla and Little Gasparilla, would have been excellent cover where they could evade and lie in wait behind tall sand dunes or mangroves, searching the Gulf waters for European vessels sailing within sight, carrying gold, silver, and jewels collected from the Americas to take back to their kings and queens or other financiers. Rumor has it that the pirates would slaughter everyone on board the captured ships except for the attractive ladies, who would become concubines of Jose Gaspar. He was a noted womanizer when he was assigned to the court of Charles III as a naval attach at the age of twenty-seven. He jilted the daughter-in-law of the king for another woman of the court and was about to be arrested on trumped-up charges of treason when he commandeered a Spanish ship, called the Florida Blanca, and set sail with a hastily assembled volunteer crew for the Florida straits. Little Gasparilla had two passes barely navigable for a sailing ship, but not for a man-of-war ship. The much larger pass into Gasparilla Sound was on the south end of Big Gasparilla through the Boca Grande Pass, with its two rivers emptying into the Gulf, flowing through Charlotte Harbor. This proved to be ideal for the crew to hide and pounce on unsuspecting heavily laden sailing ships heading north. Legend has the number of conquered vessels by Gaspar to be over four hundred. Back then, the amount of the bounty was reported to be in excess of thirty million Yankee dollars. Todays count would be in the billions, which would take scores of stolen chests to accommodate the spoils. No treasure of his to this day has ever been found. I have visited Little Gasparilla most winters for several months during the last seventeen years. On my many walks toward the state park on the north end of the island, I always look wishfully for doubloons washing ashore or a treasure chest sticking out of a tall sand dune while looking for sharks teeth. Besides the tangible treasures that may bein ones wildest dreams, could befound, there are other riches to discover while walking on the sand, be it purely spiritual or just a perfect seashell lying on the shore of Little Gasparilla Island, brought in by the gentle waves.

The beam of his flashlight bounces off the walls but does little to brighten the hidden room he just found. In the corner is a centuries-old desk. His heart hammering, he walks over to it and opens the top drawer. What he finds inside will change his future—and the world’s—forever. For centuries, the existence of Spanish pirate José Gaspar has been relegated to legend, but archaeologist and adventurer Matthew Connor and his two best friends may have just found reason to believe the buccaneer truly existed. They’re in Washington, DC, to mark the opening of an exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History when a mysterious stranger turns up claiming he may hold the key to the mythical pirate’s treasure and invites them to join in his quest to find it. Rumored to have sailed and plundered the Gulf of Mexico and the Spanish Main during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Gaspar would have amassed a vast fortune. But with only the stranger’s word and a token of proof, Matthew is intrigued but not sold—until it becomes personal. There’s an interested third party, and they’re willing to kill for the pirate’s bounty. What ensues is a globe-trotting adventure that will take Matthew and his friends across the world and back again. Danger lurks around every corner as does betrayal, suspicion, and murder. Can anyone be trusted, and will they survive long enough to find out?

Climb aboard Marty and Emily's coach for a fascinating ride along the eastern seaboard. Along the way you will visit historical sites, major cities and camp under the stars from Florida to Maine. As a passenger you will be involved in the tracking and spying of Jack Swartz, a white collar criminal who our client is anxious to have apprehended and their funds recovered. Help my team member 'Hamhock' hack into the credit card database account, bug their cell phone and keep track of the offshore account all from the comfort of his den. Enjoy the resturants and tour the battlefields of America's past while reliving yesteryear, all the while hasseling the traffic and catching subways in the name of fun. What a ride!

"An adult tale of pirates, treasure, women prisoners and the Florida West Coast Islands."--Cover.