Monday, February 2, 2015

Three More Days at Silver Springs

The cool mornings here quickly turn into perfect walking weather by late morning. On Thursday we did a nice four and a half mile walk through the park. I am really going to miss these beautiful shade trees as we move West. I know we wouldn't want to be here in summer, but we really understand why so many Snowbirds flock to this state every winter.  We will be back!



Sue, of MoHo Travels, commented "Don't miss Micanopy!!"
So of course we had to look it up and found out it was a very small town about thirty miles north. We are always looking for new things to see, so it became our Saturday adventure.



It felt like a step backwards in time. Wonderful huge old oaks and interesting historic houses. This one was for sale. It has five bedrooms, more than 4000 square feet, four fireplaces, a large landscaped lot, and many renovations the were done in keeping with landmark requirements. Price? $450K. All I could think was about how much work it would be to keep it up. Not something we would want to do again!

We walked around town and wandered into some antique shops. I am not a collector, but sometimes it is interesting to just look. There are a lot of really pretty antiques. I saw a few that reminded me of my grandmother's things. 



This Coca-Cola sign is perfectly preserved on the side of the old warehouse building that housed the Micanopy museum. I like the way the small towns of America have preserved bits and pieces of their past. We often stop at them if for no other reason than to support the histororic societies and remember how people made a good life with far less stuff than we have in our time.

We wanted to go canoeing on Sunday, but when we went over to the canoe rental area at noon, all of the canoes were out. It was a beautiful day to be on the river. I looked at the two-man kayaks, but decided I did not want to stress my back by sitting with my legs out. We could have gone back again later, but instead decided to take a look at the museum over in our section of the park. It was a pretty good one.  Then we just relaxed at the coach for the rest of the afternoon, and watched the Superbowl when it came on.

Monday we drive about sixty miles to our last planned Florida state park, Manatee Springs. Our stay there will only be four nights. We will try to make the most of it, and get in one more day canoeing if it doesn't rain. 

We also want to go  to WeekiWachee Springs to see the mermaid show.  It is another of those old roadside attractions that were part of the Florida experience years ago. Actually it looks like fun in a hokie sort of way.

Has anyone been there?

8 comments:

  1. Never been to Florida, so I can't help you there..hope you enjoy the rest of your stay!

    ReplyDelete
  2. That old home looks beautiful, but I'm with you - I'd not want that much maintenance! There is already too much on our maintenance free home :-o

    ReplyDelete
  3. Never done the Weekiwachee thing, but have heard that as you said, it is delightful in a hokey sort of way, like old Florida. Now Manatee Springs, that is another story. One of my favorite places. We camped there last spring. Bel and I used to visit and I always wanted to camp there and finally made it. Mo and I kayaked on the Suwannee River from there as well, but probably not good for a canoe unless you don't mind the current. I should have told you about that little cafe that makes homemade chicken dumpling soup and has red naugahyde chairs and aluminum tables. A favorite in Micanopy. Have fun at Manatee.!! Hope it is sunny so you get the full benefit of that magnificent turquoise water.

    ReplyDelete
  4. We've kayaked on the Week wachee many times but never been to the mermaid show! Its one of the top three most beautiful rivers in Florida.

    So can you pronounce Micanopy?? If you want to visit a beautiful historic city with gorgeous old homes, check out Thomasville Georgia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Of course, anyone can pronounce Micanopy. "Mi" as in "Mickey" and "canopy" as in canopy. We won't get back to Georgia on this swing, we're going west via the FL panhandle.

      Delete
  5. Sometimes those old hokie attractions are the best :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yep enjoying your pictures, makes us feel warmer already.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That's a great picture of Craig and that HUGE tree. Glad to hear you are having such a wonderful time.

    ReplyDelete

Leave a comment, or send an email.