Manatee Springs

Things did not work out as we had planned for our brief stay at Manatee Springs.

After we got settled in our space on Monday afternoon, we took a walk over to the Springs area of the park. It was not far and a trail led from the campground right there.

Even though it was only about fifty miles north of Silver Springs it was quite a bit colder. I guess the edge of the cold storm front that was pummeling the Northeast was affecting the area. There were very few people at the springs area and the concession and boat rental counter was closed. 

We noticed this bird on a dock at the edge of the springs. We also noticed what looked like an upwelling of water, and Craig thought it was the action of a spring, but then two divers emerged. It was a surprise! 

It seemed to me the water was not as clear and shallow as it was at Silver Springs. In fact it looked black except for a few places where the springs were pumping out a steady flow of fresh water.

The channel the water takes from the spring to the river is called its "run".

There was a nice boardwalk that paralleled the run with trees standing in the water on one side, and a view of the run on the other. 

The water looked very dark, almost opaque.  It also looked like there was a bit of current running. I was surprised at how short it was, and how quickly it reached the Suwannee River. The river itself was also very dark, and I decided I did not want to try canoeing there. When we canoed at Wekiwa we stayed in the run and it was quite long and had almost no current. 

Craig may have been a little disappointed, but accepted my reluctance.  We will canoe again, just not here. 

Scary river

When we were standing at the lookout platform at the end of the boardwalk, we noticed hundreds of vultures in the sky.

They were also roosting in the trees along the river's edge.

Waiting for a canoe to tip over?

On Tuesday we decided to take our trip down to Weeki Wachee Springs to see the mermaid show. But we didn't quite make it.

A few days before we had the tires rotated on the Jeep at a dealership in Orlando. As we drove toward Weeki Wachee we began hearing a road noise. It kept getting louder and Craig pulled up to a Tire King store in Crystal River. All four tires looked good. 

While we were waiting for a Craig checked his phone and discovered there was a Jeep dealership a few miles away so we went there instead.

We drove there with the noise getting worse by the block!

The dealership mechanic said we were lucky to have made it, because the wheel was about to fall off.  It seems the guy who rotated the tires did not tighten the lug nuts on one tire, and thus the problem. 

Oh My!

We felt lucky we had not had an accident, and the fix was an easy one.  It did cost over $200, but I talked with the Orlando dealership service manager, and expect a full reimbursement check ASAP!

By the time we were back on the road it was too late to get to a show and we returned to the campground.

On Wednesday, we took another stab at it. This time we had a nice drive, but as we pulled into the Mermaid Show's parking area there were people coming out and leaving. We were told there was some sort of "technical problem" so the shows had been canceled for the day.  

We did have a really great lunch though at a funny little roadside
place called Becky Jacks. I had a fantastic fish sandwich, and Craig had some fish tacos. The portions were so large that we skipped dinner that evening because we were both still full.

We have often found very interesting food by using Google on our Android phone. Technology makes travel so much easier than it was years ago. 

If we were on vacation, these things might have seemed to spoil our time, but I think as I remember these days I will feel the luck in not losing a wheel and the pleasure of finding a great meal in a crazy little place.

Life is good. Enjoy what you can.

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?