The Real Florida

Sorry that I didn't blog yesterday - we were exhausted by the time we got here to Apalachicola, and we just went to bed. Then this morning the alarm went off at 6; once before this happened to Tiffy and me, only it was 5, so you'd think I would remember to always check alarms in hotels. The one we are staying at is a charming bed and breakfast that is 112 years old, not a chain hotel like usual. (Forgot to mention that our hotel the night before, which was a Holiday Inn Express, had a wonderful heated outdoor pool.) Anyway, I couldn't get back to sleep, so I am blogging in the bathroom in order to not wake up Travalon, who just rolled over and dozed right off after the alarm clock debacle.

Travalon said he wanted to show me the real Florida, not the touristy part most people see. Our first stop yesterday was Homosassa Springs, where you either take a tram or a boat to the main part of the park. Unfortunately, because it was raining, the boats weren't running so we had to take the tram. Fortunately since it had been raining in Nassau when we first got off the boat, Norwegian Cruise Lines gave us cheap, commemorative rain ponchos, so we had those with us to use again yesterday. The rain didn't keep the animals away; the park has sort of a zoo full of rehabilitated local wildlife that can't be released back into the wild, and a hippo who was part of the exotic animal park when Homosassa Springs was privately owned. Now it is a Florida State Park. I really loved all the birds, but the coolest part was a viewing room under water, where you could see all the fish that gather at the natural spring, where the salt and fresh waters meet. And then they threw some lettuce into the water, and the three female manatees showed up. They are such cool animals!

Our next stop was Cedar Key, a small island in the Gulf of Mexico, where we had a delicious lunch of steamed clams and fried oysters, all locally caught. The restaurant, 86 West, is right on the water, and we watched pelicans flying around as we dined. I had wanted to get some Spanish moss to replace the stuff I got on the Gainesville campus last year, which according to my plant sitter Kathbert has finally completely died (I now know what I was doing wrong), but they had tons at the state park where you can't take it, and none on Cedar Key... until we passed the Catholic  church. So now I have Catholic Spanish moss!

Our third stop was Manatee Springs State Park. Unlike in Wisconsin, where we have a standard price for all the state parks, and an annual pass to get into any one an unlimited number of times, in Florida the pricing seems quite random, and this one was half the price of Homosassa Springs. It does boast a warm spring that keeps the water at a comfortable 72 F all year (but we didn't swim since the air was much cooler than that yesterday), and a long boardwalk over a mangrove swamp to the Suwannee River. You can sometimes see manatees there, but all we saw were a whole bunch of vultures gathered in one moss-covered tree. According to Travalon, who has been to this park several times, those vultures are always in that tree.

Here are a few pictures. First are some shots of Homsassa Springs.

sign at the entrance of the park

 spoonbills

 snowy egret

 flamingos

 fish as seen from the underwater "fishbowl"

 manatee as seen from underwater

 two manatees eating lettuce

Next are a photo of our view during lunch on Cedar Key, the mermaid image on the women's bathroom door at 86 West, and a shot down the street where it is located.

Finally, two shots from Manatee Springs: a view of the mangrove swamp, and one of the large trees covered in moss on the banks of the Suwannee River (but not the one full of vultures). (My cell phone couldn't zoom in enough, but Travalon got a shot of it that I will share at some point.)

Famous Hat