Weeki Wachie

Prior to Disney moving into Orlando, the biggest tourist attraction in Florida was the Weeki Wachie Mermaid Show. Near Crystal River, Florida, the mermaid show still goes on at the Weeki Wachie State Park. A state park like this I have never seen. Can you imagine someone asking your occupation and you reply, "I'm a mermaid at the state park."? Kitchy as all heck, the mermaid show was pure 1950's style entertainment. The show is given in a large natural spring which is open to the air. As an added bonus, fish swim by, a turtle, swam by, and a anhinga swam by during the show. The girls all had air hoses to suck in extra breaths as they swam and turned circles and danced in the water with their hair floating around their faces. A narrator commented as the girls pretended to talk to us. Kids and adults all loved the show. I am glad we stopped by. After the show we went on a 20 minute river cruise where we saw turtles, limpkins and anhingas.

 

Homosassa Springs

Homosassa Springs is more of a zoo than a preserve. Here is a whooping crane. They also have a hippo here.

This black crowned night heron does not belong to the zoo. It flew down from the sky and landed on the railing of the bridge we were crossing.

This is a wood stork.

 

This great horned owl is a rescue. This place has nice landscaping and a nice hike through the zoo.

Always a pleasure to see a flamingo.

Exploring Crystal River

After our morning swim with the manatees we went back to our campground to shower and eat lunch. Then we drove to Three Sisters Springs Nature Preserve. As we entered they said there were no manatees here today. Water temperatures in the gulf had warmed this week. Many manatees left for better eating in the gulf. We  listened to a park ranger talk about manatees. On the east coast of Florida pollution has increased  to the point where sea grass cannot get enough sunlight to grow. On the west coast the pollution is less of a concern and the manatee are thriving. As it turns out 2 recently returned to the wild manatees were still here hanging out with us tourists.

 

Manatees

 The day after we visited Plains, Georgia, we got up early to swim with the manatees at Crystal River, Florida. Our appointment was at 8 o'clock. We watched a training video that told us to remain calm. We were told not to touch the manatees but if they touched us it would be okay. We were also told that the manatees could hear our heart beats from 7 feet away. After donning wet suits we boarded  a boat and took off to where the manatees were hanging out. Our guide went swimming out a few times to find some. After 15 minutes were were invited out to swim with the manatees. We all had pool noodles under our arms as we swam on our stomachs and looked through out goggles for the sea cows. I was astounded when I first saw one tan body of a manatee. They are huge. Ranging from 1000 pounds on up they are taller than me and round like a potato. The tail is curved in the middle. The front end has a face that munches on the vegetation on the bottom all the time. Manatees prefer shallow water from 3 to 5 feet deep. So that means, if you are hovering over the top of a manatee watching it eat, you had better back peddle when that manatee decided now is the time to take a breath of air. My goggles leaked a little. By the time the water was deep enough to cover my nostrils I was ready to turn over on my back and empty the water out. We did this for two hours. Eventually the leader signaled us to go back to the boat. I followed. I was astonished to see most of the group was already on the boat and drinking hot cocoa. I was the last one out of the water. I wasn't cold while swimming but once on the boat I was so cold I shivered for the next hour. This was an amazing experience that I will never forget.

More From Plains

After a few days with no Wi-Fi, I am back online. This is outside a store in Plains, Georgia. We went into the store. A woman offered us a free sample of peanuts. Then she offered us a scoop of peanut ice cream. My traveling partner knew Jimmy Carter liked this ice cream. We were told that the store sent a quart over to his house a couple of weeks ago but that Jimmy isn't eating very much any more. They will consult with his health advisor before they send more.

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The train depot was his campaign headquarters because it was the only place in town with a bathroom and a telephone.

West of town by 3 miles is his boyhood home. I was surprised they let us walk right into his home. This is his bedroom.

 

Plains, Georgia

Yesterday we drove from Atlanta south and east to Plains, Georgia to pay our respects to former President James Carter. This is a picture of his high school which is now the Jimmy Carter National Park. I also have pictures of his campaign headquarters, his boyhood home, and his brother Billy's gas station (now closed). The Wi-Fi at this RV park is not working so I am using my phone as a mobile hotspot and uploading pictures is excruciatingly slow. More pictures to follow.

Botanical Garden

We visited the botanical garden here in Atlanta this afternoon. Rain fell steadily. We found a pair of peregrine falcons sitting in this tree. We were alerted to their presence by their cries. A few seconds after I took this picture the falcons mated. Well that is something you don't see every day.

Camellias were in bloom.

The garden has three works by Chuhuly, that famous glass artist. This is the first one we saw.

This is a red bud tree. It looks purple or lilac.

The garden has an indoor orchid show going on now. We saw tens of thousands of orchids in bloom. We even saw the orchid that makes vanilla beans.

Beautiful orchids.

This is a very nice garden.