The Manatee Festival & Homosassa Springs State Wildlife ParkJan 17, 2007
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The beach at Crystal River
And now the view to the left!
Took this one on the boat ride at the Manatee Festival
| Saturday we went to the 20th annual Manatee Festival in Crystal River. It's basically a street fair with local artists, vendors, etc. They also had boat rides through Kings Bay, where they didn't guarantee you would see manatees, but they indicated it was pretty likely. We had beautiful weather for it, 75 and sunny, and yes, we did see manatees. First I saw one surface on my right side, just out of the water and back in so quickly I thought it might have been a dolphin. It's possible that it was a dolphin, since they do have those around too. Then the ship's captain (Cap'n Dan was his name, for you Forrest Gump fans) spotted one that drifted right underneath our airboat. I saw him come out the other side, and I couldn't believe how big he was! I was expecting something dolphin sized, but this was a whole lot bigger than that! They do get to be about 10 feet long, and up to 1000 pounds. Later we saw a baby, which was much closer to the size of a dolphin. I didn't even try to get pictures because I knew they wouldn't turn out. Then on Monday, our last day in Crystal River, we went to the Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park. It's the only Florida state park dedicated to the reclamation of wildlife back into the wild, as our park ranger explained. So while they have so many animals there that it may appear to be a zoo, it is definitely NOT. The animals they have there have all been injured and brought to the park to recover. (Except for some of the birds, who just fly in and stay because it's safe and they have plenty to eat!) They will be returned to the wild if it's safe for them to be; some of the manatees they have there are permanent residents, because of the nature of their injuries, like missing flippers that have been caught in boat motors, things like that. Anyway, as you can see I went a little crazy with the pictures, but there was so much to see. The manatees remind me of Buddhist monks in meditation, they are so still. We left Crystal River on Tuesday and are parked at a beautiful RV park in Venice until Thursday. The park is right on the Myakka River, with lots of shade, which is a good thing because we are definitely in southern Florida now. It's going to be in the 80s pretty much every day from here on out. Not to rub it in to those of you in the midwest who just suffered through another ice storm! Thursday we head to Naples for a week. That's a part of Florida we've always wanted to explore. The park where we're staying has a 9 hole golf course onsite, so Kevin is planning on playing there a few times. We also have some friends, Don and Linda LaBreyere, who have a winter home there, so we're planning on getting together with them and catch up on the news from home. Here's hoping you've all recovered from the winter weather wherever you happen to be, and that there'll be an early spring! |
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