bein' in FL....

...was great. It was a beautiful, sunny, clear, warm, pleasant day. The goal of the trip was to go to Weeki Wachee to see the mermaids. I recently discovered it is no longer a private enterprise, but now a State Park. I think FL bought it from owners in 2008, and it is run by park rangers. I was surprised to discover there is one ticket purchase that covers practically everything there is to do in the park. So we did all we could squeeze in. Two underwater shows, plus a little voyage. A boat trip down the remarkably clear river for about thirty minutes. With narration, talk about the history of the spring and natural flora/fauna, that, as you would expect, includes snakes and a sighting of a small alligator.

There is a flock (not sure what the right word for a crowd of peacocks?) of peacocks and hens, that we were told were there when the state took ownership, so I guess you could say the fowl were all
grandfathered in. We could hear their call/cries through the wooded areas of pines, oaks and cypress. A very unusual, unique vocalization. Once you hear that, and identify the source, you never forget.
We saw several of the hens and one of the males, taking a dust bath out in a sunny area of lawn. Really amusing.

The mermaids were great. If you want details, or to sign up to be one, look for more info at Florida State Park website. They did two shows, possibly more in the summer months, with longer daylight hours. We saw one show that was more history of the attraction, about thirty minutes of mermaids swimming around in crystal clear 72 degree water (with constant chill bumps), and several scene-stealing water turtles paddling about. And the other show was an  interpretation of the Little Mermaid story, that was repeatedly attributed to Hans Christian Anderson, rather than the Disney enterprises. Including one merman, who was playing the part of the love interest/sailor.

The boat tour down the Weeki Wachee River was interesting and scenic. A glass bottomed-boat would have been really neat to see the bottom and fish, turtles, etc. But with narration by a parks employee, to tell us about the river, spring history and environment it was quite educational.

Leaving there mid-afternoon, we took a left turn, headed west towards the Gulf, and accidently found it. Unable to pass up the opportunity to stick our toes in the sand, we walked a bit along a beach, crowded with families and sight-seeing seniors. Took several detours just to see where the road would take us: into parks, picnic areas, boat-launching facilities, before heading north to get back to GA well after dark.

A beauty-full, pleasant day with one of my favorite people.