Dancing with Neptune

Todays adventure took us across the causeway to Sanibel and Captiva Islands. It was a beautiful day for walking on the beach and looking for shells. With my tennis shoes on I walked the water line in search of that perfect sea shell, taking care not to let the waves cover my shoes, what I call dancing with Neptune, back and forth, on toes now and heels occasionally and when caught by surprised a quick step sideways. After an hour or two of shelling, one finds it difficult standing up straight (that is if you are over 50) also known as the Sanibel stoop.

I remembered larger quantities of shells, but it's possible that it's Marco island I remember. Either way, we had a wonderful day on some great beaches. At the far south end of Sanibel sits the lighthouse. Next to the lighthouse sits an Osprey nest with two attending birds. We were lucking to see both birds return with fish. Apparently there are no eggs in the nest yet.

Oscar Scherer State Park V.S. Hillsborough SP, the winner is...

Both Gary and I agree that we really loved Hillsborough and it was probably one of our favorites in FL so far. Great hiking trails, wildlife everywhere and a beautiful river runs through the park. Oscar Scherer is nice but the trails were not as nice, our site flooded when it rained yesterday and the river was more of a creek. But the location of Oscar Scherer is close to Siesta Key and Sarasota was great. As we drove home from our day of exploring the beaches we were witness to a spectacular sunset. Gary did his best to find a place to pull over for my photo but we were just past the best moment, still, a nice visual. We are now officially back in beach country and Crescent Beach on Siesta Key was beautiful. No swimming yet with waters in the mid 50's.

Hudson Beach to Hillsborough River State Park

Me made the move inland to a great state park, loaded with wildlife (baby alligators all over) and a beautiful walk in the woods. Last night we sat by the fire and listened to a calling match between 3 owls, directly over head. What a difference the weather is now from back home (in the single digits) as we slept with the windows open and listened to the tree frogs and crickets while going to sleep.

Lovely Florida

Weeki Wachee or Wacky Weirdness?

I believe if you look up the word Citchy, Weeki Wachee is some where in the definition. What is now a state park was once a big time attraction some 60 years ago. They tout themselves as an enchanted spring, city of live mermaids – the only one in the world (lets hope so). OK, that is a little harsh and the Mermaids are lovely, graceful and have incredible lungs (no that's not what I mean, they can hold there breath a long time) and if you are under the age of 8, the little mermaid show is fantastic. They perform in 16 to 20 week of bubbling water with a current strong enough to knock a divers mask off.

It's a little disturbing to think that they took this beautiful natural spring that produces 117 million gallons of clear 72-degree water each day and turned it into a side-show. But that said, it is also neat to see this days-gone-by park still in existence today. Sadly the grounds are in need of a lot of attention and as a state park, I'm sure funds are an issue, if not that, the inexperienced staff in restoration of this type is. They had an additional wild animal show. Well, actually, they had two snakes, a frog and a baby gator. The river ride was shut down because the boat was broken, the nature trail was closed for repair and the water park is closed for the winter. But no discount today folks. Still, I think I've found my next career.

One last note, the Peacocks are loose so if you eat your lunch here, make sure you bring a table cloth.