The Manatees and Blue Spring State Park, January 31, 2009

The first bit of real fun we had with my parents started out on a cool winter morning--the perfect time to go manatee watching. The problem was--that it wasn't gonna happen on Friday (Rod's first day off) but on Saturday (his second day off). Which meant we were going to hit some crowds at the park in Orange City, FL, Blue Springs State Park. Just how big a crowd was a surprise to all of us.

We lucked out before leaving--they had spots for us on the St. John's River Cruise at 1 p.m.--a two hour boat trip that would be a good wildlife viewing thing for Rod with his cameras and lots of fun for the rest of us. We left Orlando with plenty of time--we thought!

We stopped for a quick bite before turning off to the park entrance. I thought we would have plenty of time. BUT, once we turned off on the road to the park, about a mile down it we hit backed up traffic. Apparently the park had reached capacity and you could only get in when another vehicle left. We had 30 minutes to make the boat! Eekkkkk!!

I shot a couple photos while waiting in line, thinking it would be the only site seeing we got in, but, about 1 p.m. we made it into the park, to an open parking spot...but unfortunately too late for the 1 p.m. boat trip. Which as it turned out we would not miss too much.

Blue Springs has a great boardwalk the length of the Springs with several viewing platforms for the multitudes of tourists. We started out on the end that empties into the St. Johns River, and slowly made our way past the educational exhibits to the "boil" of the Springs that puts out over 100 million gallons of crystal clear water every day. It is quite beautiful along the path and Rod and I both got several great pictures of the area. My Dad even walked the whole way without any trouble!

The "Boil" of the Springs


The log-looking things are the manatees underwater!

We saw a ton of manatees sunning in the 72 degree water. These are West Indian manatees. We even saw an adult with three youngsters heading out of the Springs into the St Johns River...oh, I hope no boat props got them!!! We saw lots of big and BIGGER fish in the Springs too...mostly gar and big catfish. But I am no expert, so don't quote me!