West Coast Florida, Revisited

We had an opportunity to visit with some fine folks in Naples, Florida, so this set the route back up the west coast rather than going up the eastern seaboard. We spent one night before Naples back in Everglades National Park, but in a different area (it’s a huge park), and a new campground – Long Pine Key Campground.

It was a short stop over, but a really pretty spot, and we had a nice evening before heading out and west to Naples. We got to drive through the park and Big Cypress one last time. On the way, we stopped to drop some mail off at a tiny little post office in Big Cypress.

The novelty was enhanced by the pieces of mail we were sending home to the kids. When we were in Key West, Robin had told us about the sea grape leaves and how because they were pliable and didn’t crack and dry out, you could (or used to be able to) put a stamp on them and mail them, like a postcard. Or as Will called it, a postleaf.

So John found a couple while we were in Key West, and when we stopped in Long Pine Key, he wrote an important message to each of the kids, and we addressed them and stamped them, and dropped them off at the little post office on the way.

I took photos of them, cause I wasn’t sure they’d arrive intact. As it turns out, they made it fairly unscathed, to Napa & Redwood City, and I’m dying to know what each person that handled them thought of a) the postleaf, and b) the message on the back. Needless to say, we’re still waiting for money…..

When we got to Naples, we entered into a world that we had so far not experienced – a gated community. The folks we were visiting are in-laws of in-laws, and we’d met them at a family wedding last year. Through the kids, we were put into contact with them, as they are wintering down in Florida (snowbirds), and we were so lucky to get to spend time with them. This was also the first time on this whole trip that we’d stayed overnight in a place other than our RV. What a treat!

Laundry, showers, fun conversations, lunch and dinner out and even some live music at a club they knew about, called the Dogtooth. It looked like a total biker bar from the outside, and when we got in, it still looked like a biker bar, but it was full of folks older than us. They were all out for a Tuesday night on the town in Florida, and the music was really good! We had a blast!

Our rig fit right into their driveway, so we didn’t break any HOA rules. As we said our goodbyes in the morning, we were sent away with a specially packed lunch, and a much enjoyed and appreciated rest. Thanks, Mary & Chip!

The next stop was an overnight at a small RV park in a place called Weeki Wachee (aren’t the names amazing?). We had been told about some springs that were the centerpiece for a state park that featured mermaids, so you know we had to go check that out. We arrived too late in the day for a peek, so we checked into our park and had a nice relaxing night before heading out in the morning to the mermaids.

As it turns out, this was an interesting little place, with some educational rangers talking about wildlife, a boat ride on the river that the springs are in and around, and of course, the mermaids! You think I’m kidding?

We had no idea what to expect, but there was an underwater theater, that sat probably 100 people and looked at a glass wall behind which the mermaids performed a sort of musical (we saw Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid – who knew he was the author of that one???).

The guy who built the attraction in 1947 carved out limestone to create the underground theater which looks at a natural pool fed by the springs, and which is so deep in parts that the lowest point of the pool hasn’t ever been measured. Weeki Wachee is actually a Seminole name for “little spring”. The spring is connected to the river, and fish swim around in the pool along with the mermaids, which makes for an interesting contrast. The mermaids (because they’re not really underwater creatures and still need to breathe) have tubes or breathing hoses that they can get air from while they’re doing their performances about 16-20 feet under the surface of the water.

More than 100 million gallons of fresh water bubble up from the springs every day. It’s crystal clear, and quite impressive. The state of Florida purchased the attraction and property about 12 years ago, and it was kind of a funny place to imagine as a state park, but there it was.

Moving on from mermaids, we traveled back up to Fanning Springs, one of the state parks we visited on our way down, and since we were inspired by mermaids, we decided to stop and test the spring fed waters at Fanning. There is a roped off swimming area, roped so people won’t swim out into the Suwannee River, not to keep gators and manatees out of the springs. It’s clear and pretty, but it was a little cool for me, so I documented John’s swim by taking photos from different vantage points and making sure there weren’t any gators swimming with him….

Final stop this day was our old haunt, the Tallahassee Elks Lodge, cause you know, this was Thursday night and there’s a weekly pool tournament at 6 pm. While I chatted with old friends (from 3 weeks ago) and made new friends, John played not one of his best games, but gets a pass because it’s been weeks since he’s played at all.