Sunday, December 04, 2005
Real Florida
Addendum: (to Mickey Florida, 12/1)
On the after dinner visit to the Grand Floridian hotel—we find carolers, Christmas trees, a huge Gingerbread house AND lots of little princesses dancing around. Even Cinderella was there to pose with the little princesses. I wonder where they will find little princes. If you are going to Disney World, I think the way to go is to spend the bucks to stay in a Disney Hotel and ride the monorail to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot and all.
Manatee Springs (12/3)
The Real Florida is the motto of the Florida State Parks. We drove to Manatee Springs State Park where we are stayed for cheap. I met people who saw a manatee but I did not. I did see LOTS of vultures—they cluster in the trees like our cormorants at home. I saw some cormorants here too. I even saw an ARMADILLO (and it’s not even Texas yet). The springs bubble out of the ground into a huge pool which flows into the Suwannee River.
We drove up to the tiny town of Trenton where there is an awesome fabric store in an old coke bottling plant. Later we rode bikes on a rail trail from Chiefland to Fanning Springs. It’s cold in the morning here but afternoons are glorious. Diesel is more expensive in Florida—we paid $2.59 today.
Cedar Keys (12/4)
We have found a little bit of paradise off the beaten path and would linger here if the cost was a little more reasonable. (This is not a 3 pools resort) Drove all of 30 miles today—after a morning walk in the park. Arrived on Cedar Key around noon, had lunch, and hopped on the bikes. There is an “old town” historical main street and a touristy waterfront with lots of restaurants and condos. Enjoyed some nice biking and a state park museum. Kit wants to go out to dinner but we are in a perfect spot to watch the sun set over the water.
On the after dinner visit to the Grand Floridian hotel—we find carolers, Christmas trees, a huge Gingerbread house AND lots of little princesses dancing around. Even Cinderella was there to pose with the little princesses. I wonder where they will find little princes. If you are going to Disney World, I think the way to go is to spend the bucks to stay in a Disney Hotel and ride the monorail to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot and all.
Manatee Springs (12/3)
The Real Florida is the motto of the Florida State Parks. We drove to Manatee Springs State Park where we are stayed for cheap. I met people who saw a manatee but I did not. I did see LOTS of vultures—they cluster in the trees like our cormorants at home. I saw some cormorants here too. I even saw an ARMADILLO (and it’s not even Texas yet). The springs bubble out of the ground into a huge pool which flows into the Suwannee River.
We drove up to the tiny town of Trenton where there is an awesome fabric store in an old coke bottling plant. Later we rode bikes on a rail trail from Chiefland to Fanning Springs. It’s cold in the morning here but afternoons are glorious. Diesel is more expensive in Florida—we paid $2.59 today.
Cedar Keys (12/4)
We have found a little bit of paradise off the beaten path and would linger here if the cost was a little more reasonable. (This is not a 3 pools resort) Drove all of 30 miles today—after a morning walk in the park. Arrived on Cedar Key around noon, had lunch, and hopped on the bikes. There is an “old town” historical main street and a touristy waterfront with lots of restaurants and condos. Enjoyed some nice biking and a state park museum. Kit wants to go out to dinner but we are in a perfect spot to watch the sun set over the water.
# posted by Carol Harma @ 1:42 PM 
