We slept in, ran a few errands and had lunch at a waterfront sea food restaurant nearby. We had eaten there a couple of trips ago and had another great lunch on the patio under sunny skies and warm temperatures.
"A wondrous bird is the pelican - his beak can hold more than his belly can" - Ogden Nash
After lunch, we decided to visit the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park just down the road. We have wanted to visit the park every time we come through here but it has never worked out until now. It was well worth the trip.
The park is a rehabilitation center for orphaned and injured West Indian manatees, which reside in the freshwater spring while re-acclimating to a natural environment.
The centerpiece of the park is a first-magnitude freshwater spring which produces millions of gallons of fresh, crystal clear water every hour. The spring outflow creates the Homosassa River that flows into the Gulf of Mexico, about 9 miles away. There all also a large number of saltwater and freshwater fish of different varieties that are attracted to this large natural spring with its year-round temperature of 72 degrees.
There are numerous birds and animals in the park in natural settings. Most would not survive in the wild due to injuries and other issues. The park provides these animals with habitat and diet that is as natural as possible. There are manatees, black bears, Florida panthers, cougars, red wolves, bobcats, deer, alligators, red and grey foxes and otters that can be viewed from close range. There are also many varieties of birds, including wood ducks, roseate spoonbills, birds of prey, herons, egrets, flamingos, and cranes. Oh, and there is also a hippopotamus. It is a long story how the hippo ended up here, but is has been here a long time and is now very old.
When you arrive at the park, you have the option of taking a boat or tram ride to the park entrance. We opted for the 20-minute boat ride along Pepper Creek. It was a good choice. We traveled through native Florida habitat and saw an alligator, wood ducks, turtles and heron along the way.
We only had a glimpse of the manatees who were recovering in a large tank and recovery area. The manatee is a large docile mammal who lives in warm water and eats mainly sea grasses and plants. The area around Crystal River and Homosassa Springs with its mostly year-round warm water makes the area a natural place for them to live and thrive.
After entering the park, we walked along elevated boardwalks in a one-mile loop seeing a wide variety of the park birds and animals.
After a great visit, we took the tram back to the parking lot.
The plan was then to take dinner over to Linda, my sister Eileen's friend, who is mostly homebound. Eileen is New Jersey right now, so it was an opportunity to visit Linda and say hello. Unfortunately, we had a call from Eileen who said Linda's younger sister in New Jersey unexpectedly just passed away so Linda had to cancel our visit.
We then decided to have dinner at a seafood restaurant out on the coast. We ate there last year with Eileen and Linda. After another excellent meal it was back to the RV to bed.
We have a short 70 mile drive to our destination in Oldsmar tomorrow. Baseball on Thursday.
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