Flocking to Florida with the Snowbirds
Oh no! I've fallen off the blogging wagon again! I don't have any good reason, except that I just haven't felt like it lately.
We've been in Florida for about six weeks and have visited four cities so far. In some ways, it has been reminiscent of our time in Arizona. Like Arizona, this is a place that we've seen in movies and pictures, and had an idea in our minds of what it was going to be like. And like Arizona, the landscape and wildlife are starkly different from anything we've ever lived in. That has been awesome to experience.
One example is the birds that we've seen everywhere in Florida. The ones pictured above are huge creatures that scream through the air like something out of Jurassic Park. They're so loud and big! The first time we saw them, we were in the RV and heard this crazy screeching. We went outside and saw about twenty-five of these guys, flying toward a pond. They can get really big, too. I encountered a lot of them during my morning walks, and was unsettled walking by them. They aren't fearful of humans, so they just stood there looking at me while I walked past.
Our first stop was in Wildwood, Florida. It's a quiet little retirement community, and we loved it there. Close by, there is another community called "The Villages" that was so cool! I don't want to forget it. It was like a town in a bubble, with everything perfectly matching. A lot of people there don't drive cars, but instead drive golf carts all over town. I chuckled the first time I pulled into Publix to do my grocery shopping and the first 5 parking spots in each row were filled with golf carts! They even have tunnels in some spots, so if you're trying to get around in your cart, you can go underneath the main roads. So weird but so cool!
On Jeff's day off, we went to Silver Springs State Park. It was beautiful! We were told that there are monkeys in this park, but didn't see any. We did see hawks and mullet fish. Mullet fish are crazy! They flop through the air, getting up pretty high! The first time we saw one, we were standing in silence on a beautiful bridge, just taking in the scene. Then suddenly, a huge fish jumped out of the water in front of us, flew through the air, and disappeared. We stood and watched as he flew his way down the river, just flopping along. It startled me, but was funny.
Gator warning signs are all over this state. Most bodies of water have signs that say "NO SWIMMING" with a picture of an alligator on it. This was during our day trip to Silver Springs State Park.
Weird birds everywhere!
The highlight of our time in Wildwood was this day at Blue Spring State Park. This park is known for being a place that wild manatees come to each winter. The water here always stays nice and warm, which makes manatees happy. We didn't go with any idea of what we'd do except maybe walk around the area, but hoped to see a manatee from the trail. Once we got there, however, Jeff and I looked around and realized that the only way to experience this was to be out on the water.
Being out there with all the manatees was unbelievable. I don't really know how to explain it, but they are so big, so peaceful, and the whole thing was just awe-some. Like, I sat there in awe the whole time. I didn't take many photos because I was just mesmerized by them and didn't want to risk scaring them off.
Some were especially friendly and wanted to be pet. We were surprised that their skin is rough like sand paper.
Everyone said that this experience took the #1 spot in their minds.
Mama and baby.
After spending time with the manatees, we canoed around to see what we could see.
It was peaceful out on the water, paddling around the different areas. Jordan was the most taken with the whole experience. She gushed all the way home about how incredible it was to her. I'm so very thankful that we decided to spend the $28 and do this, because we almost didn't!
Turtles here, there, and everywhere!
They are super skittish, though, so getting a decent photo of one of them is tricky business. This is the best I have and as you can see, not a great picture. But since we saw so many of them, I wanted to include it into our memory of Florida.
Another funny bird. Meg said they do this to dry out the area under their wings.
We went back and spent more time with the manatees after checking out another area. This guy wanted in the canoe! We sat and rubbed his belly and petted his flippers, then he went over to the other boat for more loves. We sat and did that for quite a while. I couldn't believe how sweet he was.
I don't know if you can see it in the photo, but manatees have fingernails! They look pretty odd, but that's one thing that I didn't know before this day.
More canoeing down another canal of the springs.
And then we saw this guy! This was intense for me because I knew we needed to be cautious about getting too close to this giant alligator, but I also couldn't believe it was happening and wanted to see him! Jackson was like, "MOM, let's go closer!" and Megan was like, "MOM, don't get too close!" He just sat there, not moving.
So that was our day at Blue Spring State Park. Unforgettable!
The pool at the Wildwood park was heated to a very warm temp, so we could swim even on days that were cooler.
Now let's fast forward to our next spot, in Bushnell, Florida! This pool here was beautiful but not heated nearly as well, so mama opted to sit it out. The kids are hardcore, though. I don't know how they tolerated the frigid water!
While we were in Bushnell, we drove over to a beach at the Gulf of Mexico. It was so warm! I didn't like the beaches there, though. Too crowded and boggy.
We also spent some time near Orlando, Florida. This is going to be a huge disappointment for any of you who were hoping to hear about Orlando: We didn't like it and don't have photos. (Picture of Jackson with face paint placed here in lieu of pictures of Disney World, because we didn't go. Ha!)
Orlando is great if you like the following:
- Disney
- crowds
- traffic
- very high prices
We don't like any of those things.
I would have put this stop down toward the bottom of the list (in terms of how much we enjoyed the area itself), except that the weather was quite nice during our stay and Jackson was blessed with an endless supply of friends to play with every day. A lot of Full-time Families spend time at the campground we stayed at, so there were kids everywhere! He was so happy, but so exhausted after each day. He would run around for hours, come in and tell me how sore his legs were, then go out and run for a few more hours. Haha. I guess the sore legs were offset by how much fun he was having.
Worth noting about this area, we did find the best burger we've had on this trip. It was at a restaurant called Burger Craft, in Kissimmee. It was not as good as Pilot Butte Burger, but still amazing. Jeff and I found it on one of our dates. I wish it was a chain restaurant!
Also, we got to visit our first Ikea! We spent hours walking through the store and had fun. The kids liked the showroom so much. I remember when I was young and got to go to furniture stores, I'd walk around and imagine which things I'd have in my house when I grew up. Maybe they were doing the same. :) It felt strange to walk through the store and realize that I have zero need for anything in the building. If I had a home, I probably would have wanted to buy a lot of things, but being in the RV means I already have everything I need and don't have room for anything more.
Now we're in St. Augustine for a week, huddled together in our RV, trying to figure out how we managed to visit Florida during the one cold winter in history! The people we've talked to tell us that this has been an odd winter, and that it's usually 70 and sunny at this time of year. Right, well, that doesn't help me now, does it? Lol. I walked the dogs this morning in 27 degrees. It was not fantastic. I'm really happy that we're headed west from here! One more stop in Florida for two weeks, then we're making a big jaunt towards warmer weather. (Cue Florida to heat back up to 70 degrees when we leave).
And that's our Florida adventure so far!
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