We decided to visit Florida to get some much-needed sunshine during the winter, and wanted to Xperience something unique that we had never seen before. Florida is the home of a beautiful animal known as the manatee. There are only a few species of manatees (aka sea cows) in the world. They have sadly become endangered due to injuries from boat propellers, because they live in shallower waters and tend to be near the surface. Fortunately, there have been several laws enacted to protect these charming and unusual animals.
On December 27th 2018 we began to research locations to visit. There was a good area near Cape Canaveral, but at that time the national park system was closed due to a government shutdown, which also had shut down the national seashore. Because of this, we had to adjust our plans - but we found a hidden gem! It was a local park called Blue Springs State Park in Florida. It is just North of Orlando and is an area manatees frequent in winter to care for their young due to the secluded warm waters. An entire vehicle could enter the park for less than $10 at the time! We packed lunch and decided to drive from Daytona over to the park. It truly is a hidden gem because we had to go down several back roads.
Entering the Park
The entrance of the park already had several cars lined up waiting for opening time. We explored the winding drive to the parking area and looked for the local information center. We got a map and tried to get our bearings. The map made the place look bigger than it actually was. You actually start in the middle of the river and cove area; going right allows you to go upstream. A nice little pathway followed along the water. We saw several different manatees in the water a few with young ones; they were sometimes even clustered together in little groups.
We also saw other animals including blue herons, little armadillos, and a variety of fish. I would suggest taking either a good pair of binoculars or a camera with a good telephoto lens. We waited patiently for several hours for the best views, since manatees don't naturally move fast. Our patience paid off as we got to see some actually roll over and show us their faces! The one thing I noticed that surprised and concerned me was a number of little fish I used to see in fish tanks called a Plecostomus. They kept surrounding and even bothering the manatees. One of the workers mentioned that there is a concern of them stressing the manatees. Going left on the path, you eventually find a larger body of water where people can enjoy other activities; such as taking a little boat ride out into the lake the springs flow into.
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