Category Archives: Florida

Two’s Company Three’s a Crowd

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What is a Crowd?

Manatee

If two’s company and three’s a crowd what is a group of five? That’s what we were drifting along with the Manatee. It wasn’t long before two more boats joined us and these were not little tours. I was having trouble keeping track of my group. So were my fellow snorkelers so we left our manatee friend and headed back to our boat.

Jurassic SpringsJurassic Springs

Our next stop was at Jurassic Springs. It was just a bulge in the  side of the river. There was a pipe marking the boundary. We weren’t sure if a manatee was in there or not.  It was worth taking a short swim to find out. It was much deeper here. The spring was a large crack in the river floor. If you swam down toward the crack the water temperature dropped quickly. Exploration over, there weren’t any manatees. We headed back to the boat.

Sting Ray! Sting Ray!Sting Ray

Slipping back under the pipe we were surprised by a sea going creature we never expected to see. It was a stingray. I don’t know if it got in the river because of the hurricane or if it just wanted a little warm water. The creature didn’t pay us any attention but I couldn’t help thinking of Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter. Steve met his death at the end of a sting ray tail.

Baby Manatee

The Canal held another SurpriseChopping on Rope

Our hour and a half was nearing the end. I have to say this was an A++ tour so far. On our way back we detoured down a side canal. We saw collapsed sea walls caused when the water was drained by the hurricane. We had almost reached the end of the canal when Austin thought he saw a manatee. He left us on the boat while he went in to check. What he found turned this into a 5 star experience. There was a mama manatee and a tiny baby. I use the term tiny loosely. The baby was estimated to be about 50 lbs and looked like a fire plug. He was nibbling on the ropes that dangled from the dock . We had a great time with the baby until the crowd found us. With the arrival of the other tour boats, we made our exit.

Baby Manatee

On The Road to Crystal River

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The Road to Crystal River is a long one

Manatee in the Wild

 Crystal River  is about an hour and a half north of Orlando. It gave us a chance to see what Hurricane Irma had done in Central Florida. A few trees here and there and a lot of mangled billboards.  Our tour guide had brought along video tapes to entertain us as well.  She popped in Night at the Museum, Secret of the Tomb. That certainly helped to pass the time.

Get Ready to Get WetMy snorkel buddies

Once in the town of Crystal River we stopped at a small shop to pick up our wet suits. They are $10.00 per suit. I wasn’t sure they would have them to fit me so I brought my own from home. It’s brand new and I was going to christen it with this trip. As Madeline gave instructions for trying on the suits I was really glad I brought my own. She was talking about trying suits on without a bathing suit. Maybe they do that in Florida but we never did that in the cold New England waters. It made me question the hygiene of a rental suit.

Our Dive boat

Pontoon Boats and Manatees

Once we had our wet suits on it was off to the marina. I really lucked out as most of my group was on a large pontoon boat. My boat only took 5 people and I was #5. That meant we pulled out first and got to the first location ahead of the other boats. We spotted one Manatee and the scramble to get  in the water began.

 

Manatee Ahoy

 

getting into the waterWe were given a mask, snorkel and a “noodle”, a long, cylindrical piece of polyethylene foam that makes floating easy. The wet suit also makes you more buoyant. The tricky part is not kicking and using your feet. Splashing and flailing around spooks the manatees. You have to float quietly and move slowly. We were given a long list of do’s and don’ts but I shouldn’t have worried.

 

Manatee swims under the snorkelers

 

The manatees broke the rules right away.  They swam right up to us!

 

A great Day for The Manatees

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Beautiful Weather for a Swim with Manatees

Manatee Face

Today’s the day I’ll swim with the Manatees. That is if I can find the tour group.  I’m up before dawn. Pick up time is 7:30 but I’m not sure where. I have an address but no internet. Google maps gave me directions on a map but then told me they couldn’t help any more because my phone was off line. I propped my phone where I could see the map, crossed my fingers and headed out in the dark. Walgreen’s was the only landmark. When after 30 minutes I had not found Walgreen’s I turned around.

Entry at Mainegate Lakeside Resort Ah The Miracle of Technology

As the sunrise turned the sky a gorgeous red my cell phone blinked on and google maps decided to cooperate. I managed to get headed in the right direction before it went off line again. I passed my resort and kept on going. Just as I reached the intersection of RT 192 it popped on again telling me to “take a left”. 2 blocks farther and there was Walgreen’s and my phone started yelling for me to turn right, turn right! Sure enough there was the resort, Maingate Lakeside Resort. My pickup location! It only took me 1 hr and 15 minutes to find it. It was really only 10 minutes from my resort, The Mystic Dunes.  I guess you could say I took the long way around!

My Fellow PassengersOur tour bus

I was the first to arrive but right behind me was a family of 4 from England. We chatted a bit until a big blue bus with Florida Dolphin Tours written on the side pulled up. Our ride was here. We piled in still chatting about England and America and travel in general. We stopped at several more resorts adding passengers until the bus was full, At that point our guide, Madeline, did a head count and handed out our breakfasts. Not bad for fast food. It quickly became clear that Madeline and I were the only American’s. We had the British Invasion on our bus. One fellow quickly advised us he was the exception. He was from Wales!

Greetings from Sunny Orlando

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Sunny and 80’s is the word of the day.

Orlando is sunny and hot! A typical Florida experience. I want to thank everyone who has been checking in regularly even though I haven’t been able to post anything. It’s great to see you dropped by.

No phone No Internet

I’ve been out of touch because my resort was without phone or internet. Cell phone service was spotty at best. When I checked in the lobby had a huge hole in the ceiling, no A/C and huge fans going. The poor desk clerks were seated at folding tables with lap tops to process the guests. Half of the resort was without any power but my unit had everything except phone, cable and wifi so no Facebook or Aroundustyroads updates and no TV at night. I guess I can handle that.

HangglidingAll Thanks to Hurricane Irma

I picked Joe up at his work so he had a chance to see the resort. By the time I got settled in it was getting dark out so I didn’t have a chance to really survey the damage. Joe said some of the rides and attractions at Disney were still closed. They had a lot of trees down. We had planned to enjoy the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort but due to the property damage from Irma it was canceled. Instead Joe managed to get Fastpasses for Soarin’ at Epcot. I loved the old ride but its changed now. Today you go Soarin‘ the world. Fantastic! I highly recommend this ride. I could go over and over if only they let me!

Loved the Show Skip the Food

Soarin’ was as great as I remembered. There were breaching whales and Polar bears! A calving glacier and shifting sand with camels and Pyramids. Look quick! It’s the Eiffel Tower all a-light! Around the world we go! After the ride it was definitely time to eat. It was almost 9 pm! There’s a food court right there where the ride is located. Since it was raining that seemed like the best option.  I was very disappointed in both the food choices and finally the food. I can’t recommend the food here but I can recommend the ride.

 

Yes I’m still Florida Bound

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Heading to Florida In Spite of Irma

I’m Florida Bound after all. I really thought my trip would be cancelled not just postponed. I had this nightmare vision of lounging at the pool while  all around me work went on to repair the hurricane damage. I’m feeling guilty before I even get there! But several things came into play in my decision. The first thing is an all day tour to swim with Manatees.

The Manatees are still at Crystal Springs

manatee and snorkeler

I called the tour first. A very pleasant young woman assured me that the damage wasn’t that bad. They were still running the tours. She promised I would have a great time. She said around Central Florida it was just like a bad rainstorm. The winds weren’t that bad and the biggest gusts were only about 70 mph. She said getting the tourist dollar back into the state was really important too. She was very convincing. Besides I really want to see these gentle giants up close and personal.

Diamond Resort Logo

We Love To Say YES!

Next Call, the Marketing Department of my Resort

My trip was a promotional trip. I had tried to cancel it before but would have incurred huge fees to do so. I was pleasantly surprised when the marketing rep immediately agreed to reschedule. The only problem, he didn’t have anyone to do my “update” (aka sales pitch). Finally he suggested I call another department to see if I could use my points to get a resort. That call went very well. So many people were canceling that they had tons of rooms available. Once more I heard how getting the tourists back was a real necessity. He set me up with another 4 day block. I called back the marketing department and they canceled that trip and agreed to refund my $150.00!

Delta, can you help me?delta airlines

I held my breath as I called Delta Airlines but I shouldn’t have worried. I got a former “Tauntonite”. We compared notes on the changes in Southeastern MA and Logan vs T.F. Green before we tackled the reason for my call. I had a non-refundable ticket that I needed to change. To my pleasant surprise she immediately offered me a new itinerary that worked perfectly with my new dates. Even better she gave me the hurricane waiver so there were no charges or penalties for making the change.

All the little details

Now that the big things were done all of the little details began to fall into place from rental car to pet sitter.

Rocky my cat

 

To have all of this work out this easily must mean I am meant to take this trip. Can’t wait to see the Manatees!