Atlantic Launch, May 14, 2010

We left about 11:30 am to drive to Titusville, where we would have a good vantage point to see the shuttle launch. Britt had researched on the Internet and located a great spot, away from the biggest crowds and still with a good view. The shuttle was scheduled to launch at 2:20 pm and we arrived about 1:45. We weren't the only ones who knew about this location but it was still far away from the glut of cars and people trying to get a front row seat. We saw folks walking from blocks away from where they had parked. We drove into this side road, parked, and waited right there. Several folks walked up onto the sand pile but they didn't get any better view than we did. The shuttle took off right on time and we were able to see it almost immediately. This had been of some concern to us, that we wouldn't be able to see it clearly because the actual launchpad is about 12 miles away. Britt assured us that we would definitely see it and to just look for the "big wad of fire behind it". That brilliant scientific observation worked perfectly because there is a BIG wad of fire! It wasn't as loud as I thought it would be but it definitely got your attention. We watched it until it was only a small spot in the sky. I was awed by the power it takes to get this rather small shuttle up into space. Although these shuttle launches have become rather routine to many people, I thought it was amazing. I'm really glad that we went to see the beginning of Atlantis' final flight.






























































After the launch, we got back into the car and simply drove onto the highway and headed home. It took some folks two hours or more to get out of the parking snarl.
Yay, Britt!!!

On the way back we went through Sanford and stopped beside Lake Monroe.
Sanford is not a large town but very clean and neat, a mixture of old and new. There were several street-side cafes and many cool-looking shops. It is the kind of town where you can just walk up and down the sidewalks and find lots of great things to look at. There is a long and wide walkway beside the lake and maybe we can go back there and spend an afternoon just ambling around.

I have been mentioning that in our pictures of springs that the color of the water doesn't show true. In the pictures below, Lake Monroe appears blue but in reality the water is black as can be. It was sorta windy!

Blue Springs, May 20, 2010

We took a day trip on Thursday, May 20, to Blue Spring State Park, located in Orange City, Florida. Carolyn went with us and we left at 10:00 am. The drive took about an hour and 15 minutes or so and we arrived at our first destination, Dustin's BBQ in Orange City just in time for lunch. We decided to eat first on this trip so that we could walk off the calories afterward.

The barbeque was not the best I've had, in fact, wasn't too good. However, the salad bar was stocked with most everything you could want and it was enough for a meal.
So, with full bellies, off we go to the park.








Blue Spring is the largest spring on the St. John's River. The park encompasses 2,600 acres and is just amazingly beautiful. The Timucuan Indians lived on this land for hundreds of years. They settled by the river in part because of the abundance of a type of snail, which was a staple in their diet. When Louis Thursby brought his wife to live on this spot on the river in 1856, about all that was left of the Indian settlement was a mound of the snail shells the Indians left behind.


The house was constructed in 1872 and is still in it's original form. It was built on top of the shell mound in order to protect the house from flood waters of the St. John's.











Do we look anything like the women of that time period? Can't you just see us awaiting the riverboat to take us to the big city? Holy cow, can you imagine having to wear all those clothes in the middle of a Florida summer?






Anyway, Blue Spring became a bustling river depot and the Thursby's served as dockmasters and handled most everything that went on. Mrs. Thursby was the postmistress for the area and the family was apparently well-thought of in the community. They had nine children, three of whom died young. Two died in infancy and the oldest boy died from a rattlesnake bite. Medical care was only wishful thinking out in the "wilderness".

The house is within a stone's throw from the spring stream and closer to the river than to the spring. We walked along a boardwalk back toward the spring itself, stopping often to look at the water and the trees and taking in the beauty. We reached the halfway point where there is a gift shop and snackbar and the location of one of the "swimming holes". This is the spot where you "disembark" after a tube ride.

Blue Spring is a designated manatee refuge. The manatees are only present during November through March, while the water in the river is too cold. The spring is a constant 72 degrees and the manatees can winter near the spring and stay warm. There is no swimming during this time but the rest of the year you can swim, snorkel, scuba dive, and tube. Lifeguard or not, I was ready to get in that water!
















About halfway down the boardwalk toward the spring is the spot where you get into the water to either float/swim back toward the getting-out spot or where you can swim up to the spring itself. The water is so crystal clear, not at all green as it looks in the pictures. It's impossible to gauge how deep the water is at any given place, and it ranges from probably waist high to way over your head. As you can see, the environs apart from the man-made objects are totally wild and native. The fish are so numerous as to make any fisherman drool, but NO FISHING ALLOWED!

A little farther is the spring. You can see the boil (where the water actually comes out of the ground). It's the dark area in the picture. We talked to a group of scuba divers who had been down into the cave. It's quite a ways and they said they had not been to the end. Cave diving is a dangerous sport and no one is allowed to go alone. No thanks, I'll stay up here. I DID, however, wish I could jump in and paddle around. I don't know why the pictures show up green and I wish you could see just how clear the water really is.











On the way back toward the river we just took our time and some pictures. I love this tree - it has seen a lot in its lifetime. Where can there be a more peaceful setting than this stream on its way to the St. John's?




















This is a grass carp, a fish considered invasive but specially brought in to keep the river vegetation under control. Grass carp can grow up to four feet, weigh up to forty pounds, and eat three times its body weight each day.



I'm going to try and impress upon you just how many gars there were....literally hundreds!! From small to quite large, most of the time quite motionless in the water. I don't know what all these fish eat because there are just so many of them. I guess there are lots of bugs. We saw bass, bream, and talapia and lots of others that we didn't know.

























The trees adapt when they need to in order to grow. This one was very determined!

Time for a little rest. It's not so much hot as humid and it's quite a walk from beginning to end.












Moving closer and closer to the river now. The water starts to darken a little with all the tannin from the vegetation. In only a few hundred feet the water goes from clear to dark green.
















Finally, unfortunately, we reach the beautiful St. John's River. There are tour boat rides but we save that for another time. Here the water is just like any other river, black and seemingly bottomless, timeless and forever.












When school lets out for the summer, these parks become crowded and will sometimes close their gates until it clears out some. It's no fun to fight the crowds of grumpy grownups and screaming, crying tots, so this might be the last of these trips til next fall. I would like to come back when the manatees are here.

This is a must-see: beautiful Blue Spring!

Mother's Day, May 9, 2010

Mother's Day we went to the annual Symphony Under the Stars at the city golf course. Carolyn rode with us and Nancy met us there. The Ocala Symphony plays this event every year presented by the Fine Arts For Ocala organization. We bought our tickets a few days earlier to avoid having to stand in line to buy them there, and so didn't get there until just about 6pm. When we arrived we were a little dismayed that there was nowhere close at all to park unless we used the VIP parking, which was $5.00. Not too bad for a parking space very close to the venue. Not so easy, however, because not one of us had a dollar with us. So, quickly to the ATM and back to park. We had planned everything so well, we thought, but no one expected that we would need any money!



LOTS of folks go, thus the difficulty in finding a free parking space. The gate was advertised as opening at 6pm but many of these people must have arrived as early as 4pm because as you can see from where this picture was taken, the lake was pretty well encircled by the time we got there.



Regardless of the number of people already there, we got what turned out to be a perfect spot. It was directly in front of the speakers so mom had no trouble hearing the music (and the rest of us didn't either!) and we quite close to the orchestra tent. It was the furthest spot to walk but we didn't have any trouble. Nancy got there after us and actually got a golf cart ride.












We had a "little red wagon" to carry our chairs and food but this wagon was so much more than your usual. The slatted sides let down so that the metal bottom made a table on which to lay out our gourmet picnic. Kim, you will be proud to know that we thought of absolutely everything, from the wine opener to wet wipes, toothpicks to fresh-picked gardenias in a basket. Nancy and Carolyn brought their own sandwiches and we had Cuban poboys from Publix. We had chips, a veggie tray, olives, cookies, brownies, and more. I also made some chocolate-dipped and some sugar-dipped strawberries, which were delicious! We had a real banquet and it tasted all the more scrumptious eating it outside and being serenaded all the while.


I should also mention that we brought two bottles of good Chardonnay, which was rather quickly consumed and thoroughly enjoyed.

Storm Roberts from WKTK, a local radio station personality, was the emcee.






























The sun was shining brightly when we arrived but later, as the sun set, the mood slightly changed and most people settled down to just enjoy the music. We weren't so close as this picture implies; Britt took it with a zoom lens.

The theme was The Beatles (!) and I knew every song, of course. There was also a little of The Carpenters and Simon and Garfunkle as well, and I loved all of the program.



The finale of the night was a glorious fireworks display. This organization really went all out on them because the display went on for at least five minutes and was magnificent. So many different types and colors of explosives! I'm afraid of handling fireworks but I do love to see them. These pictures are beautiful but they can't possibly capture the wonderful show.













Britt had packed up most of the food while it was still light because there were no lights after dark. When the show was over we were a little surprised that none of us had thought of how we would get everything together in the dark. Lo and behold, Britt brings out four flashlights, one for each of us! That's a bit of planning I would never have thought of. To top it all off, he had put lights on the wagon that attached magnetically, two in the front and two on the back. We heard several comments on our walk back to the car about the "grooviness" of those lights (I am in the nostalgia of it all). I'll bet we'll see more lighted wagons next year! We all enjoyed ourselves tremendously and are already looking forward to the next picnic, which will be July 4. It was an almost perfect day, not perfect because my kids weren't with me, but it surely was close.

Rainbow Springs May 1, 2010

What a wonderful way to begin the month of May. Mom, Britt, Joyce, and I went on another trip, this time to Rainbow Springs. Rainbow is the fourth largest springs in Florida and certainly one of the most beautiful. It's located just north of Dunnellon.


















For many years, Rainbow Springs was operated as a privately-owned attraction. Now it is a state park and has been largely given back to nature. There used to be animal exhibits, for example, but all that remains are the enclosures where the animals were kept.


Britt recollects from when he was a kid, a "leaf ride", in which three or four riders sat in a "leaf" and were taken on an elevated ride up and through the trees and around the park. I wish that ride was still there; it would be a lot of fun!




Here we are with the swimming area right behind us. The water remains a constant 72 degrees year round, and this day was very hot, about 95 or so. Many folks were in the water, although 72 seems a little cool to me. But it might feel really great when it's 100 degrees! Also, in some of the pictures, the water appears to be dark green and murky, but the whole springs and the river (as in the top picture) is a gorgeous blue-green and perfectly clear. The lighter colored areas are sand with the darker areas vegetation. It just makes you want to jump in!


Can you see the fish in this picture? The water is about three feet deep here and just like crystal.

This headsprings and the Rainbow River is well-known for swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, and canoeing. Just a little while after these pictures were taken, there were about ten canoes right around the swimming area, the passengers paddling lazily, but also trying to avoid one another. I'm surprised we didn't see a couple of tipovers, haha! You can also tube down the Rainbow River from another location. I just know that would be so much fun.



Joyce was kind enough to take a picture of the three of us.













A fellow "tourist" was kind enough to take a picture of all of us in front of one of the waterfalls. The waterfalls are actually man-made, left over from the attraction days. They are soothing and nice to look at and, if you don't look too closely, quite natural-looking. I sat on a rock (in my white pants) beside another waterfall and dipped some cool water to splash my face. Felt good!

Just a couple more pictures....


































Joyce snapped this when we stopped as we were leaving the park to get the picture of the sign. You might be able to tell that we were hot and sweaty!


And of course, lunch! We went to The Front Porch, a little country-style restaurant just down the road from Rainbow Springs. I had country-fried steak, mashed potatoes, broccoli casserole, and fried okra. I had enough to bring home and have the same thing for supper. It was very good!


We had a good time. Wish you could have been with us.