A Special and Different Christmas Day

Hi Folks,

Hope you all had an enjoyable and Happy Christmas, our day started rather strange.....

This was out of the window at 8.30 am and I thought the world was about to end but it was only sea mist across the harbour.

All packed and presents opened we drove to Chiefland a town 40 miles away to our Christmas Dinner, it was after midday but you can see by the car park or car lot most of the locals were at home.  Added to this most businesses in the area were for shut for the day, back to normal tomorrow.

Undeterred and knowing they were open, in we went in and had a lovely meal,  Sue felt a bit out of place in her headgear.  Remember we are in the States and most people were at home, love the sign and the reversed "N".

Even though it was Christmas people were still out and about at the Manatees State Park.  Remember the last time we went it rained so we thought we would return in the sunshine.  It was like an ordinary day except the boat ride was not operating so we got a refund.

We walked down the boardwalk as if it was an ordinary day, such colour everywhere.

The place was absolutely stunning as we soaked up the nature around us and the sunshine, the temperature was about 85 deg F.

There were squirrels, birds and this lone Egret standing on the far bank waiting for a photograph.

Mid afternoon we walked back to the car and decided to return to Cedar Key after a last look at the strange Cypress Knees sprouting up everywhere.

This is the wetland just before our Motel, a beautiful spot on a bridge.

As we drove on I stopped to get this shot of not just one Egret but a family of them.

Back to the Motel and a beer and another go at a sunset, this one had a cloud just before the sun set but afterwards the sky just lit up. We are so lucky to be able to witness this spectacular sight, what a fantastic end to a wonderful day.

Thanks for dropping by, and a Happy Boxing Day to our UK visitors and just another "ordinary day" in the US,.. Mike and Sue

And the Surprise Was.....

Hi folks,

yes you guessed it a fantastic light show put on by the friends of Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park  in the Florida State Park and what a wonderful display it was too. Just a few of the ones I took on the night.

Well there you are, they certainly put on a great show.

Hope you all enjoyed your Christmas.
Have a great boxing day, Mike and Sue.

Today Full of Surprises

Hi folks,
well what happened to the day before yesterday?  Basically we ran out of time and the puter decided to run a muck so we went to bed.
Today started quite good, went down hill and came back with a few surprises.

Remember we had a buggy, well a very nice man caller Phil came today to run the hotel whilst Savanah our main landlady had a day off.  Phil was a mind of information and sat down and showed us a few routes around Florida. He also gave us the name of a boat cruise operator and told us to take the buggy, book the trip and use it as long as we wanted. What a kind man, all in all we found the Americans had a heart of gold and would help you if they could  

Off we trundled around in the buggy.  It was a bit slower than our hired one and had big tyres.

Sue and our new house by the water!  Phil's buggy wasn't as environmentally friendly with no solar panel on the roof but hey ho, it hadn't cost us anything.

We took the car to Homosassa and this sort of contraption was on the bar's forecourt.

The Bar had food only for their regulars, a sort of Christmas party so we made do with a drink and wished them a Happy Christmas.

This is what greeted me as I ordered the beers.

So we came outside in the peace and quite to have our drinks.

Along the road was the remains of Yulee Sugar Mills, another interesting bit of bygone history and another history blog to do.

We arrived just as the Museum was closing but the man let us in for a short time and we hope to return later.

As it says on the sign, "Don't Miss ...  Homosassa Springs" and we didn't, I will share what we saw with you all later.

Merry Christmas to you all by the time you read this in the UK we shall just be going to bed.

Thanks for looking, Mike and Sue

Manattee, what Manatee?

Hi folks,
today we ventured away from Cedar Keys to visit the First Magnitude Spring and Haven for Wintering Manatees about 30 miles away.

What a fantastic place with it's own swimming area cut off from the Manatees  with a seating area and a cafe. It was very warm and I thought about the mossy spray but as it was we didn't need it.

You will note that the normal sunshine had vanished but undeterred we booked a trip out on the river to see them close at hand. They normally come in shore when it gets cooler but they stayed out as it was so warm.

This is all we saw as I will explain later, they are lovely docile creatures that don't mind humans.

Swimmers in the restricted part of the pool area due to Alligators in the main river

Lots of activity and canoes moving about.

Wildlife all around, this Egret sitting on the bank.

Going down the boardwalk towards the boat was these strange roots sticking skyward.

Closeup of the head of the "root"

Looking down the boardwalk towards the boat.

Then it happened, we looked down river and to our horror came a torrential rain belt and even the swimmers dived for cover. Needless to say we got soaked and the boat trip was cancelled for another day. Very damp we returned to the car and stayed there with the air con and heater at 85f to dry out.

This was what it was like.

Water poured off the end of the building onto a cigarette ash tray.

We left the park and are able to use our tickets at a later date so all was fine. Went into a nearby town and did some retail therapy and had a Chinese meal. Thought this father Christmas was big enough, Sue went in the shop but didn't like anything, whew!!

We shall return and see the Manatees have no fear.
Thanks for looking, Mike and a damp Sue.

Chilling......

Hi folks,

well we are on holiday so it's time to put the brakes on a bit on the run up to Christmas.

First off a lay in, missed the sunrise but never mind. This is a view out of our bedroom window this morning so I just had to get up......................

............. and saunter along to the coffee house for breakfast, look Jordynne it sells doughnuts.

These restaurants are something else.

And another and the choice of sea food is out of this world.

Here she is being chauffeured about bless her. We had the buggy for 24 hours and toured the town with it, very good on gas too.

Up to the State Park, this time to instigate the railway. It is so fascinating I bought a book.

Just to give you an idea of  the accommodation.  The white car is ours parked right outside the Motel which is in the background with our Sue sitting at the table, the open door on the left is the staircase to our room. How neat is that to coin and American phrase. No parking charges either I can leave the car their 24/7. BTW the trolley goes to the left of the door on the pavement. BTW the car is parked around the right way we are in a one way street.

Sue went shopping whilst I stayed with the trolley, I had to get a shot of this, read the sign.

Looking across the bay whilst on a trolley ride.

Ah well time for another beer. The place is so nice, we are using the Motel as a base and going out from there till after Christmas

Thanks for taking part in our American dream, Mike and Sue