Pancakes & Manatees

What a day!  We went for pancakes & manatees and got so much more.  Our day started with an hour drive south to DeLeon Springs State Park, named for the Spanish explorer, Juan Ponce de Leon, who searched for the Fountain of Youth in the 1500s. The park is 600 acres and is home to a headspring, with some 19 million gallons of water per day flowing from an underwater cavern at a steady temperature of 72 degrees. 

 It is also home to the Old Spanish Sugar Mill Restaurant which we immediately fell in love with. We were treated to pancakes made from stone-ground flours that you make yourself right at your own table.  They tasted awesome!



John's Smiley Face Creation



After our fill of these great tasting pancakes, we went hiking around the grounds.  We saw our first manatees- there was a group of about 5 or 6, but we had to look hard to see them; but were still impressed with these funny looking mammals.  We laughed so hard at the fish leaping in and out of the water.  The birds-herons, egrets, ibis, and ospreys- were beautiful. 



 

Old Methusilah

We went in search for "Old Methuselah"-  a huge bald cypress that is more than 500 years old - found it & decided that the most impressive thing about it was its age & its name.

From DeLeon Springs State Park, we headed another 20 minutes south and arrived at Blue Spring State Park in Orange City.  We discovered THIS is where the manatees are!  Over 200 of these creatures gather here this time of year to stay warm, and when we entered the park late morning, 97 of them had already been sighted that day.  We walked along the 1/3 mile boardwalk that follows the flowing Blue Spring run thru a shady hardwood hammock.  Manatees of all sizes were everywhere. 

 The clear spring is also full of gar and other fish.  We were treated to the site of alligators and wondered why families were going out on boat tours!  There were turtles and herons and other wading birds.  Hiking back a little further on the trail, I stopped to investigate a louder than usual russle of the leaves and saw an armadillo. 

Both  of these parks are must sees.  We had the best time and the most remarkable part of it was watching all these creatures live together in their own natural habitat. 

After arriving back at our place, we went on a 2 mile walk thru heavy vegetation to the "Yacht Club."  We laugh at this because although "Yacht Club" sounds impressive, it is a small, near-empty building, where small boats have access to launch from.  It is where the inter-coastal waters are tho, which are really pretty to see.  It is a very serene area.

To finish off the day, we headed to Napoli's, one of John & Betty's (and now one of ours) favorite places to eat.  We had really delicious pizza, and Gordy drank 2-for-1 beers ($2.00 for the two of them).

Another truly awesome day in Florida!