Florida 12 July 2024 - Purity

We were up early (5:30), packed and ready to go. There is a long drive back to Anniston, but we are stopping off at Silver Springs in Florida, to ride on a glass bottom boat.  So, the first part of the journey is about 2 hours.

We arrive the stated 30 minutes early and enter the park for another wait.  Finally, we are allowed on the boat - with Captain Reef.  The clue is in the name - always.

The water is clear, it rises from an aquifer, the water had been underground for a long time.  There is underwater grass growing in the stable areas, but in some places there is just rock.  This is where the water is seeping out of the rock, and that is constantly changing as paths are eroded and collapse.  As they do, new routes are opened up.

We saw manatees, who can only survive here because the water temperatures are high.  There are also alligators, lots of bird life at different times and lots of fish.  There are also some invasive species - tilapia have recently been washed into the springs and plans are being made to remove them.  

The rock is visible because the water has washed the vegetation away

10 feet log alligator, hiding in the vegetation

Ibis

One of three manatees

Statues of Zeus and other gods, below the water

There are also macaques, which were bought to the park and escaped, one ran along the roof of the visitor centre, he is, apparently, a reject from the troop. If they go outside the park they are dealt with by animal control, otherwise they are free to roam.

The water is 97% pure. There are even transparent kayaks so that visitors can see through the water as they paddle along.  The glass bottom boats are powered by electric motors to reduce pollution.

It is an amazing environment, and as usual, the infrastructure that supports it seems to work well.  State parks, everywhere I have been, are well maintained, and do not seem to suffer the vandalism and disrespect occurs so much in UK parks.

The rest of the journey (6.5 hours) was relatively uneventful., There was an accident on the interstate, so we travelled on lesser roads and saw some more of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.

The last stop was at a service station (8200 Williams Way), where the facilities were as awful as anything you will find on your way up or down the A1.  The restroom was dirty, partially functional and poorly supplied.

Anniston 8 July 2024 - Travel

Today is a travel day.  We are packed and ready.  At 8:55 after getting breakfast and petrol (gas) we are on our way. I was soon dozing in the car.  I woke suddenly and remembered my drugs were still in the bathroom cabinet. We were about 50 minutes into the journey. To say I was annoyed with myself is too much of an understatement. I am the subject of everyone's frustration.

We returned, and added 2 hours to our long journey, there was a traffic jam on the way back. Also, the lunch and break stops had to be re-planned.

At 12:20 we stopped for lunch at a waffle house. Then about 15:00 we stopped at a Buc-ees.  A strange place, it's like a motorway service station combined with a tourist 'tat' shop and a high-end garden centre, without plants. The fat, ugly, beaver gets everywhere, it seems.

The Buc-ees Beaver

About 19:30 we stopped at Culvers in Lake City, Florida. The local waiter, was fascinated by the British accent and all thing British. He had loads of questions, and he and his colleague visited our table a few times with questions, or just to hear the accent.  I've never been that comfortable being a celebrity, I don't consider myself special in that way: certainly not for just speaking differently.  At the same time, I was keen to talk to him and encourage him to visit, if he gets the chance.

In the car, we are talking about blogging and Karen tells me that I have a reader from among her friends, she came across the link on a Facebook post.  It's nice to know that someone else enjoys the content of my travel stories.  Since Google changed its statistics, I get no information, something didn't translate from the previous system.

We arrive at the holiday home (villa) about 21:30. The entry code works, but the alarm is not set, so we do not have to disable it.  We look for the Wi-Fi code, it is not in the book, nor is it on a sign as it is supposed to be.  We contact the owner and eventually get the code.  Everything else looks good.