We finished off our spring break tour of southern Florida with a few days near Weeki Wachee State Park. A friend had told me about this natural spring river in Florida that is crystal clear, is home to manatees, and has a state park featuring mermaids that swim in the spring in an underwater theater. It sounded like a winning combination and something my mermaid and manatee loving daughter just had to experience. So we went.
The Weeki Wachee River is formed from the deepest naturally occurring spring in the United States and flows 12 miles from Weeki Wachee spring to the Gulf of Mexico. The water in the river is not too deep and is so clear, so we could generally see the bottom (except for a few really deep areas or when shadows got in the way).
We arrived late to our house near Weeki Wachee after our day in the Keys, so our first Weeki Wachee day we all slept in, enjoyed a relaxing morning, and then went for a family paddle a few miles up the river. The paddling upriver required some effort, but it was worth it. We saw lots of fish and 2 manatees!
The return paddle was WAY easier. We stopped on the way back at a Roger's Park, which was just a short paddle from our house, so the kids could swim in their swimming area for a little while. Then we went back and the kids had the best time playing in our canal while Zach relaxed on the porch, and I went to get groceries.
The kids were using the paddleboards and kayaks to play a game they made up called Taxi. I'm not sure of the rules or what the game entailed, but there was a lot of laughing and yelling and booty wiggling from Adelie. They had a ton of fun and spent several hours playing together in the water.
Zach grilled out for dinner and then the girls and I went for an after-dinner paddle on the river while Briggs and Zach stayed back and played games.
The next day we got up, had breakfast, and then went to Weeki Wachee State Park for the day. We got there as it opened as I had heard they often sell out early in the day and close the park to guests. Fortunately for us, a Friday in March is not their high season and the park itself wasn't too crowded.
We tried to start the day with the River Boat tour, but they only have one boat that holds 30 people and leaves every 30 minutes. The first boat was already filled up when we got there, and waiting for the second boat would have put us in jeapordy of not getting in or getting a good seat for the first mermaid show. Since the mermaid show was our priority, we skipped the boat tour and just checked out the park. Zach lined up early for the mermaid show while the kids and I played on a playground and walked around a bit more until it was time to enter for the show.
The mermaid show was really impressive. They did "The Little Mermaid" with songs, dances, and dialogue. The mermaids learn a technique of breath control where they use hoses with pressurized air intermittently and then blow out a certain amount to maintain the correct level of buoyancy. They do all this while smiling, mouthing words to songs and dialogue (how they don't swallow all the water is beyond me!), and doing choreographed moves.
They are swimming in the spring, so there were various fish and turtles swimming around while they are performing. They perform at 15' below the surface, but dive down to 40' when they go "off-stage" during the show. They are mostly underwater for the entire 30-40 minute show. It was really cool!
There are 3 mermaid shows throughout the day. The first and last ones are the same, and the middle one is a training show where one of the mermaids explains things and answers questions as you watch. We went to the first and second show, and then we watched from above the surface during the last show to see what it looked like the various times different characters would come to the surface for things. It was really cool!
There was also the opportunity to meet one of the mermaids after each show. Between all 3 kids, we met all 3 mermaids that were available that day. Briggs and I had gone for a walk when this mermaid was out, so the girls didn't get to meet her. Briggs was feeling a little shy, but I talked him into this picture.
We also went to listen to a ranger talk about various animals found in the area. We saw a baby alligator, turtles, and got to touch a native Florida snake.
Our state park day was the day before Adelie's birthday. The park and the mermaids were a surprise for her, and we also let her pick out something from the gift shop. This manatee was her choice.
We spent the rest of the day at the water park area of the park. The swimming area is spring water with a sand bottom. It's all natural--no chemicals and fish swimming around with you. There were two water slides, a natural lazy river, and a toddler pool area that were not open when we were there since it was still the "off-season." The slides especially looked fun, but I think I'll take low crowds over water slides any day. A lifeguard was telling me that they sell out every single day in the summer.
Briggs spent most of his time just playing in the sand, but the rest of us did quite a bit of swimming. The water temperature is 74 degrees all the time, so it was a little chilly, but felt pleasant once we got in. The day was in the low 80's and sunny, so it was a perfect day for swimming.
We spent our entire day at the park. We got there at 9 and left around 4:30. We had a great time, and I'm glad that we were able to experience this.
After our dinner of tacos, the kids chose to play some more in our canal while I went for a solo evening paddle on the river again. Then we started packing up to leave the next day.
We had a mid-afternoon flight our next day so we were able to sleep in a bit, I went for one last solo paddle, and then we celebrated Adelie's birthday with special breakfast.
We loaded up the car, said good-bye to our house and the river, and then made a quick detour to the free Manatee Viewing Center near Tampa before heading to the airport. We saw one manatee and several dolphins while there, as well as touched sting rays in the sting ray touch pool.
We squeezed a lot into our week of spring break. We experienced national parks and beaches and springs and rivers. We saw manatees and lizards and gators and dolphins and turtles and mermaids. We sailed, drove, flew, kayaked, snorkeled, swam, and hiked. We ate good food, listened to good books, made up good games, and enjoyed good accommodations.
We saw a lot, drove a lot, did a lot, and learned a lot.
And it was great!!
Spring break--woo hoo!!
