We are already missing our time on St. George Island but Douglas really wants to see Manatees so we headed to Manatee Springs State Park a bit northeast of Clearwater.
The park is on the Suwannee River which flows from the Okefenokee Swamp to the Gulf of Mexico in Florida. It is a beautiful park where you can swim, hike, rent kayaks, and canoes, and walk on a boardwalk from the springs to the river searching for Manatees.
We saw a grey blob that looked like it could be a Manatee… We also saw a huge gator in the river. The Florida Manatee is an endangered species native to Florida. They are large mammals ( 13 ft long and up to 1300 lbs) and are often referred to as ‘sea cows’ because they are slow, peaceful plant eaters. Someone mentioned they are part of the elephant family. Since they like warm shallow water, many are killed by motor boats each year.
Had our first experience with ‘Moochdocking’ when one of Douglas’ old friends from his Microsoft days invited us to boondock in his front yard near Clearwater- we call this moochdocking. George and Carol were lovely hosts (thank you so much!) and took us to a couple of their favorite restaurants in Clearwater and also got us up to speed on the best places to hang out in the Keys. Here are George’s recommendations: https://georgesc.blog/2018/01/21/florida-keys-travel-guide/
Did I mention that it has been unusually cold in Florida? Next stop, boondocking in the parking lot at the Tampa RV Show.
