In the afternoon, we decided to drive to Venice Beach so we could actually see the ocean. It looked like on the map that the drive along the ocean from Sarasota to Venice Beach would be very scenic – but it wasn’t! Instead, it seemed like one over-developed strip mall after another. Once we arrived at Venice Beach we hiked for about an hour down the beach. There was a 25-mile per hour wind – in the picture I’m showing how I have four layers on and I was still cool.
It seems like everyone at this park has binoculars (we don’t) – it also seems like a lot of people who are interested in bird watching and kayaking. We saw this Great Egret – one among many interesting birds. We talked to two women we met while we were bike riding. One of the women (who looked like a very fit seventy plus) said she led Sierra Club hikes in the park. She said there are a lot of people in this area who work really hard to keep the area protected and undeveloped. We also saw alligators, armadillos, wild hogs, and deer in addition to lots of birds.
We spent the afternoon hiking the trails at Manatee Springs Park that is adjacent to the Suwannee River. During the winter months, the manatees leave the ocean and the river and come to the warmer springs (The springs stay 72 degrees all year round) that bubble up from the aquifer underground. The manatees stay under water but come up for air every few minutes. Because of the cold weather, there are many more manatees that have come into the warmer waters of the springs – however; the ranger said they’ve already lost about 180 manatees due to cold weather. Surrounding the springs were trees that were perching places for hundreds of buzzards.
After waking up to 29 degrees in our motor home, we decided to stop at Wal-Mart to purchase a few more warm shirts and socks. I’m so glad to have my brand new down sweater jacket (my friend Deb recommended and I think it will be my most valuable piece of equipment on at least the first part of this trip!) – I’ve been wearing constantly. It also worked well to wrap around my head at night in my sleeping bag to help keep my head warm! All the Floridians are complaining about the cold but the sky is bright blue and sunny!
We biked to the U. of Florida museum that included a butterfly exhibit. The tropical plants in the butterfly exhibit have taken a big hit from the below average temperatures. In talking to the staff person, we le
arned that there were going to have to replace a large number of plants due to the cold weather. The butterflies were beautiful!
We said goodbye to the Galiks in the late afternoon and took off to Manatee Springs State Park that was about 1 hour away. We are so thankful for the time to reconnect with our Karl and Marilouise; to laugh, exercise, and eat fantastic food; and to enjoy some wonderful fellowship together.
