Connie's Corner

Wakulla Springs State Park

I went on a bus trip last Monday to Wakulla Springs (near Tallahassee, Florida). It was farther than I ever want to go on a bus again, six hours of travel time. If I hadn't had an interesting seatmate, it would have been boring indeed. Advertised through our local AARP and Senior Center, the phrase "boat ride" parted me and my $81. Except for the long bus ride, it was very enjoyable. I am not a sit still person and must be jumping up and down often.

We pulled out of Gainesville around 8:30 and arrived at the Springs, which is a State-owned park, just in time for lunch, mine to be a luscious and tasty vegetable fettuccine with garlic bread, a tossed salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing, and key lime pie for dessert. The Lodge where we ate was a sort of hotel, restaurant, and gift shop combination with beautiful old-style Spanish architecture, lots of marble, mosaics, arches, and a red-tiled roofline.

As we ate we could see the springs where several people were swimming. There were two huge decks in the water for sunning or jumping off and another two tier deck for diving. We were told the springs were a consistent 68-70 degrees.

The Wakulla River which originated at the springs and where we would have our 45 minute boat ride was the best part of the trip. Forty-three of us split up into two flat-bottomed slow-moving tour boats and leisurely made our way a few miles downstream as our pilot, actually a park ranger, pointed out all kinds of wildlife. We saw anhingas, egrets, ibis, all kinds of ducks, herons, bitterns, limpkins, and so many others I can't remember them all. Florida alligators rested or slept on every little sandbar sticking above the waterline and a rather rowdy one swam directly across the path of our boat. The literature boasted 182 different seasonal birds and I believe them. It was truly a nature-lovers paradise.

As our ride neared its end, we circled the springs and were surprised to see a gator gliding along the edge of the marked-off swimming area. Our ranger got behind him and successfully "herded" him back out into the river as we and the divers watching from the deck breathed a sigh of relief, I think, or maybe it was "old hat" to them. I don't think I'd want to go swimming there, but what a beautiful place.

A thunderstorm came up as we docked and the second boat's ride was cut short. The swimming area was closed and the lightning drove all of us inside just as the rain began...on to the gift shop where there was an old-fashioned soda fountain. We spent the rest of our trip there parting with a few more dollars and enjoying homemade scoops of ice cream.

It continued to rain as our bus pulled out and we didn't see sunshine again until we got back to Gainesville around 6:30, everyone eager to get up and out and stretch. At home Mopsy wondered where I had been all day...or maybe not. I think she had just woke up from a long nap.

until next time...c