Late December 2021 to January 1, 2022

We bounced around Florida during the last few weeks of 2021. We returned to some favorite campgrounds and visited some that were new to us.

At O’Leno State Park, we hiked the familiar trails along the Santa Fe River. O’Leno is one of Florida’s earliest state parks. You can still see hallmarks of the CCC’s construction, especially in the stonework. The camp sites are small and wooded, which goes along with its old-timey vibe.

At our campsite, we tried our hand at making mushroom dumplings from scratch – with great results!

We also visited Blue Springs State Park, which is famous for being a place to spot manatees. Manatees inhabit the nearby St. John’s River. In cooler weather, they retreat to the 72 degree waters of the Blue Springs to warm up and spend the night. During the day, they return to the river where their food sources grow. Lucky visitors can view this activity from boardwalks along the water.

Blue Springs also participates in rescue and rehabilitation efforts with manatees. Young manatees who spend time in rehab need a refresher on how to leave the warm springs area to find food. The scientists use tracking devices to monitor behavior and ensure that the manatees are trekking to the river for meals. The photo below shows a manatee with one of these devices.

These gentle giants are struggling to compete with environmental and human-made challenges. It was a thrill to see them in the wild.

Koreshan State Park in Estero was a new destination for us. It’s on property that was once part of the Koreshan community. Buildings and an active museum remain on the main part of the property. We rode our bikes from the campground to the site and signed up for a guided tour. Our volunteer docent and the volunteers in the machine shop were excellent.

The Koreshan Unity was a communal utopia founded in the 1880s by Cyrus Teed. Teed was a charismatic, self-proclaimed messiah. He changed his name from Cyrus to its biblical translation, Koresh. The Koreshans held unusual religious-pseudoscientific beliefs. According to these, the earth was hollow, with the planets and celestial bodies inside, and the sun was an electromagnetic battery that rotated the earth.

In its heyday, this very industrious commune had more than 250 residents. They cleared land, built buildings, and grew gardens. They had an Art Hall and held plays and musical concerts that were very popular with the area. The community ran a publishing company, general store, woodworking and metal shops, post office, and bakery.

They also developed an electricity generation station and brought electricity to the outside community – years before electricity came to the greater region.

Long story short: in the end, Teed proved not to be immortal and, without his charisma and drive, the community eventually fizzled. In the 1960s, the one remaining devotee living on the property deeded it to the state park.

The museum tour is great. We also walked one of the garden areas, the bamboo forest trail, along the Estero river. It seemed a world apart – a dense woods with lots of wind and noise in the tree canopy. If you’re ever in the area, Koreshan is well worth a visit.

During the last week of December, we were fortunate to see some of our dear friends in Florida.

In Bonita Springs, we stayed with Phyllis and John, our friends from waaaaay back.

We enjoyed oodles of great food and had fun catching up. Phyllis had beautifully decorated for Christmas and everything felt very festive.

On one day, we took a drive through Big Cypress Swamp National Preserve, on the shoulder of the Everglades.

As the day warmed up, so did the number of alligators we observed. What an interesting ride through this still-wild preserve, full of birds, turtles, and alligators. (and probably some things I’m glad I didn’t see…) It’s amazing that this habitat remains – and there are even some people who live there, deep, deep in the swamp. For me, the view from the roadside was as close as I needed to get for my experience.

Our time with John and Phyl went too fast, as it always does. Thanks for a great time! We look forward to seeing them again on future trips.

A bit further north, in Homosassa, we stayed with our friends Joann and Bob Kollar for New Year’s.

We went to the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park.

Unlike a zoo, most of the wildlife in this park has been rescued and is unable to return to the wild. So, visitors, like us, can enjoy wildlife we’d otherwise likely never see. Like Lu, the 60 year old hippo.

We stopped at MacCrea’s on the waterfront to take in boating views and a few brews. Boat and people watching are always fun.

We had dinner at Cajun Jimmy’s Seafood Seller’s in Crystal River. Jimmy, the owner, is also a magician, who entertains folks during dinner. He’s really good. (And he LOVES that you can’t figure him out) We couldn’t untangle his sleight of hand. Magic with dinner. Who would’ve expected that?

The Louisiana style seafood was delicious. The best trick of all was that Jimmy convinced Joann, and all of us, to eat spicy crawfish.

The next day, Joann and Bob treated us to a New Year’s seafood feast. We were so surprised that they were able to find blue crabs! Along with hot steamed clams and shrimp – what a way to wrap up 2021!

Hoping your New Year is off to a good start, too!

Next up: Carrabelle, retreat from winter