Springs and Manatees

 Today we went to Blue Spring State Park. We came in search of spring water. It has to be clear water. We arrived anticipating the riverboat wildlife tour. The first thing we noticed is that the river is brown, Just like the river water we know from eastern Carolina. Something was remiss. 

The tour was a hot one but it was more productive than we would have thought. We expected to see egrets and alligators, which we did including an alligator with a fish in its mouth. We saw more also including deer and wild turkeys - a bunch of them.  All-in-all it wasn't a bad trip.  

A little more investigation and a short hike and found our clear water - it was just up the creek.  There is a hole; a deep hole that cuts into the Floridan Aquifer pumping millions of gallons of water a day into the creek and it is crystal clear. We watched for Manatees but alas we did not see them. We were told that five of them had been spotted this day but they were just in and out of the stream and then back into the river. We were told that if we were to come back in January we would see literally hundreds of manatees but this was just not their season to be accumulating near the spring water. So we made the best of it by swimming in the cold, cold water.

A Man Can't Just Sit Around

Larry Walters wanted to fly. He filled 45 weather balloons with helium and tied them to his lawn chair. Larry planned to fly up to 30 feet above his backyard, where he would enjoy a few hours of flight before coming down. Instead, he climbed to 16,000 feet.

He shot a few balloons and slowly descended until he got caught on a power line, blacking out a 20-mile area of Long Beach, Calif. He was arrested by waiting members of the Los Angeles Police Department. A reporter asked him why he had done it. Larry replied , “A man can't just sit around.” (Reahard & Associateshttps://go-reahard.com/a-man-cant-just-sit-around/)

Even so, that was our goal today. Mostly we would just sit around. We did some grocery shopping and ran an errand or two but mostly we sat around. It is a virtue and not one that we Americans do very well. It is no wonder that Dallas Willard said, "Rest is an act of faith, especially in our day. Few people get the rest God intends for their well-being. Remember that the Sabbath is one of the 10 Commandments, an entire day to be set aside for rest"

Emily lived in the pool or by the pool any time we were home. Today (all day) would be no exception.

A Magic Kingdom Day

Having stayed on Disney property, this is the first day that we have the 30 minute early entry, thus the first day we had a true rope drop. Given the fact that we had lightning lanes of various types to Tiana's, Tron, Seven Dwarfs, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean we targeted Peter Pan and Jungle Cruise for rope drop. Not so much that these are great rides but they do fill up quickly and it is difficult to secure a lightning lane for them. We wound up at Peter Pan first.

Coming from All-star Sports - These girls were to meet up with us and rope drop

We all met up just inside the Magic Kingdom

We rope dropped a second start point of a part of the park that was not open early. We went to Jungle Cruise and were successful at getting on within 10 minutes. 

Then breakfast a fury of rides

Tiki Room

Haunted Mansion

Tangled bathrooms

Ariel's Adventure

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Tron

Space Mountain

Tiana's Bayou Adventure

After some photos with Disney celebrities and a short parade,  we took our afternoon break. However, because of a truck accident spilling some kind of dangerous materials traffic had been diverted and 192 (which we must cross to get back to our house) was slammed causing our 4 mile journey (as the crow flies) to take a little over two hours.

As a result Olivia did not want to return for the night and Emily Grace was not feeling well and also opted out of the evening festivities. Three of us returned.

A Typhoon Lagoon Day

 Today we spent the morning at Typhoon Lagoon. We rode several rides together and then some of us went to the wave pool while Megan and I went to lazy river.

We spent one day at All Star Sports. This was to get the feel for the resorts, get a free day at the water park, get a seven day advance on lightning lane reservations, and early entry to Magic Kingdom tomorrow. I had to go back to the vacation house to take care of the dog and Olivia decided that she had rather stay at the house as well. Olivia and I did stay at the resort long enough to get the lay of the land.

Rest Day

 As for me, I love to be entertained. I want to do and see new things and our family does great at this. But, every vacation that we take has rest days built into it. Days where we have no plans, wake up at no particular time, and often do nothing. This is not exciting to blog about but it is perhaps when vacation does its best work.

We are at rest. No doubt our bodies benefit (the average person walks over 11 miles in a day at Disney) but our minds find time to rest - to think - to assess - and to create. It is the things that dreams are made of.

We also found time to cook.