Located 43 miles southeast from our current winter location is the small town of Crystal River Florida. It is an easy 48 minutes and no interstate highways involved! We met Pat’s brother Tom and sister-in-law Ginny in Crystal River for a manatee adventure and dinner. Plus we got to get reacquainted with friends from Ohio, Greg and Jeannie!
Crystal River
With a population of 3,000 people and an elevation of 4ft above sea level, the town was begun in 1903 and is the self proclaimed “home of the manatee.” From wikipedia: Crystal River is at the heart of the Nature Coast of Florida. The city is situated around Kings Bay, which is spring-fed and so keeps a constant 72 °F (22 °C) temperature year round. A cluster of 50 springs designated as a first-magnitude system feeds Kings Bay. A first-magnitude system discharges 100 cubic feet or more of water per second, which equals about 64 million gallons of water per day.
Three Sisters Springs
There are many types of ways to see the manatees. Snorkel, scuba, or just view from the boardwalk (which was our chosen method). We met our family and friends at the town hall to buy our tickets that included a roundtrip bus ride to the springs and access to the boardwalk all around the warm springs.
The Three Sisters Springs Center is the official concessionaire for land access to Three Sisters Springs, a unit of the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge. The bus or trolley ride was very warm on a hot day, but fortunately was quite short.
Dinner at Crackers in Crystal River
We all met back at Greg and Jeannie’s RV for a round of cocktails before dinner at a recommended seafood place. The outside dining is where we always head in this time of Covid. It was very pleasant until the no-see-ums moved in. Fortunately, they had a bottle of bug spray that we all quickly used to ward off the little buggers. Everyone had a great dinner and before long we were headed back north to Williston, avoiding the many deer along US 27 after dark.
The two photos above are of Trish holding Drew, a Papillon breed. Greg and Jeannie raise these from pups and the best go into service dog training for the “4 Paws For Ability” organization. LINK
It is amazing what service these little furry pups can provide. They are trained for seizure alert, diabetic alerts, and many other tasks. This couple has already raised and trained another Papillion to go on to be a service dog. Now they are working on another young pup. I’m sure that many children will be blessed with these gifts.
We had wanted to get back down to Crystal River and explore the area some more. But somehow, the month just got away from us. Just too much to do and not enough time!
Wrap Up
We have six days remaining here at Williston, Florida. This month has gone by very quick. Guess they all do anymore. Next up in the blog are our local day trips to an elephant refuge, a rock quarry turned into a beautiful botanical gardens, and some wood shop projects.
The work on our Virginia home’s kitchen has finally begun with the removal of the old cabinets and flooring. After the new flooring has been installed, the new cabinets are next, followed by countertops, and then the backsplash. They are projecting to be done just as we arrive back home on April 1st!
The weather here could not be better over the next 10 days. Take care and God Bless.
Looks like a great place to visit. Glad some more work is getting done on the house.
The work on house keeps running into “surprises.” Like finding paneling behind the cabinets instead of drywall. 🙂
We kayaked at Sister Springs and ate at Crackers a few years ago. I also visited the elephant refuge. Always fun to explore different areas. Just think, only 1 month to go! Where did the time go? Take care!
Debbie Clark
It sounds like you guys did the same things plus more while here!