October 2013
When I first moved to DeLand from Orlando all I wanted to do was explore and discover all of the cool things in the area. I was able to pick my granddaughter JuneBug up from time to time and we would go play all over the place! On one of our adventures we went to Blue Spring State Park. I am not sure if I had visited the park when I was a child but this visit was the first one I could remember being there. We walked the boardwalks to see the spring and then we went down by the river to rent a canoe. Now I have never been in a canoe alone and this time was no exception. On this excursion June and I had a paddler and off we went to see the spring. Inside the spring we had the most amazing encounter with manatee. It was so much fun. They came up to the canoe and swam around and even splashed us with their giant tails. It was like we were in a show at Sea World or something. I had never been that close to anything in the wild before. I was so thrilled, I think even more than June. The rental was for an hour but we were probably out there for half that time because June looked at me in the mist of everything and said, “Grandma, I have to go to the bathroom and not number 1.” Needless to say, our paddler got us to shore as quick as quick can be!
I would like to let you know that you are not allowed in the spring from November 15th to March 15th because the manatee come there by the hundreds seeking warmth. No need to be disappointed though, it is a pretty amazing sight to see.
