We spent a relaxing 3 days at Manatee Springs St. Park. Located on the Suwannee River near the west coast of Florida north of Cedar Key, it is a haven for wintering manatees. Click to view the "Manatee Springs" photo album. Unfortunately, the manatees won’t be arriving for the winter until the end of next month, so we haven’t spotted any. Maybe we’ll come back if we’re still around the area to catch a glimpse of these gentle giants. Nevertheless, the park is very pretty and provides opportunities for camping, swimming, scuba diving, canoeing, kayaking, and hiking or biking on its miles of trails. The beautiful natural springs remain a constant 72* year round, and produce an amazing 100 million gallons of crystal clear water a day! There is an underground cave system that connects the different pools. One is known as ‘catfish pond’ where scuba divers come out looking like creatures from the black lagoon when they emerge through the layer of green plants covering the surface (check out the ‘catfish pond’ photo in the album). Joe took some time on Saturday to do some research and make a few contacts to prepare our land in Dunnellon to make it livable for a couple of months while we’re here. After his meetings today, we’re excited about the possibilities. I took some much needed time to walk, enjoy my surroundings and take a few photos. We’re moving on down the road today to Village Pines, a quaint little RV community within a few minutes of our land on County Road 337. We’ll be close enough to get the land prepped for inhabitation! Stay tuned for further updates…..