[buggyone]

Crystal River - Swimming with the Manatees / Kayaking - River Ventures Manatee Tours

Homosassa Springs - Ellie Schiller State Wildlife Park - Low cost fun

Dunnellon - Tube down the Rainbow River - KP Hole State Park / Rainbow River State park

Chiefland - Manatee Springs State Park - Swim in the spring

Crystal River - Fishing - Captain Dan Clymer - Racin Mullet Charters

Those are all very nice things to do and not too far away. If you are a disabled veteran and have your letter from the VA, you can get a lifetime free admission card to all Florida state parks for you and your spouse.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by mainlander

Hi, Last March we took a trip to "Stetson" (hr's drive or less north) toured a beautifull old mansion and got great discounts from them for a rib place downtown, nice quait college town. Stetson, yes, invested the Steson hat. Worth the trip.

Go see it at Christmas time, beautiful decorations.
There was an ad in today's Daily Sun.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by rubicon

I like going for drives to my local CVS

I am tellin' you Rubicon. You have a way with words and I am a huge fan.

Now that there is funny stuff. I have a feeling you won't stop for a pedicure.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

We went to Silver Springs yesterday and I had very mixed feelings about this place. When I first got there I was very disappointed. The park is very old and run down. I like the feelings of old places as long as they are maintained and this place is not. There were very few patrons which may be why the place is so run down.

There are very few food places and two of them were closed. The main restaurant had a line out the door so we went to the pizza place and found out why people were willing to wait so long for the main restaurant. The pizza was terrible and the place felt dirty and unkempt. The rest rooms were old, musty and smelled awful. I did want to go back in a second time but it was either that or a nearby tree.

After we ate we headed over to Ross Allen Island where the alligators and other Florida animals are. Again the whole place was just dirty and run down. There were a lot of gators but we could barely see the few big cats they have as they were lying down in the far corners of their enclosures. We stopped for a "show" which pretty much was about insects and pretty boring. There is very little signage to tell you where to go and there are a lot of paths so it is quite confusing.
We left that area and took a ride on the glass bottomed boats. Now this was fascinating. Very interesting and very informative. Well worth the trip. It was interesting to find out how many old movies and television series were shot there.
After the boat ride we saw a place called treats so we went for an ice cream. Nothing special, just an ice cream in an old run down building.
We headed over to the other end of the park where we saw some cool animals. The giraffe ate out of our hands.
Also on that side of the park is a safaris ride which was pretty cool. Not great and again, everything including the vehicle seemed old, run down and not maintained. But the ride itself was pretty interesting.
We headed back over to Ross Allen Island and the big cats were moving around a bit, but one of them seemed very ill. He vomited several times. We went for the historical river cruise on that side and again it was OK. A lot of fake buildings and indian villages but it was nice.
I don't know exactly how I feel about this place. Some things make me want to go back and other things just make me never want to go again.
It's too bad the owners are letting it go downhill so badly. A lot of the buildings need to be torn down and replaced, but at least throw a coat of paint on them if you can't afford to replace them.
Don't know what to tell you. It's probably worth going to see once and it's a pretty good deal for Florida residents. Show your license and pay about $18.00. Food was outrageously expensive. $10.00 for two slices of terrible pizza and a soda. Five bucks for a small ice cream cone and $3.00 for a bottled water.

[Bogie Shooter]

[QUOTE=Dr Winston O Boogie jr;579577]We went to Silver Springs yesterday and I had very mixed feelings about this place. When I first got there I was very disappointed. The park is very old and run down. I like the feelings of old places as long as they are maintained and this place is not. There were very few patrons which may be why the place is so run down.

Have you gone to any concerts? They offer a season pass for $60 to attend all their events. Silver Springs Ocala – Florida's Nature Theme Park

[cquick]

It sounds like Silver Springs is the same run down sort of attraction that it was 10 years ago when we went (it might have been longer than that....when we first moved to Florida).

I felt the same way about Cypress Gardens. My mother and I went, and the only good part was the "historical side" where the beautiful old gardens were with the boat ride through them. Now Cypress Gardens is closed, and has been turned into Lego Land. I don't know if they kept the gardens.

I would go back to Silver Springs just for the glass bottomed boat and the beautiful scenery around there. I often hear about entertainment there, did you see that?

[delima2000]

We had a season pass for silver springs but will not renew it for this year. Very disappointed in the park. The concerts were full of teenagers roaming around and a lot of drunks. The car shows were ok but I think the ones in Spanish springs square in the villages were better and the food more to our budget. The park needs updating. I remember the park back in the 70's where the boat rides were much longer. They had a jungle cruise that took you way back into the forest. Not much there any more.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by cquick

It sounds like Silver Springs is the same run down sort of attraction that it was 10 years ago when we went (it might have been longer than that....when we first moved to Florida).

I felt the same way about Cypress Gardens. My mother and I went, and the only good part was the "historical side" where the beautiful old gardens were with the boat ride through them. Now Cypress Gardens is closed, and has been turned into Lego Land. I don't know if they kept the gardens.

I would go back to Silver Springs just for the glass bottomed boat and the beautiful scenery around there. I often hear about entertainment there, did you see that?

See post #80

[kagney123]

Pasco County Florida Giraffe Farm

Can't wait to go here see a bit on youtube search using the name above

[ddan32162]

Cedar Key - very "old" Florida - nice - take the boat excursions, also lots of "dog friendly" places.

Lido Key/Longboat Key (near Sarasota & Ringling) - very nice beaches, nice atmosphere & shop St Armands Circle. We stayed at Lido Island Resort - get the studio or 1 bedroom - walking distance to St. Armands Circle, short ride to Mote Aquarium, walk to great beach with optional pool, nice area. Short ride to kayaking, bird watching, etc.

[NJblue]

According to the Silver Springs web site, the only things left there are the glass bottom boat and the gardens. The rides and animals are all gone. Admission to the grounds is free and the glass bottom boat ride is $13 for adults and $10 for seniors/children.We will be entertaining our 2-year old grandson next month. He might enjoy the boat ride, but am not sure if that is sufficient to warrant the long drive (which, for a 2-year old probably feels like an eternity). Any thoughts?

[Bizdoc]

Don't forget the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot in the fall... (I'd recommend going on a weekday if you want to avoid crowds) They also have free concerts during the F&W festival and well as during Flower & garden in the spring.

There are several state parks within an hour or two.

[senior citizen]

Type "Saint Augustine Florida Historical Landmarks" into your search engine........
Use BING if you can..........great number of historical buildings, fort, etc., etc.
Old city on Atlantic Ocean side of Florida............go in cooler weather if you can.

[senior citizen]

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[kittygilchrist]

Originally Posted by JohnN

This is a great post, thank all.

swim with manatees?? sounds like swim with alligators!!!!!

manatees are in Crystal River springs only in winter. guided tours allow limited swimming with them. they are gentle giants, totally harmless. I did a Fish and Wildlife ID program years ago where you ID the manatees by charting the propeller marks. Sad, poor babies. They have whiskers and very cute faces, some love to be scratched and probably huge poop that no one picks up on purpose. The water is 72 degrees year round in springs so is too cold for me even in a wetsuit.