One Year on the Road

The Louis Thursby house was supposed to be open for touring, but it wasn&#039;t.

The Thursby&#039;s were the first whites to settle here in 1856.

The park had walkways all along the Blue Spring inlet.

With decks for viewing the manatees.

Beth loves her a manatee.

At first sight, the manatees look like giant slugs floating in the water.

But every few minutes, they rise to take a breath.

Sometimes they like to spin in circles.

This mama had a baby.

The baby nurses just under the flipper.

The manatees seem quite friendly with each other.

Lots of gar fish and other fish in the water.

But manatees are vegetarians, living on sea grass.

They have to swim out to St. Johns river to eat.

Great blue heron landing across the river.

Kate spotted this squirrel carrying her baby down a tree.

At the end of the boardwalk is a platform by the swimming area.

No swimming or boating allowed during manatee season.

This  crevice is Blue Spring,

Divers can explore the spring, which is 128 feet deep.

This little baby looks like a dolphin.

This baby was hanging onto mamam.

We noticed this boater in the spring.

There was a snorkler, too.

The snorkler was surrounded by manatees.

We just hung out and watched.

Turns out the snorkler was freeing a manatee from a tangle of fishing wire.

Both its fins had been tied together.

The woman in the boat does the manatee count every morning.

There are roped off areas where manatees who don&#039;t want interaction can get away from people.