Seeing Silver Springs

One of Florida's legendary tourist attractions is Silver Springs. "See Silver Springs" was on bumper stickers, billboards, and everything else that could carry a message in the mid-20th century. And the glass-bottom boats, whereby one saw the silver springs, were world famous, at least in Florida. Of course it was all eclipsed by Disney, as was everything else, declined, but finally was purchased by the state to become a state park, nature preserve, and historical site. Vicki visited it with her family when she was 10, and I am sure I was there with my mother and father on one of our "Florida" vacations in the 50s. It was an activity on Friday at Vicki's mini-reunion in Ocala, and we were there. Admission was a mere $2, the emphasis was on things natural and historical, and on the history of Florida tourism, and we were very glad we went.

Old-timey entrance preserved

And the glass-bottomed boats

Which take you perhaps a quarter mile down the river to see a
score of the springs and various wildlife and other features

Local bird, an anhinga

And now we are underway, marveling at the ultra-
clear spring water through the glass bottom

Tons of protected fish, turtles and other critters

The springs come up through the limestone, clearing out the 
sandy areas...some hundreds of millions of gallons from the Florida
aquifer

Remains of an ancient native American dug-out canoe; so it was
said

A number of movies were filmed at Silver Springs, most notably,
for me, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and its sequels, which
gave me nightmares as a child and probably explains my reluctance
to step into any body of water that is less than 3% chlorine; that, and
Jaws

Another anhinga, drying its wings

Among the many turtles, probably 15 inch-wide shells

Ashore, a member of our party, Janice, who visited us in Paris in 2014

And Cookie, now enjoying a post-career as a photographer

An alligator, not a small one, lurks nearby; alas, we did not see
any of the manatees

38 feet down, one of the larger springs

Gratuities left for the boat captain/guide, whose narration was nearly
as good as Disney's Jungle Cruise

Now we are promenading ashore, being enlightened
by the excellent signage

Statue of Osceola, leader of the unconquered Seminole
tribe

No swimming, currently, although the state has agreed
to restore a swimming area; people were kayaking and
paddle-boarding all over the river when we were there 

Artsy-fartsy shot of the springs and reflected clouds above

Love the old tourism posters

Exploring down one of the side creeks

Fooling around, as usual

Nice historical attention

Giant cypresses all over; nice place, we recommend
especially for the Florida nostalgia

Nova Class of '66

Members of Vicki's high school class always thought of themselves as special--the first class to enter and graduate from an experimental and progressive public high school in Fort Lauderdale--and now, well beyond their 50th reunion, they continue to gather informally every few years. And so, for us, it was another road trip and gathering, this time in Ocala, Florida. Mostly it was meal-time conversations and catching up and also in the evenings around the pool. There was also a day-time excursion to Silver Springs, which will be the subject of the next post.

Another rental car, with all the new-to-us safety features; after several
years of such rentals I am now getting comfortable with said features,
even relying on them

Appropriate road music

Moon and star aligned just right for a 5AM departure

Very weird cloud formations above Ocala; sink-holes in the sky?

Driving around Ocala, we encountered this and
chased down the driver and his companion...both
20 or less, with no idea of the family name nor
history (except that it is nearly always mispronounced);
part of the Ebenezer (GA) Sherouse clan migrated
to central Florida in the 19th century, my part to
Fort Myers, other parts to northern Florida; the driver's
family has been in the plastering business in Alachua
county for more than a century; just FYI; you saw it 
first here

Nova Titans and Titanettes, 2023

And just 1,256 miles later, we are back at the Raleigh shopping center
to return the car

Getting our steps and marveling at the fashions while
awaiting Rebecca's arrival to take us back home

Among the clever things seen

Scandinavian Penultimate Downsizing

Our daily routine, nearly every day, involves going through stuff, making decisions whether to sell, discard, donate, keep, leave for descendants and survivors. We are doing the Swedish Death Cleaning process, leisurely, mindfully. One might say we've been doing it for fifteen years, in visits to Montana, periodically going through all the stuff we put in storage upon retiring in 2008. But now we are doing it for the long haul. It has been an interesting process so far, occasioning many journeys down the memory or amnesia lanes, some puzzlement, some amazement, some to be highlighted below. Many still for sale.

Of course, the SDC process itself needs re-branding, to avoid the morbid connotations. I have tentatively settled on the blogpost title above, but I am open to suggestions, except anything about sparking joy. And speaking of re-branding...a couple weeks ago Vicki made "Marry Me" chicken, an Italian dish featuring sun-dried tomatoes, tomato paste, cream, and red pepper flakes, among other things. Delicioso. We are now calling it Swipe Right Chicken. Look it up.

Among items recovered after 15 years' storage: my first, and last,
oil painting, an Expulsion, c. 1988; among the first Apple-adopters
in the late 70s, we gradually became unhappy with the brand,
which may be reflected in the painting; maybe not; interestingly,
the serpent and god are the expellers; more relevantly, with this
painting I learned that it takes a long time for linseed oil-based
paint to dry and that in a place like Dallas the oil attracts gnats
that then get stuck in the muck; I bet van Eyck never had to pick
gnats out of Adoration of the Mystic Lamb

Accordingly, I switched over to acrylic, which cleans up with
water and does not stain the carpet nor attract gnats (important art
history and technological insights); this is my mostly impasto portrait
of our dog, Fafner--beloved Fafner--a Tibetan Terrier, faithful
companion from 1983 to 1995; this and the above not for sale

Books; many books; this is my 15-volume set of Samuel Eliot
Morison's History of United States Naval Operations in World War II

Memories of Dallas...1986...I was Special Assistant to the President
of SMU...just months before the Death Penalty, SMU was hosting 
the Final Four...and Vicki and I were among the VIPs...

Souvenir

From the WTF department: neither of us has any
recollection whatsoever of how we came by this
Mannequin Pis replica liquor dispenser; works, too
(see illustration); batteries not included; liquor not
included

For 13 years we lived in the Inland Northwest--Big Sky country--
and of course had to have a Hudson's Bay blanket to adorn our log
home

No idea where this came from either--cassette tapes--
I'm hardly a Verdi fan, and have yet to begin going
through all the vinyls and CDs

Glasses from the Stiegl beer museum in Salzburg;
"Es muss ein Stiegl sein!" ("It must be a Stiegl!")

My winter Kimono-style robe, from a visit to Japan
in 1983; SMU was in the Mirage Bowl

Authentic haggis whistle, from Scotland, guaranteed
to attract female haggises in heat; $1,000 OBO; no
returns, no refunds

Amazing what people will buy...needles and thread
not included...anything with the Chouinard name on
it is gold

Amazing what people will buy episode II...I bought
these in the 80s...Ralph Lauren...don't think 
I ever wore them

Beautiful heavy wool sweater...too big, too itchy

Interesting how you out-grow things in middle age...

One of Vicki's banker outfits

Antique eight foot hand-woven wall tapestry...Kasmir...
where is Antique Road Show when you need them?!

Our snowmobiling days are numbered...#1

If you come visit us you'll probably be asked to model
something or other

Brand is everything

No end in sight for the books

Great for Ottoman costume parties...

Historic T-shirts

Obviously bought in Alaska, for what we are not
sure; whale blubber? never used

1972 Chouinard Equipment catalog (now Patagonia),
bought probably in Yosemite Valley, or possibly REI in
Seattle, for $.50; buy it now for $499; famous early
exposition of "clean" climbing 

Our snowmobiling days are numbered...#2

Another curiosity...bought in York in 2010, for
$20, sold now in the US for $129; go figure...