GLASS BOTTOM BOATS AND BRISKET

Even though the Fall season officially started yesterday, it's still feeling a lot like summer here in Orlando, FL! Though, the 87 degree weather and drop in humidity has been more than welcomed these past couple of days, we still have a ways to go before it could be considered "sweater weather".

However, the up side to the heat is that it allows water activities such as kayaking, boating and paddle boarding to be enjoyable for much of the year, even into winter! Today we decided to make the most of the extension of summer and we headed to Silver Springs State Park to take a tour of the natural springs on one of their world famous, glass-bottom boats.

Tours are offered year-round and they cost between $12 and $25 per person depending on the length of tour you select. The 30 minute tour runs every 30-45 during park hours and the extended tour is 90 minutes in length, offered on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. For more information, visit their website here.

Silver Springs State Park is located in Ocala, FL, just a short one hour trip from where we are in Orlando, which made it the perfect day trip destination!

The grounds were absolutely stunning and there was even a small shopping center on-site that (when open) would be a delightful addition to the visit. The shops were closed during our visit today due to COVID-19, but we're hoping that we'll get to dine at the Springside Restaurant during our next visit, or perhaps, pack a picnic to enjoy underneath one of the many beautiful shady trees.

While waiting for the boat tour to begin, we took a quick walk around to take in the sights and enjoy the gentle breeze coming off of the springs.

The water was so crystal clear that we could see the many schools of fish swimming around the bottom of the 45 ft. deep lake. It was breathtaking.

We wandered a bit further down and found ourselves learning about the Seminole Indians and their refusal to sign the peace treaty with the US. I'm not much of a history buff, but it was still fascinating to find out that this event took place on this very property and to think about what life back then must have been like.

We later found out on the tour, that one of the sunken canoe's in the springs was thought to be from this Indian tribe. Since the canoe was made from Cypress wood (which doesn't decay in water), the boat was preserved enough for divers to inspect it and date it back to 500 years ago!

After our history lesson, we boarded the pontoon and set sail.

Initially when I heard "glass-bottom boat", I thought the entire bottom of the boat would be made of plexiglass, but for safety reasons that wasn't the case. As you can see, it's just a small section in the center of the boat that's see-through, but it was awesome nonetheless (though if you're pregnant or are prone to car or motion-sickness, I'm not sure this will be a fun activity for you--I'm 25 weeks pregnant and it was hard to bend down look through the glass for 30 minutes).

The tour was very informative and we had a super sweet guide named, Connie, that made it a priority to answer everyone's questions and slow down for the fun parts of the tour so that everyone had a chance to look. She pointed out great photo opportunities and made the excursion feel special!

We had a rare (according to Connie) manatee sighting and she told us that the reason that they start migrating there this time of year, is because manatee's actually can't survive in water temperatures lower than 68 degrees.

Though they seem like they would be well insulated for their size, they don't have blubber to keep them warm and can catch hypothermia, so Florida's natural springs offer them a warm place to live during the colder months because the springs stay at a consistent temperature of 72 degrees year round!

We learned that there have been a great many movie scenes (at least 20!) filmed on this lake. Creature from the Black Lagoon, the James Bond movie Moonraker and six Tarzan films, to name a few!

Connie showed us the exact location that the Creature from the Black Lagoon was filmed (see the picture above with the fish) and it was pretty cool. The white floaties in the bottom right of the picture are actually shards of limestone and shells that are bubbling up from the spring. That's the scene in the movie where the creature comes out of. Though I've never seen the movie, I think I'll be adding it to my Halloween movie list now that I've been to the spot where it was shot!

The last spring on the tour was Mammoth Spring. This is the deepest area of the spring, which is 45 ft. deep and it's called Mammoth Spring for two reasons. The first reason being that it's the largest, deepest area and "mammoth" means large. The second reason is that there is a cave at the bottom of this spring, where actual Mammoth bones were found! I thought that was really incredible.

Mammoth Spring is also the home to the iconic underwater statues, which were actually abandoned props from a 1960's film set for the movie, "I Spy". I couldn't get a good picture of my own, so this one was taken from this article.

After the boat tour, we took a short walk around the property on their wooden paths to take in Florida's natural beauty. If you enjoy walking or hiking, this is a wonderful place to visit! They have five different trails to take and a map on their website to help you on your journey.

Not to mention the kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding, camping and birding options they have available! They truly have something for everyone at this park.

Soon after this picture was taken, our tummies started rumbling, so we started back to the car to find this mama some food. We had decided on Sonny's BBQ, a new place to all of us that we had passed on our way to the park.

We had brisket and ribs, fried pickles, corn bread, coleslaw and potato salad...it was delicious!! The fried pickles were my favorite part of the meal, they were hot, fresh and seasoned and fried perfectly. It really hit the spot and was the perfect way to end a fun afternoon adventure.

Next time, I would really like to visit Ocala's downtown area for some shopping and maybe a bite to eat at a local restaurant. They also have a walking tour of the historic area that sounds like a lot of fun.

All-in-all, it was a great first trip to Ocala and I can't wait to go back!