States – Page 6 – Wandering Dawgs

Birds, Manatees, and Mermaids on the Florida Gulf Coast

February 16, 2023Posted in Birds, Florida, Nature, Sunrise, Sunset, Tourist AttractionsTagged American White Pelican, Brown Pelican, Crystal River, Florida Birding, Great Blue Heron, Manatees, tri colored heron, Weeki Wachee 75th anniversary, Weeki Wachee Mermaids, Weeki Wachee Springs12 Comments

Our home away from home for our recent getaway to Florida’s Gulf Coast was a cute Airbnb in a quiet neighborhood near Crystal River. It was our first Airbnb experience and it was exactly what we were looking for. When we weren’t out exploring the area we enjoyed just relaxing on the large screened porch or walking around the neighborhood in search of wildlife.

I started each day with a walk. The sunrises were glorious and I enjoyed seeing the many birds each day.

Brown pelicans stand by while an American White Pelican scratches an itch

A fisherman tossed a fish to this Great Blue Heron who enjoyed a free breakfast

Weeki Wachee Springs

Weeki Wachee Springs State Park was just a 45 minute drive south so we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to see the famous mermaid show there. The park is celebrating it’s 75th anniversary this year. In addition to the mermaid shows there is a swimming beach, Ranger led wildlife talks, picnic areas, kayaking and a nature cruise on the Weeki Wachee River. Mermaid statues around the park are part of the 75th anniversary celebration.

We took the nature cruise where we saw Martha, one half of the resident Bald Eagle pair George and Martha, and a Tri-Colored Heron in the mangroves.

The highlight of our visit was attending the mermaid show. We arrived early for the show and while we waited for the main show we were entertained with videos of the history of the park and highlights of some of the old mermaid shows. My favorites were the old black and white videos with the mermaids in their old style swimsuits.

Swimming with Manatees

One of my bucket list items was to swim with the manatees in Crystal River. We had done this back in the 1990’s and I’ve been wanting to do it again ever since. We booked an early morning tour with Fun2Dive in Crystal River. Before we left home we watched a manatee manners video which explained what was acceptable and what was not when in the water with these gentle giants.

I donned a wetsuit and met our guide at the dive shop before riding a bus to the dock where we boarded our boat, the Manatee Life for a tour through the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge. There are several springs which are protected Manatee sanctuaries in the refuge. Henry stayed on the boat with the captain to watch the manatees from above the water. I was one of four guests who got in the water with our guide. As soon as we hit the water we watched a small female chewing on the anchor line of another boat.

Two manatees enter the sanctuary while we humans watched from outside the roped off area

Following our guide outside the sanctuary in search of manatees

Our guide led us in our search and showed us where to look. We spotted several manatees and stayed in the water for about an hour before getting back on the boat. Our captain then took us on a boat ride around the bay to a second location. The highlight of the day was observing a huge female moving along the bottom grazing on the grass as we watched. She weighed about 1500 pounds and ignored us.

We watched her for a while before it was time to head back to the boat. While we were in the water Henry and the captain spotted a mating herd in the water near us.

Scenic Drive on Fort Island Trail

Another day we took a drive along the Fort Island Trail. We stopped to walk out on a fishing pier on the Gulf and watched a manatee swim under the pier. We took a walk on a beautiful white sand beach near the pier and stopped at another smaller fishing pier before returning home.

View from fishing pier at Citrus County Fort Island Trail Park

Sunset

Watching the sunset on Florida’s Gulf Coast was a great way to end each day.

Lens Artists Photo Challenge # 228 – Diagonals

December 9, 2022Posted in Georgia, PhotographyTagged Diagonals, Lens-Artists, Photo Challenge17 Comments

Our latest photo challenges comes from Patti who asks us to “explore diagonals as a way to add visual interest and depth to your photos.”

I chose a few images from around Coastal Georgia.

Talmadge Memorial Bridge, Savannah, Georgia

Walking and Biking trail, Jekyll Island, Georgia

Stairs leading to the top of the Tybee Island Lighthouse, Georgia

Many thanks to Patti for her Lens-Artists Challenge #228 – Diagonals

Lens Artists Photo Challenge # 227 – Home Sweet Home

December 4, 2022December 4, 2022Posted in Georgia, Nature, PhotographyTagged Coastal Georgia, Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge, home sweet home, Lens-Artists, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Photo Challenge, Savannah21 Comments

If I had a visitor from another country who wanted to see my home country in a week or a month, where would I take them? This is the challenge Tina has given us.

I live in the United States. Many visitors from other countries are surprised by how huge it is. It would take more than a lifetime to see it all.

Instead, I will take the time we have to see the many beautiful sites in my home state of Georgia. There are mountains, farmland, friendly small towns, the Okefenokee Swamp, historic cities, barrier islands, salt marsh, beaches, lakes, and the city of Atlanta.

I’m not sure we could even cover the entire state in one month but we could give it a good try. We’ll start our tour in coastal Georgia where I live. We would visit at least one of the three inhabited barrier islands that can be reached by road, go on a dolphin tour to look for Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins, walk on an uninhabited island that can only be reached by boat, and take a ferry ride to explore Sapelo Island or Cumberland Island National Seashore. We would catch blue crabs from the local waters and steam them for a delicious meal, snack on boiled peanuts, and feast on low country boil with shrimp fresh from the sea.

We would visit historic Savannah and enjoy a family style lunch at Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room.

We could take a ride to Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge to see nesting egrets, herons, and woodstorks in the spring. We could continue farther south for a boat ride through the Okefenoke National Wildlife Refuge.

We would take a road trip on back country roads to north Georgia. We would stop to explore Athens, the home of the University of Georgia, go to the top of Brasstown Bald, and look for waterfalls. We would pass by fields of cotton, corn, and pecan orchards along the way.

We would take another road trip to see the western part of the state and stop to explore Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain and President F. D. Roosevelt’s Little White House in Warm Springs. We would drive by peach orchards and watch the sunset at one of the many lakes in Georgia.

There is so much more to see in Georgia. Sadly, I don’t have photos of some them. In Atlanta we could see the World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia Aquarium, Centennial Olympic Park, Stone Mountain, the President Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. We could visit the Providence Canyon, also called the grand canyon of Georgia in Lumpkin and beautiful Rome in northwest Georgia, and too many more places to name.

I can’t end a post about Georgia without including the University of Georgia Bulldogs football team. Go Dawgs!

Georgia Football Barn Sign, Tennille, GA

If you would like to see more about my home state of Georgia please visit visit this post I did a a few years ago Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Georgia.

Many thanks to Tina for her Lens-Artists Challenge #227 – Home Sweet Home

2022 Alaska and the Inside Passage – Part 8 – The Inside Passage to Vancouver

October 27, 2022Posted in Alaska, British ColumbiaTagged Alaska and the Inside Passage, British Columbia, Inside Passage, Vancouver, Viking Cruise, Viking Ocean Cruise, Viking Orion15 Comments

August 29, 2022 – After our exciting bear watching excursion in Ketchikan we returned to our ship for an early afternoon departure from Ketchikan.

We enjoyed a late lunch ending with Success Cake, our favorite dessert.

While enjoying a delicious Italian dinner at Manfredi’s that night we watched a Canadian Pilot boat pull along beside our ship. Both vessels were moving as the Pilot boarded our ship.

August 30, 2022– Cruising through the Inside Passage from Ketchikan, Alaska to Vancouver, British Columbia was a perfect last day at sea.

By afternoon the sun was shining and we finally saw blue skies. It was a perfect day to sit on the sun deck and take in the spectacular scenery as we cruised south.

August 31, 2022 – Our ship arrived in Vancouver in the early morning. We disembarked about 9:30 a.m. and said goodbye to the Viking Orion and our amazing Alaska adventure.

September 1, 2022 – A little more than 24 hours after we left the ship we arrived home exhausted but very happy travelers.

2022 Alaska and the Inside Passage – Part 7 – Bear Country and Wildlife Expedition in Ketchikan

October 18, 2022Posted in Alaska, Birds, WildlifeTagged Alaska Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary, Alaska and the Inside Passage, Alaska Raptor Center, black bear, Eagle Creek, Ketchikan, totem, Viking Cruise, Viking Ocean Cruise, Viking Orion11 Comments

August 29, 2022 – Shortly after the ship docked in Ketchikan we boarded a bus for a scenic drive to Herring Cove in the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary. The tour started with a nature walk on an easy path through the forest to raised boardwalks beside Eagle Creek. Our guides Bryn and Claire were on the lookout for Black Bears that come to the creek to fish for salmon. We learned Eagle Creek is named for the many Eagles that are often seen there. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any that day.

The scenery was spectacular and we found bears! There were eight bears sighted including three cubs. Some of the bears were walking through the dense woods and others were far off at the edge of a field. I saw seven of them but was only able to capture this adult black bear feeding on berries and wading in the creek in search of salmon.

We came out of the forest and walked to the Alaska Raptor Center where we were introduced to these three birds. The birds were rescued after receiving injuries that would prohibit them from surviving in the wild. The mission of the Alaska Raptor Center is to promote and enhance wild populations of raptors and other avian species through rehabilitation, education, and research.

Ketchikan is home to the most standing totem poles anywhere in the world. A native master totem carver told us how the totems are made before we walked outside to see some of the finished totems.

With about six cruise ships in port the town of Ketchikan was crowded with people as we rode back to our ship. There wasn’t enough time for us to explore the town.