Aliyah Reviews – Manatees at Florida’s Blue Spring State Park

After visiting St. Augustine and learning bunches of US history, Aliyah decided to give us all a break and take us to a park. With manatees and alligators and swing sets. Now there’s a combination you don’t see every day…

Blue Spring, NOT TO BE CONFUSED with Blue Springs (plural), is located between DeLand and Sanford, Florida, as you can see here. There are a bunch of other parks and places to visit in the “River of Lakes Heritage Corrider” and their website can tell you all about them. Gran is just too lazy to do all that for you whippersnappers. Hrmph.

Now, to be perfectly clear, manatees are NOT mermaids, though they have been mistaken for lovely lasses of the sea so many times it’s ridiculous. Christopher Columbus spied one in 1492, but silly Chris, he naturally assumed it was a long-haired, fish-tailed beauty. Because everyone wants to see mermaids, am I right?? He wrote down the sighting, documenting his awkward lack of discernment while creating the very first historical record of a manatee sighting anywhere, at least on this side of the pond. He did note, for the record, that they weren’t as lovely as expected, having “mannish features.” Native Americans must have seen a bunch of them, but since they lacked written language there was no writing things down.

Blue Spring State Park is just gorgeous, and everyone loved the surroundings. Here are a few pictures of the river and lush flora. Depending on the light, the spring and waters appear very green or even blue-green. It’s simply beautiful.

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But where are the manatees? Aliyah asked the same question. They are swimming tranquilly in the water, just beneath the surface. There were several swimming up and down the spring waters, but they didn’t show up too well in most of the photos. Here’s a good manatee snapshot that turned out well:

What is the difference between a mermaid and a manatee you ask? There are several important similarities and differences:

Similarities:

1. Manatees are mammals with tails. Mermaids are at least half mammal and have tails, but everybody swears they’re fish tails. Not sure how that works, but hey.
2. Manatees and mermaids are very roughly the same length in the water, as far as anyone knows. But manatees are admittedly much chubbier at up to 1200 pounds.
3. Neither mermaids nor manatees are fat. Have you ever seen a fat mermaid picture? I didn’t think so. Manatees *look* fat, but that’s all muscle and what-such. They can’t survive cold waters because they aren’t insulated by fat (blubber) like whales. Technically a skinny mermaid wouldn’t do well in cold ocean waters either, but since they’re imaginary, they don’t even notice the cold.

Important differences:

1. Manatees are herbivores, i.e. vegans. Mermaids stand accused of eating anything slower than them. Like you.
2. Manatees are slow swimmers, and easy to get along with. Mermaids are supposed to be fast swimmers. And they can get persnickety, especially when they’re hungry.
3. Manatees are real. Mermaids are real in our hearts.
4. Manatees are a ‘threatened’ species, but there are around 6,000 of them in Florida. Mermaids are an ‘imaginary’ species and can be found at cosplay conventions and Weeki Wachi, a town in Florida with a mermaid training academy.
5. Manatees are a rather undistinguished brown or gray. Mermaids are flashy with lots of glitter and strategically placed seashells stuck to them.
6. Manatees like warm water like coastal Florida (again, no blubber.) They don’t survive in cold ocean water. Mermaids prefer deep ocean water ’cause the cold never bothered them anyway.

As you may remember, there are alligators in Florida, and oddly enough that includes Blue Spring. We can show you if you aren’t convinced. This was a big guy, probably six feet long or so. Don’t ask him what he eats for dinner.

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There was quite a long boardwalk with several viewing platforms here and there along the way. It was quite well built, strong and sturdy. All the sections near water were equipped with impressive railing to keep the alligators away from our toes and grandchildren. Thank you to the folks at Blue Spring!

There were several kiosks along our way, with historical stories, ecology, and wildlife information. Aliyah liked the pictures and showed us the ones she found most interesting.

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We walked all the way to the head of the spring, as it was a perfect day to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. Aliyah charged ahead with Granddad while Grams lagged a bit to take pics of the gorgeous scenery. All that grayish looking stuff hanging from the trees is spanish moss, and it is sooo pretty.

Aliyah slowed down soon enough, because she kept stopping to say hello to all the dogs in the world. Or at least in the park… Special thank you’s to all the dogs and their people who let us say hello and take a picture!

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She also tried very hard to say hello to a greedy fat squirrel begging for treats. We wouldn’t let her get near him, or vice versa. We hear that rabies is *almost* as bad as COVID-19, so of course we don’t want to take chances.

At the end of our walk was the head of the spring, where the water bubbles up from beneath the earth. It was almost an unworldly shade of bluegreen, and so peaceful that you would want to jump in, except for the alligators.

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There was a pretty viewing platform by the spring head, and for some reason there was a dead tree stump in the middle of it. We suppose that there had been a beautiful healthy tree there at one time, but now it is just a rest stop for dolls.

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Walking back from the spring head, we stopped by the gift shop, where Aliyah evaluated the selection of merch for her very favorite readers. There were several books of interest, and a LOT of manatee plushies. Plus mermaids!

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In addition to the scenic boardwalk and manatee viewing stations, there is a bucolic picnic area and playground. There is also a great big lawn where kids and their grownups can run around and act silly. It looks like a good spot for frisbee, although we didn’t seen anyone so inclined today.

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There are also riverboat cruises, although we didn’t indulge in one today. There are also kayak rentals, but kayaking through croc-infested waters with a little kid? Just no.

Aliyah Rose is an avid proponent of healthy outdoor activity. She diligently tested the sports arena, er, playground for functionality and fitness for purpose. All equipment was inspected and stress tested by swinging, climbing, jumping and yelling. Everything worked great, including her lungs.

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We left happy, with a bag full of dead leaves, twigs, and a new manatee toy. When we got home, Grams found some fun online info, pics, and videos to show Aliyah and you. For example, Reddit has a big Manatee community: r/Manatees (>6800 members). It has tons of pics, videos, and even manatee art! Grams loved the videos, and Aliyah liked how manatees can twirl in the water. Like her.

There are also a lot of manatee videos on YouTube – Aliyah’s favorite was the one from SciShow Kids, Why Sea Cows are Awesome. Things Aliyah found especially interesting in the video:

• Manatees are most closely related to elephants.
• Manatees look  silly with seaweed hair!

Aliyah’s Review

She loved the manatees, the fish, the squirrel, the leaves, the swingset, her new toy, and pretty much everything. She didn’t like walking quite so far and wanted to be carried back to the car. (Tough luck on that one, kiddo.) Two little thumbs up!

Love and blessings from all of us to all of you. Stay safe, stay well.

About Blue Spring State Park

Website: www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/blue-spring-state-park
Address: 2100 W French Ave, Orange City, FL 32713
Phone: (386) 775-3663

References

1. River of Lakes Heritage Corrider Website (rolhc.org)
2. Florida State Parks, ‘Blue Spring State Park’, https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/blue-spring-state-park
3. National Geographic, ‘When Push Comes to Shove,’ www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2013/04/manatees/
4. National Geographic, “How Did Manatees Inspire Mermaid Legends?”, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/11/141124-manatee-awareness-month-dugongs-animals-science/ (2014) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/03/160304-manatees-animals-science-florida-endangered/ (March 2016)
5. SciShow Kids, ‘Why Sea Cows Are Awesome | Science for Kids’, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX6yXKplIdA
6. Kipling, Rudyard, ‘The Elephant’s Child’