Florida tales. Part One: Wakulla Springs

I've just returned from a week in Florida with my best friend and her absolutely adorable baby.  We spent the first weekend in Wakulla Springs, just south of Tallahassee in the part of Florida known as the panhandle.  This part of Florida is closer to Alabama than Miami, and has something of that "southern" feel.  Certainly the accents of the locals have that lilt, which an old ham like me can't help but mimic.  Talk about stepping back in time!  We stayed at the Lodge, a big old hotel with a rattling, inlaid wood elevator (complete with manual door closing), a spacious lobby/games room area with intricately patterned high ceilings and a view over the lagoon. 

This is where the old monster movie "Creature from the Black Lagoon" was filmed, as well some of the Johnny Weismuller Tarzan movies.  We went on a boat cruise along the lagoon, framed by tall cypress trees draped with a kind of greyish moss that gave them an eerie look, like old wizards beards.  It's easy to see why vampire and witch movies are set in these 'ere parts.

There is so much wildlife living on, in, and around the lagoon; many bird species, alligators, turtles and manatees.  We glimpsed a manatee (a large animal, kind of like a walrus with a dolphin tail) from the boat, but it really just looked like a large mass of sand moving under the water), but here's some pics of other creatures we got a better view of:

On the Sunday, there was a meeting of the local vintage car club.  Dad, this one's for you:

On the left, a 1934 Bentley; on the right, a 16 cylinder Cadillac

On the Monday, we drove to Orlando to spend a few days in Disneyworld, where Marit was attending a conference.  My official babysitting duties were about to begin!  Lucky for me, Tiago (all of 10 months old) is a delightful baby with a very easy going nature.  We became friends quickly (and I'm never shy of performing for a captive audience) and had a splendid few days in the mind-bogglingly large Disney.  That's another blog entry to come.  Right now, I'll leave you with one last cute pic, and then I gotta start packing!