Florida

Six days is way too long to be away from my dog, but sometimes you gotta do what the wife says.  Combo x-mas/dad's 70th birthday, so there was a lot going on and we didn't get to explore much outside of the golf course community of The Villages.

Lots of these signs though.  I still freak out when I see a gator, but the folks down there don't bat an eye.

We did make it up to Silver Springs State Park near Ocala for a half day.  Besides the alligators, I do love the swamps.  So different than what I'm used to in Colorado.

We rented a kayak at the state park and went off in search of manatees.  Saw a bunch of gators and turtles, and even quite a few monkeys.

After 90 minutes we were about to give up on our sea cow quest when we finally spotted one!

We got pretty close, then this guy decides to go under our boat.  They are friendly, but playful, and he could have very easily flipped us into the gator infested water.  But he was cool.

After the state park we went out to the 88 Bar.  Found out about this place while checking out the Florida Trail, it's a common stop among hikers.  Super cool place.

Then we hit Infinite Ale Works in Ocala.  As impressed as I was with the beer in Georgia, I was underwhelmed with the central Florida beer scene.

Luckily, you can get Yuengling down there, which I drank like I was a high school kid back in Pennsylvania.

The Villages is a golf cart community.  I guess if I had to live there I'd have something similar to this:

This is a copper sculpture in the Orlando airport.  Super creepy.

Good trip but sheesh was I glad to get back to Colorado.