Mermaids and Margheritas ....... it's rock and roll in Florida!

Because it was the Saturday yesterday, Jody and Clare decided that we were going to go for a day trip.

"So where are we off to then?" I asked with anticipation.

"Well," said Jody, "we are taking you to the oldest tourist attraction in Florida, called Weeki Wachee Spring."

"Blimey, that sounds intriguing," I replied, "how old is it?"

"It was built back in the 1950s," Jody answered.

"Bloody hell, my Dad's older than that," I exclaimed (I wouldn't normally put that, but I know that Father and Stepmother are currently sailing around the Greek Islands in their tub, so they won't read it. Bad me).

After further questioning, Jody explained to me that Weeki Wachee was the site of a large and natural spring pool, and over the years, it had been progressively developed to allow tourists to swim there. Not only that, but it had morphed itself into America's premier mermaid centre.

'Mermaids?' I hear you cry, 'aren't they just a figment of Hans Christian Anderson's imagination?'

Well, yes. At least that's what I thought too. And I was glad they were fictional because let's face it, who wants a friend that smells of fish, and has to be wheeled round in a trolley once they get out of the bath?

I had no idea what to expect with regards to the mermaids, but I was prepared to be opened minded about it, and so we all jumped into the car bound for Weeki Wachee Park.

The journey took just over an hour (and I was sat in the back of the car where I nearly died from heat exhaustion and lack of oxygen because the air-con only reached the front seats), before we pulled up in the Park's carpark.

Pic.No.1 The entrance to Weeki Wachee Park. For some obscure reason, there was a statue of some bird holding another bird in the air

As soon as we got out of the car, Jody said that we had to hurry, because we were booked in to see a performance by the mermaids. I was still intrigued as we dashed into the park and headed for a large building in the centre.

The building was dark inside, and a steep ramp took us further and further down into the bowels of the building. At the end of the ramp, there was a door and we pulled it open to be faced with a large auditorium. But it was like no other auditorium; instead of a stage, all the seats faced a huge, underwater pool which was retained by thick glass. 

Pic.No.1 This is the auditorium facing the large underwater pool. Jody informed us that the pool we were viewing was in fact the Weeki Wachee spring itself

We took our places and within seconds some music started, and then much to my surprise, three mermaids swam out into the pool right in front of our very eyes! Bloody hell.

Ok, they weren't real mermaids, but they were pretty darned amazing. They were performing about 30-40 feet under the surface of the water with only a small tube of air to suck on every now and again. And even then, they would drop the airline for a minute or so at a time to undertake some of the more tricky synchronised manoeuvres. If you thought about it long enough, it would turn you claustrophobic.

Pic.No.2 These are the Mermaids at Weeki Wachee. They had a nice line in Fin couture

Unsurprisingly, the performance was a re-enactment of Hans Christian Anderson's 'The Little Mermaid'. But it was very clever the way the mermaids lip-synced with the script that was being blasted out into the auditorium. But being a cynic, they probably had an underwater auto-cue.

Pic.No.3 This is the Little Mermaid before she trades her tail for legs and marries the Prince. The End

Vid.No.1The mermaids doing their swimmy thingy

All in all, I was really quite impressed with the mermaid thingy, and it is definitely something that children would love. As long as you don't tell them that the mermaids weren't real. That makes them cry ......... apparently.

After the performance, we took a stroll round the park.

Pic.No.4 This is a view of the top of the pool where the mermaids did their performance

Pic.No.5 This is my bessie chum, Clare and I in the park. You can quite clearly see why my nickname is 'Gorgonzola', but I am not sure why my mouth is the shape of an orange slice

Pic.No.6 Another statue of a mermaid placed in the middle of a stream (they had taken a theme and were running with it)

Pic.No.7  I needed a comedy photo opportunity, and luckily one presented itself when I spotted this semi-naked mermaid. The park Ranger looked a bit shocked when he drove past in his golfing buggy. Nothing a wink couldn't sort out

As well as fondling mermaids, we also rode some inflatable doughnuts down the river, and walked some trails through the tropical Florida forests.

But then we decided that we were hungry, and Jody suggested that we eat at a restaurant called 'The Texas Roadhouse', which we had passed on the way to Weeki Wachee. Toot Toot! That was a suggestion that I liked the sound of.

Twenty minutes after leaving Weeki Wachee park, we were seated inside the air-conditioned steak house.

Pic.No.8 This is the inside of the Texas Roadhouse. Look at that old boy with the 'tache giving me the dead eye: 'yo lookin' at my meat gal?' 

The food was pretty good, but even better, 'eagle-eyes Clare' noticed that it was happy hour and that Margherita cocktails only cost $1.99. Marvellous! So we ordered four, served salty, not sweet. We are reckless that way.

Pic.No.9 That is Clare and me quaffing Margheritas. Man alive they were magnificently potent

And finally, after a long day in the sunshine ogling mermaids and drinking Margheritas, we decided to head home. As we walked towards the car, we noticed that the auto in the spot next to us was sporting rather an odd number plate.

Pic.No.10 The number plate read 'womb MT 2' (womb empty too)

Bloody hell, only in America. We speculated as to what it might mean, and could only come up with the idea that a lady with fertility problems wasn't scared of airing her woes in public. Unless you can think of anything more plausible?

And so after a fun day out, we arrived back at Clare and Jody's house and I was just in time to capture the sun setting over the lake behind their house.

Pic.No.11 This is the first arty shot of the sunset

Pic.No.12 This is the second arty shot of the sunset

Pic.No.13 And this is the third arty shot of the sunset ....... where the sun finally disappears altogether

So that is me for today. What have you been up to so far this fine weekend?



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