Instead, we kayaked one of our favorite rivers, explored nearby charming small towns, and visited a state park that provides refuge for more than a thousand manatees in winter.
Cottage By The Canal
Our home for the week was a sweet cottage with a deck overlooking a canal in the sleepy little town of Tavares. It was a lovely Airbnb, immaculately clean, and attractively decorated. The owners even left us a nice bottle of wine and a welcome note. And treats for Magnolia, which she found all by herself. Of course.
Our Airbnb in Tavares
The deck overlooking the canal was a peaceful spot for morning coffee and Magnolia’s outdoor time
When we arrive at an Airbnb, the first thing we do is free Magnolia from her travel carrier and bring her inside. She immediately gets to work inspecting everything.
We constantly marvel at our luck in having a cat that isn’t afraid of changes in her surroundings. We have friends with cats that spend most of their lives hiding under the bed. (The cats, not the friends, LOL.) That is not Magnolia. She’s a little busybody, sticking her nose into everything and wanting to be a part of whatever is going on.
The sign says, “Love is all you need.” ❤️
It was a one-room studio. Good thing we all go to bed and get up at the same time.
Blue Spring State Park
One of our primary reasons for staying in central Florida was to visit Blue Spring State Park, which is known for hosting large numbers of manatees in winter. We often see manatees in our Florida adventures, but we’ve never seen more than a couple at a time. That’s because manatees typically only travel singly or in pairs. But in winter, they seek refuge in the relatively warm waters of Florida’s springs. At Blue Spring State Park, hundreds gather in large herds.
These large, rotund, gentle creatures need water temperatures of at least 68 degrees or they’ll get sick. Florida springs maintain a year-round temperature of 68-72 degrees and provide plenty of eelgrass, one of the manatees favorite foods.
It was a bit late in the season, so we only saw 200 manatees in early February. But that’s a lot!
Blue Spring State Park is beautiful. A meandering boardwalk with several viewing platforms stretches one-third mile, from the headsprings to the St. Johns River. There’s something soothing about watching the manatees going about their peaceful, unhurried lives.
Click on photos for a larger image
My new friend
Kayaking The St. Johns River
We finished up our day at Blue Spring State Park by spontaneously renting a kayak from the park concessionaire and paddling for a couple of hours on the beautiful St. Johns River. This is definitely a place we would return to for a longer adventure on the river.
The beautiful St. Johns River
Click on photos for a larger image
We saw at least a dozen Purple Gallinule, which is highly unusual
Kayaking On The Wekiva River
For another kayak adventure, we headed to the Wekiva River. It’s one of our favorite spring-fed rivers in Florida, and we’ve paddled it several times. Happily, our Airbnb was only 20 miles from Wekiva Island, the river outfitter that we like.
Paddling the beautiful Wekiva River
Paddling the Rock Springs run
Quaint Mt. Dora
Although we’ve learned the word “quaint” is a red flag when it describes an Airbnb, it’s the best word I can think of to describe the little central Florida town of Mt. Dora. It’s cute, it’s colorful, and it’s quaint in a good way, not a junky way. Mt. Dora is only five miles from Tavares, so we visited a couple of times.
Cute downtown Mt. Dora
Beautiful Palm Island Park in Mt. Dora has a waterfront boardwalk and trails winding through the Spanish moss-draped landscape. And there’s a lighthouse, which at first we thought was just for decoration. But the light serves as a navigational aid for boaters on Lake Dora.
Mt. Dora Lighthouse
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The magical moss-draped landscape
We happened to be in town for the 50th annual Mt. Dora Arts Festival. Artists and craftspeople from all over the country vie for the opportunity to participate. It’s one of the best art festivals we’ve been to, with a unique variety of arts and crafts.
Biking The West Orange Trail
The one drawback of our Airbnb was that there was nowhere nearby for good biking. We drove 30 miles to the West Orange Trail, where we biked about 30 miles round-trip.
It’s another excellent Florida Rails-to-Trails bike path, and winds though an appealing landscape of live oaks, small towns, and interesting stops along the way, including the Oakland Nature Preserve and a Buddhist temple.
Halfway along the trail is the charming little town of Winter Garden. There are plenty of good options for lunch, including Plant Street Market, a local community market/food hall with a variety of vendors, including a microbrewery.
Rails-to-Trails are our favorite bike trails. Florida has more than 60 old railways that have been converted to bike trails.
A note from the present: We arrived home several days ago, and have been busy unpacking and settling back in. This is our first time returning to our tiny house after a long trip, and I’m happy to say that while we had a fantastic winter trip, all three of us are happy to be home!
Love this adventure! So now we are thinking of adding it to our plans for next year! Looks really amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Karla, you and Ron would love this area! It has all the fun things that you guys enjoy. And you can use your own kayak at those boat launches, so you don’t have to rent one!
“Sweet” is a perfect description for your latest AirBnB adventure. It is awesome that Magnolia is a one of a kind cat and loves to travel. Your photos were lovely as usual and I enjoyed this blog post so much. Be sure and show us a photo of the carved plate in its new home. Home is always a good spot to be.
Thank you, Janna. Home does feel good, to all three of us! We feel so lucky that Magnolia is an easy traveler, because we really don’t want to leave her behind. She would miss us, and we would miss her! The carved plate is already in place. I’ll post more photos of the house when we get more of our projects completed. :-)
So close to Disney…. and yet so far away! I have always loved the lakes, springs, and rivers of central Florida and this post is reminding me why. The water views, the wildlife, the Spanish moss, and the charming little towns are all so appealing. Too bad it’s also the hottest part of the state in the summer. :-)
So glad you enjoyed your visit to Blue Spring. We found that to be one of the underrated parks of the very good Florida State Park system. Glad you saw plenty of manatees, but my favorite photo in this post is the wood duck from Wekiva. I love the juxtaposition with the green heron – what similar colors in very different birds!
Seriously, soooo far away from Disney! Not that I have anything against theme parks (other than the insane crowds, the lines, and the ridiculous expense) haha. We went to Disney and Epcot many years ago, and once was enough. We much prefer the magic of the “Real Florida,” as I know you do.
We had reservations for Blue Spring in our full-time travels but had to cancel for various reasons (including the pandemic). So we were delighted to finally get there, and even happier to visit when there were lots of manatees. That’s one place that I was wishing we still had our trailer, because I would have loved to stay in the park like you and Ken did.
Anyone thinking to camp at the park needs to read your excellent blog post on Blue Spring SP, Shannon!
68-72 degree water sounds good to me too.
Thank you for the travel posts, they get me off of Lopez Island without having to take the ferry.
I’m so glad you enjoying traveling with us, Sheila. I hope all is well on Lopez…the ferry is fun until it isn’t. :(
You really had a great winter getaway. I loved seeing these areas through your eyes, a very different experience than the usual views of Disney, traffic, commercial strips, et al. My mother and her husband lived in that area of central Florida, winters, and we mostly saw the “big stuff”, sigh. We had one enjoyable time at little Kelly Park, tubing on Rock Springs. It was mid-week, mid-day, so we had the place to ourselves and finally felt one with natural Florida.
Sweet Magnolia, how could she not be an adventurer living with the two of you? Thanks for taking us along, I look forward to more of your little house life.
Sue, we really did have a wonderful winter getaway. And Magnolia is so adaptable, lucky us! She complains a little when we put her in her carrier on travel days, but other than that, she’s a great little traveler. I’m looking forward to your travels with Taos!
I didn’t realize that you and Dave had spent time visiting your mom in central Florida. I’m so glad that although you were immersed in the “big stuff” in that part of the state, you also had the delightful experience of tubing on one of the beautiful spring-fed rivers. It’s interesting how many people think of Florida only in terms of theme parks and crowds, when there’s so much more!
What a perfect little AirBnB, close to so many beautiful places and adventures! Love your land and water explorations, the colors are so glorious :-))) I think your new friend is a keeper. Magnolia knew you two were her tribe from the very beginning – lucky for all three of you. The feelings that manatees evoke is so many people is truly magical. How lovely to spend time with lots of them. Your non-RV travels are inspiring me to look at something different in the future.
Jodee, I like to think Magnolia knew what she was doing when she adopted us, haha! I kind of wish that we could take her on walks, but she didn’t take well to a leash, and I would worry about her safety around other critters. We just always make sure she gets plenty of playtime, no matter where we are.
Honestly, I still miss certain things about our RV travels, including always having our home with us. But since we’re no longer full-time traveling, the Airbnbs are working out well. And there are definitely advantages to Airbnbs, including a lot more space for playing “Chase the Kitty!” 😂😂
Oh my. Mo and I loved Blue Spring so much, and especially kayaking Snake Creek which is just off a bend in the St John’s River. One of our most favorite kayaks ever. Lovely times for you two. The mosaic manatee made me smile. Sherry took a photo of me there when we were camping in the park at the same time one year. One of my good friends who worked for me when I was still a soil scientist in California moved to Florida and lived in Mt Dora. I visited her whenever I was there visiting Bel. Such sweet memories
Sue, now I really want to return to the St. Johns River to kayak on Snake Creek! That was our first time on the river, and as you know, it is incredibly beautiful. I’m sure the side channels are even more enchanting!
You have such a wonderful store of memories of your Florida travels. It seems you’ve been everywhere, even the tiny towns and out-of-the-way spots that most people overlook. Most people have no idea of how lovely Florida truly is. I’m glad you know. :-)
Other than a business trip to Orlando years ago, the only areas I’ve visited in Florida were along the east coast. For some reason, I thought the central part of the state was a whole lot of nothing (if you weren’t into theme parks, that is). Your post has definitely changed that perception. What a treat it must have been to see all those manatees!
Janis, I can’t tell you how many of our west coast friends think Florida is not really worth visiting (unless you like theme parks). Eric wasn’t enthusiastic about Florida when I first met him—until he discovered the wealth of birding, kayaking, and biking available. We always love time with the manatees, and we had an abundance of them at Blue Spring State Park. We’re already planning a return visit to central Florida, perhaps Winter Garden so we can be right on the bike trail.
Welcome home! Walking in through your very own front door creates such a delightful feeling of joy (no matter how enjoyable your travels were), doesn’t it?! We were camping at Ortona South, a Corps of Engineers campground on the Okeechobee, some years back. The lockmaster there told Alan that the manatees learn how to navigate the lock system. They’ll actually enter the lock when the gates are open, swim to the closed gates at the other end, and wait there while the the lock fills or drains. When the lockmaster opens the gates, off go the manatees on their merry way. I found that – and the manatees themselves – to be intriguing. So happy you and Eric had a wonderful trip! Thank you for finding another excellent bike trail for us! By the way, I think Magnolia believes that sign should have read, “Magnolia is all you need.”
Thanks, Mary! We’re very happy to be home…but we’re already thinking about the next travel adventure. I know you understand, LOL. I don’t know if you and Alan have camped at Blue Spring SP or Wekiva SP, but you would enjoy both. And you will like biking the West Orange Trail. It’s so much fun to stop and have lunch in Winter Springs!
As you know, there’s a lot of beauty (and manatees) in central Florida. That’s such a cool story about the manatees navigating the locks. I had no idea they could figure that out!
Oh, and Magnolia wants me to tell you that she is delighted that you clearly recognize her importance. 😻
Oh manatees you know how i love them. Can’t believe you are back home already. We have so much to catch up on. Soon!!!
I know how you love the manatees, dear Beth! We do have a lot of catching up to do. When is your next visit here? Soon, we hope!
You’re so right about being lucky with Magnolia. So many animals – cats and dogs – just don’t travel well. She’s a champ! Not only is she NOT fearful, she seems to actively enjoy it. Rare, indeed!
Loved the photos from these parks. Count me as one of the folks who love this area of Florida. The state parks are just wonderfully managed and there’s so much to do and see in “the real Florida.”
Oh, and welcome home! I know you’re happy to be back in your own space just in time for Spring to bloom all around you!
Laura, we really are so lucky to have Magnolia, and we tell her all the time, which of course she enjoys. “You’re such a good kitty! You’re such a good little traveler! You never cough up hairballs!” And so on. As long as she has her favorite foods and her scratching post and toys and us, she’s happy anywhere! 😻
I think the natural beauty of central Florida is highly underrated. That’s probably a good thing, because I wouldn’t want to be on the river with hordes of people. I know you appreciate the “Real Florida” as much as we do.
Spring is gorgeous here!! We’re just in time for the first blooms of tulips, daffodils, redbuds, and cherry trees. I love it!
Hooray! Another wonderful AirBnB, cute little town, fabulous bike trail, and MANATEES!! Blue Spring was one of our favorites, too, our first in-the-wild manatee encounters. Not jumping in the water to hug them is one of the hardest things, isn’t it? And, wow, a dozen Purple Gallinules! That’s good news for both you and them. I’m so glad Maggie is such a little trooper, too. She’s obviously taken her cue from you pair of traveling pros. It’s the best news that coming home to your own nest was just as comforting as you could want it to be. All your happy travels and now fond memories of this central Florida trip being back the same for me of our time there <3
Thanks, Joodie! I didn’t realize that you guys had been to Blue Spring State Park in your Florida travels. I think it’s now my favorite place to see manatees. I agree, they look very huggable. :-) We really liked that park and would love to return to kayak more of the St. Johns. We were so surprised to see not one, not two, but more than a dozen Purple Gallinule come squawking out of the reeds. You know how unusual that is!
As much as we love traveling, we were happy to return to our tiny home. It’s so comfortable, and we love this community and location. Returning to gorgeous spring weather and so many blooming trees and flowers makes it even better! And Magnolia is absolutely thrilled to once again have her screened porch. 😻
Laurel,
The water of Blue Spring is amazingly beautiful. If I were a Manatee, I’d want to swim there, too! One of the activities I enjoy most in our travels is small-town festivals. The Mt. Dora Arts Festival looked like a great way to spend the day. Thanks for sharing this part of your trip. I’ve traveled to Florida all of my life and never heard of some of the places you and Eric visited. I gotta get out more! Magnolia is such a cutie!
Joe, just like you and Helen, we love finding small town festivals in our travels. I was so excited that the Mt. Dora Art Festival was happening while we were there. We’ve been to a lot of art festivals in our travels, and it was one of the best we’ve found anywhere. I grew up in Florida and Eric and I have traveled there many times, and we’re still finding new things to do. Makes it fun to keep exploring!
P.S. We think Magnolia is pretty darned cute, too. :-))
What a lovely post Laurel. I really like Blue Springs too and the Mosaic Manatee is a favorite. You just do such a good job of capturing places in lovely pictures and succinct descriptions unlike my rambling on and on.
Looks like you picked a great Airbnb. It’s cute and located a reasonable distance from some very nice things. Great job of planning.
I made a reservation for next year at Blue Springs so I’m very excited to go after your post. I haven’t been there in several years.
Thanks for your kind comment, Sherry. I’m so glad you enjoyed the post. And I’m delighted that the new Florida reservation system is working in your favor! I know it has been really challenging to get camping reservations for several years now.
Blue Spring is such a beautiful park, as you know. I love the manatees, the boardwalk, the mosaic manatee, the river…lucky you to be staying there next winter!
We haven’t spent much time in Florida … Central or otherwise. Mostly we go there a few days before a cruise embarkation. I see that we might have to change that one of these years.
Erin, your cruises are far more exotic than ANY of our travels, LOL. But we are having fun! Unfortunately, we can’t take Magnolia on a cruise. :-(
When we were in that vicinity, we did the usual tourist trap things, but not Disneyworld however. This is another new to me area in Florida that somehow we skipped. But the best part are the manatees and the kayaking experience in Florida, an activity that I sorely missed.
Im glad you are scoring well in your Airbnb adventures, and Magnolia seem to agree with you.
ML, some of the tourist trap things in Florida are fun! But our favorite activities are the kayaking, birding, and biking. And seeing the manatees is a big bonus! Florida is such a big state, with so many things to do. We’re happy to be living in NC now, but Florida is a wonderful place to be in winter. And the Airbnbs are working out well for all three of us (thankfully!).
Laurel, I love that you guys are exploring all the ‘hidden gems’ in Florida but please share your beautiful discoveries in ‘hushed voices’ with a side of alligators and mosquitos lest we be further inundated with tourists. :-)
When we visited Blue Springs in December, there were about 400 manatees in residence, two weeks later there were over 800. We didn’t have time for a paddle but we will go back. The cottage in Taveres looks warm and cozy and the setting is perfect.
As I recall, you spent time in Gainesville. Did you visit Paynes Prairie Park? It looks interesting from the photos I’ve seen, I just don’t know how daunting a bike ride there might be. We are good for about 20 miles in one day and that’s it.
I am glad your new place felt like home on your return. That’s always a good thing.
Suzanne, okay, I promise to write more about mosquitoes and alligators! I actually have a scary alligator photo for the next post, LOL. It’s hard for me to not be enthusiastic about the things we love about Florida, though. There’s so much natural beauty and so many hidden gems, as you said. Even though I’ve spent almost half of my life in Florida, there’s always something new to discover. And honestly, in all of our travels, we haven’t found anywhere that we enjoy as much in the winter.
I’ll be writing about our biking adventures in Gainesville. The trail there is wonderful! And it’s easy to bike any distance you like.
I don’t think people realize this area of Florida has so much water and quaintness with Orlando being so close. You three had a wonderful winter adventure. What adorable Airbnbs and towns. The water of Blue Spring is so gorgeous. The springs are beautiful places to kayak. Yes, you do have the best kitty for an adventurous life. I guess her wilderness beginning set her up perfectly. I love your ceramic carving plate purchase:) Glad you arrived home safely.
Pam, as you said, I don’t think people realize how much Central Florida has to offer. The small towns, springs, and rivers are a world away from the craziness of Orlando!
We had such a great winter trip! As you can imagine, it’s still an adjustment for us to not have our cozy and comfortable trailer (it was HOME for so many years). But the Airbnb scene is finally working out well. Magnolia is probably the best behaved of the three of us, haha. :-))
Thank you for the travel post, central FL is so very crowded, you’ll love being back in spacious, Alachua county Gainesville.
IF you have not been …..Temple of the Universe is special.
I attend morning and evening service
https://tou.org/schedule/
a stones throw away is ISKCON.
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Signed back up to blog, again
Hi Kathryn, we managed to avoid the crowds in Orlando by staying far away from the city. Nature and small towns are always our favorites! And we were happy to return to Gainesville again this winter. Thank you for your good wishes and recommendations.