February 23, 2015

This area is also called, “The Nature’s Coast.”  From the official website, “Crystal River, the gem of Florida’s beautiful Nature Coast, is about a two hour drive from Tampa/St. Petersburg. We are situated around the magnificent Kings Bay, designated as an Outstanding Florida Waterway and offering ample opportunities for boating, diving, swimming, fishing as well as a variety of Manatee and Eco-Tours. We’re proud of our history, parks, natural beauty, low tax structure and first rate municipal services.”

Looking at Trip Advisor and other web searches, we were ready for an outstanding time! We knew we’d have to return to finish seeing what we didn’t have time to see. But alas, we are limping out, disappointed that we didn’t have much fun but we had several adventures!

What we liked: hummm, let us think. There is a great tire store nearby and we loved the First Baptist Church. And we know there was great beauty here, we just had a hard time finding it. Maybe the weather had something to do with it (the great freeze of Florida, so the manatees fled for warmer waters)….but we also miscalculated, we wanted to take the glass bottom boat ride in Silver Springs, which was a bit far.
What we didn’t like: Since we’re not boaters or fishermen (of fish), we probably couldn’t appreciate the area. It is full of estuaries, so trying to get around was hindered. We always find something to do, no matter the weather. We did have the coldest night in history here, but that didn’t ruin it for us. But we couldn’t find a museum or decent trail to hike!

The second day there, we discovered we had run over a 12 penny nail (like a spike). So to keep a boring story short, we spent all day getting that taken care of. But the tire dealer was excellent, to bad he couldn’t sell us all four tires-he only had three so we bought two and next stop, we’ll finish that job!
And then there is the campground. Here is our full review on Campendium, but for now, let’s just say we won’t return during peak season! Here’s a few pictures to show why:

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To be continued…part 2 of 3

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” John 7:38