March 30 -April 1, 2014. Weeki Wachee, Rainbow Springs and Auburn.

Leaving Florida to head north is what snowbirds do at the end of March. We are no different except that our north, until sometime in April is Auburn, Alabama where Spring is warm and sunny. 

We wanted to make two stops en route to Alabama; both state parks: Weeki Wachee and Rainbow Springs. Weeki Wachee originally belonged to a movie studio with its main attraction being a mermaid show. Apparently the girls used to stand out by the highway in their bathing suits to try attract people to the show. Today, you need to line up at least 45 minutes before show time in order to get a seat for the  30 minute show. 

                                  

             

We experienced just about everything Weeki Wachee had to offer. We took the 30 minute boat ride where we saw manatees and an enormous eagle's nest; watched the 30 minute reptile show (two snakes, two turtles and one alligator) and saw the mermaid show. All well worth the $13 admission fee. It is not a large park so we were glad to have gotten there early and left before it got too crowded and the lines too long.

         

Rainbow Springs State Park is a relatively new park and so the campsites and the facilities are very modern. There are several hiking trails with one in particular that leads to the Withlacoochee River which is a 141 mile long stretch of water. We did a bit of biking and although we enjoyed the park, the absence of Wifi is a strike against it.

On Monday we continued on north through Georgia, enjoying the countryside once we left the Interstate. Horses, cows, peanut and pecan farms along with gorgeous spring blooms made for a pleasant drive to sunny Auburn, Alabama.