What are manatees? It is a mammal that looks like a seal, except it lives in the river. Florida has a lot of Manatee Reservation and the closest one to Orlando is the Blue Spring State Park, Orange City. It took about 1 hour drive from Orlando. I got in touch with hannahonearth on her trip to see the manatees while she's in FL. She went to a larger spring called Crytal Lake. Too bad for me, Crystal Lake was further away from Orlando and my flight was at noon.

After checking out, this time I properly downloaded my offline map and off I go to the Blue Spring. The entrance fee was $6 and the park opens at 8am - perfect for my short time in Orlando. I dreamt of maybe do some canoeing or paddle boarding but the rental centre does not open until 10 am. At the park ranger's booth the manatee count was 6 (pretty low) due to colder water temperature. 

There is a trail called the Blue Pool trail, where you can walk on the board walk and see couple of pools in the park. I expected clear pools that you can see the bottom just like hannahoneath's pictures and I did not get disappointed. It was amazing that the river was crystal clear! I can see the bottom and all the fishes inside the river. And, I manage to spot 2 manatees swimming and floating in the middle of the lake.

The park actually open for swimming and water sports, but the activity ceased during manatee season. I saw a couple owning a boat actually get closed and personal with the manatees. Ahh, how I wish I have an inflatable pocket kayak in my bag. Nevertheless, it was an amazing experience and the river was very beautiful. We always thought US waters are polluted but not in Orlando. they keep it very clean and beautiful. I don't see any blue river like this in Malaysia - the only ones I saw was when I visited Interlaken, Switzerland. 

I spend 1.5 hours at the park (I wish I spent more) and I drove straight to the airport to return the car rental and board the flight to Houston. I initially wanted to go to the beaches but considering it is Spring Break, I don't think I managed to handle the massive crowds. I had to passed on the Cape Canevral Space Centre too. The security line in Orlando was worst. Thankfully they open two sections to speed up the process. The flight was okay except when the plane was about to land. it was so scary since we're landing cross-wind. The plane shook and sway very hard that a kid besides me started to cry. I was terrified but thankfully, the pilot land it smoothly.

Overall, I am very happy on how my solo trip turns out. I get to go to every places I planned to despite of several short comings. Who knows, I might come back to visit Orlando next time?