Florida Mermaid Musings

My home is in Tavares, Florida, a part of the Golden Triangle. So named for the once flourishing citrus industry, which has been mostly wiped out by blight and overdevelopment. Tavares is pretty cool, we are America’s Seaplane City and have a seaplane basin on the Tavares shore of Lake Dora. My particular lair is close to Little Lake Harris but you can get there by Lake Dora, which is also very cool. (More on Harris   Chain of Lakes in future posts!) The Tavares waterfront hosts the most spectacular July 4 fireworks show in the Triangle and an annual antique boat show as well as dragon boat races. The waterfront is an entertainment district so you can walk freely and enjoy libations from place to place. The down side is there is no retail to speak of in Tavares and being the county seat, the jail is always looming in the background. The waterfront was spanked badly by the recent Hurricane Irma; docks washed away and boats tumbled on top of each other like toys. It will be rebuilt so

...for a freshwater Mermaid. I live in Lake County, smack dab in the middle of Florida. They call it Lake County for a reason, from the sky you can see there is more water than land. To get anywhere by car you have to drive around, over, or through a body of water (I don't recommend the latter). Lucky for me I have a kayak and friends with boats. And of course I swim. To visit my salty sisters I can reach either coast in just over an hour. If I really must go to the Happiest Place on Earth I can get there in less than an hour (EPCOT is my favorite). For free entertainment, cheap drinks, and shenanigans The Villages is 45 minutes north. But I am most grateful for being just a half-hour drive away from the Ocala National Forest. As a kid I camped with my family in the forest frequently and as an adult I swam in the many lakes, springs, and rivers. Wildlife in the forest is abundant, you will most surely encounter black bear, deer, and alligators but might glimpse a bobcat, manate

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