Exploring Central Florida

 On my last trip to Ocala with Doug, I focused mainly on getting to know the city a little bit better than I could online.  I checked out the local attractions and also housing options.  This trip, I decided to branch out farther in central Florida and look for a beach.  The closest one that I could find was an hour away named, Fort Island Gulf Beach, so I headed there after lunch at McAllister's with Doug.

The beach was definitely small, about 500 steps from one side to the other.  A lot of reviews on Trip Advisor criticized it for that, but I thought it was perfect for locals in the area.  It had restrooms, a shower to wash off the sand and a pier to walk out on or to fish as many people were doing today.  I FaceTimed Meg while I was there to show it to her and we agreed that it would be perfect if we ever had little children to take to the beach.  

My next stop of the afternoon was in Crystal River, Florida about ten minutes from the beach.  Crystal River's biggest attraction was the springs where the manatees come to find warmer water in the winter months.  Since it was a hot day in July I decided not to even look for Florida's sea cows.   Instead I headed to a natural history state park - The Crystal River Archaeological Site.  I didn't know anything about the area, but thought that it sounded interesting.  I definitely wasn't disappointed.  There was a museum that held artifacts of the Crystal River Indians who lived near the river during the 500 b.c to 600 a.d. time period.  They built mounds out of shell for religious, ceremonial and burial purposes.  Several still stood today.  After I visited the museum and listened to the movie describing the park, I took a walking tour of the mounds.  It was impressive.

Later this evening I shared everything that I saw with Doug over dinner at the Brickhouse.  He enjoyed listening to my adventure.  He hasn't had time to do as much exploring in the area as I have.  After dinner we walked down to his favorite brewery in downtown Ocala, Infinite Ale.  On our way there we were thrilled to see a sign outside a construction site that said "Coming Soon, Mellow Mushroom!"  All of the Heinisch children were glad to hear that.