Whatchya See at Weeki Wachee

What a long weekend of outrageous events.  First, Saturday we had the Lake Rousseau Block Party, then Sunday we had David's birthday, a hike along the Withlacoochee River Canal and a nail-biting Super Bowl party (see two prior blog entries), and now today we visited Weeki Wachee Springs State Park with our friends Karen and Connie.

“Weeki Wachee” was named by the Seminole Indians. It means “little spring” or “winding river.” The spring is the deepest spring in the U.S. -- so deep that the bottom has never been found, although it has been explored to about 400 feet.  Each day, more than 117 million gallons of clear, fresh 74-degree water bubbles up out of subterranean caverns. Deep in the spring, the surge of the current is so strong that it can knock a scuba diver’s mask off. The basin of the spring is 100 feet wide with limestone sides. Flowing from the spring, the Weeki Wachee River, which is only 3-5 feet deep and crystal clear with 99% pure water, winds its way 12 miles to the Gulf of Mexico.

In 1946, Newton Perry, a former U.S. Navy man who trained Navy Frogmen to swim underwater in World War II, scouted out Weeki Wachee as a good site for a new business. The spring was full of old rusted junk, which was cleared.  Perry experimented with underwater breathing hoses and invented a method of breathing underwater from a free-flowing air hose supplying oxygen from an air compressor, rather than from a tank strapped to the back. With the air hose, humans could give the appearance of thriving underwater with no breathing apparatus.  He built an 18-seat theater under the water in the limestone so viewers could look right into the natural beauty of the ancient spring.  The first mermaid show at Weeki Wachee Springs opened on October 13, 1947, making it over 75 years old today.  

In the 1950s, Weeki Wachee was one of the nation’s most popular tourist stops, attracting worldwide acclaim. Movies were filmed at the spring. Sights at the park included the mermaid shows, orchid gardens, jungle cruises, an Indian encampment and a swimming beach.  It reached its peak popularity in 1959, when it was purchased by the broadcasting company ABC, which heavily promoted it. ABC built the current theater, which seats 400 and is embedded in the side of the spring 16 feet below the surface. ABC also developed themes for the underwater shows, with elaborate props, lifts, music, and storylines such as Underwater Circus, The Mermaids and the Pirates, and Underwater Follies. The mermaids performed Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, Snow White, and Peter Pan.  Today's performances follow the children's story "The Little Mermaid," by Hans Christian Andersen.

Here is a photo/illustration of the theater as originally constructed and decorated by ABC:

We arrived before Connie and Karen, so we occupied ourselves taking our ritual selfy with the statue at the front of the attraction:

Once our friends arrived, we made a beeline to the Underwater Theater, where we were treated to an underwater extravaganza: 

The show featured the Little Mermaid, her sisters, the Prince, a turtle sidekick who reminded us eerily of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle --

 

 -- and the Sea Witch, an obligatory evil character who gives the Little Mermaid legs in place of her fin, but exacts the price of stealing the Little Mermaid's beautiful singing voice:

The Sea Witch appeared from time to time suddenly through a hole inside the theater, to the horror of little kids and amusement of their parents:

In the end, the Little Mermaid and the Prince get married and live happily ever after, as every fairy tale couple must.  They magically appeared inside on a stage and greeted the audience after having their main adventure under the waters of the springs:

After the Mermaid Show, we hurried over for a ranger presentation of wildlife of the park.  Ranger Emily, who was both funny and very knowledgeable, introduced us to a tortoise, a snake and this alligator --

-- while another volunteer ranger, Betty, told us all about the owls of the region:

With our brains full of information about the fauna of the area, we repaired to the park cafe to fill our bellies, too.  Thus refreshed, we walked over to the Wilderness Cruise dock, where we enjoyed a 30 minute boat tour of the local stretch of the Weeki Wachee River:

A highlight of the boat tour was a chance to catch a glimpse of the home of George and Martha Eagle -- a large nest in a pine tree.  We saw no one home, but a short way down the river, we spotted Martha, the matriarch, on the alert for food for Junior:

After the boat tour, as we were working our way back toward the park entrance, we ran across another park resident.  We're not sure that the peacocks and peahens are indigenous to the Weeki Wachee River area, but they are in the park nevertheless -- perhaps part of the park's rescue efforts.  In any event, this peacock looked insouciant and relaxed as we passed him on our walk:

We learned that he inspired a recent children's book titled, "Patrick the Playful Peacock."

“Patrick teaches us to take a chance when we are looking for new experiences,” reads the book’s description. “Follow his day of adventure as he explores the beautiful Weeki Wachee Woodlands.”

Okay...

Finally, we couldn't escape the park without sampling its tourist-friendly self-help sculptures.  Kathy took the first turn imagining herself Under the Sea, and it was a joyous success --

-- while Karen struck a more glamorous pose:

David and Connie demurred donning the mermaid suits, but stated that they were very happy admiring the ladies -- in the words of Patrick the Playful Peacock -- taking a chance and seeking a new experience.  It's certain that our whole experience at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park was new and playful!