There she was...

I know, I seem to be stuck on mermaids lately. But yesterday I left work early (!) to head to a meeting (non-day-job-related!).

On the trek to the interstate I was pacing a truck. This was not unusual in itself, but I kept catching something in my peripheral vision when we’d pass by each other. As we slowed to a stop I leaned forward to look at the side of the trailer – Baitmaster. Ok. I like fishing but I’ll use whatever my bro-in-law brings along. He’s the one with the boat; I have no need to buy bait.

But just below the text there she was, perched on a hook with her green scales pulled modestly up around her bosoms.

Blonde hair and typical mermaid profile just like the one in my dreams, but ten times as big and not on ice.

I think she’s haunting me.

Dreaming under the sea

So my Weeki Wachee post described, I think, our day at the park sufficiently. But the magic of the mermaids is something else entirely.

I had several recurring dreams as a child and one of the less disturbing (though still weird) dreams involved a mermaid. No, I take that back – it was plain disturbing.

There was a fish shop that I used to go to with my mother when I was little and she was running errands. (This shop may have been purely an invention of my dream - I’ll have to check with her on this.) We’d stop by this fish shop, I believe just north of the US41 bridge over the Peace River (a pretty specific detail, but I still think this may have all been part of the dream world). The floor was white terrazzo, the air conditioning ran cold but humid, and there was, of course, the aroma of fish in the air. A bell rang and hit the storefront door as it opened and closed. I did not like eating fish until very recently, so the odor was unpleasant to me. I’d bide my time while my mother picked out her selections for dinners I would not eat. This was all normal, repetitive, everyday stuff. And then one day I peered into the freezer closest to the door, across from the register, to see the whole fish laid out on the crushed ice. I didn’t like eating the creatures but found them fun to look at. Dead on the ice. Thinking back on that, it seems a bit morbid, but I love fishing now and that’s what you do to them – lay them out on the ice….

One day something was different. Gray scales with green edges, hints of oranges, light glinting off the skins – yes, that was right. And lying horizontally along with all the other future-meals was a little mermaid. About two feet long. With full-grown human/mermaid proportions, scaled down to a length of about 24 inches. Her tail was green, the scales had gray edges. A sick dread set in my stomach and I turned around and found my mother thankfully ready to leave. I hurried out ahead of her.

I had this dream I don’t know how many times. Why is it that the weird, rock-in-the-stomach-forming dreams are the ones that always come back? Not the airy, happy, sparkly ones? Another of my recurring dreams came partially true one night – woke the whole house up with that one…but that’s a story for another day.

So…my early-on brushes with mermaids were a little…off, shall we say? But thankfully that did not prejudice me against the mythical beauty that normally surrounds these creatures.

Weeki Wachee Weekend (was wonderful)

First, let me start by spelling the name of the spring correctly…it’s not Weeki “Watchee” as I’d typed in my last post. It’s Weeki Wachee. And it’s plain fun to say – give it a try! The name means “winding river” or “little spring”.

Saturday morning my sister, my niece, and I ventured out (after visiting a farmers’ market to take advantage of one of the last weekends of strawberry season) and up 75. We took our exit and everything was peachy keen, until, for the third time, our mapquest directions told us to turn L on Cortez Blvd/SR 50. Third time. In a row. We’d never left Cortez Blvd/SR 50. After seriously doubting the accuracy of the directions, and one wide u-turn we realized, yes, you turn on the same road three times. Really, who planned this town?

(Strawberry goodness)

Alas! We got there and snagged a primo parking spot and made our way in. The first show was just starting – it was the Mermaids of Yesteryear, which featured mermaids from the past decades back in the water in a sort of behind-the-scenes show – fun, right? One of my favorite shows ever is Pushing Daisies, and throughout the day, but especially during this show, I kept thinking of Aunts Lily and Vivian, the retired Darling Mermaid Darlings. I was so happy the mermaids of yesteryear were back in their tails – they seemed content to be diving and dancing.

(Darling mermaids)

Aside from being a fairy-“tail” (oh, I love being cheesy) attraction that caters to the young and young-at-heart, the setting of Weeki Wachee is a slice of lovely, shady, quiet Florida. I really do love this state. Well, it was quiet except for the very vocal peacocks roaming around. These were not shy birds. They had no qualms about snatching sweet potato fries from hungry tourists.

(I love his lovely blue)

We snacked on our own fries (keeping one eye on the peacocks), wandered around the lovely grounds, took photos in the mermaid props (of course), and peered into the natural springs. Is it just my native Floridian blood, or is 74.2 degrees just too chilly to call swimmable? Though the swimming hole was full of people…perhaps snowbirds?

(My sister - the mermaid queen, me - the…king? My niece, who loves the camera, was being uncharacteristically camera- shy and didn’t want to pose…)

(Mermaid Me...ooh lala)

(People more cold-tolerant than me)

Next, the feature mermaid show had my niece (and me) captivated. I think when you’re little you probably don’t even notice the breathing hoses, but even through my thoroughly jaded adult eyes, the mermaid show was as I had imagined it would be 20 years ago - full of wonder. The show was a rendition of The Little Mermaid - a little bit H.C. Andersen, a little bit Disney, and a little bit Weeki Wachee original - and it was just right. We even got to meet the mermaid princess after the show!

(Lovely mermaid)

(My sister and niece [being oddly camera shy again] with the mermaid princess!)

We concluded our outing with a ride on the river boat (we almost didn’t make it because, unfortunately it seems, some people have no manners, and have no problem jumping in front of entire lines of patient people to make sure they get theirs…). We saw a bald eagle, an osprey nest, a deer, and some kayakers along the way.

(The chilly water did actually look inviting by this point in the day – it was a tad warm in the sun.)

What a beautiful, magical day.

PS - my sister wrote a guest post on our friend's blog SHDesignFL - check it out too!