Tallahassee and Wakulla Springs, Florida

We spent four days visiting the brave new Floridians. The city was, infuriatingly, cooler than Baltimore, and our time better air conditioned. That being said, we did take the opportunity to bob about in the 90-degree water of "Shark Island." Videos on youtube showed Hammerheads and other toothy denizens of the not-so-deep shoving their scaly bodies within about 5 feet of the edge of the sea.

PRO-TIP: when looking to swim at a new beach, do NOT google "shark" and "name of beach in question." It just can't be good news, can it.

However, even closer to Tallahassee, is a freshwater spring which flows into a clear and beautiful river which flows into the sea. It's called Wakulla Springs, it is 69 degrees summer and winter, and it was the site of several jungly movies of the 30s and 40s.

It's full of alligators:


And, it's full of Manatees, which are honestly quite terrifying:



But amazing...