Day 16 Weeki Wachee Springs

Mermaids

Left Clearwater late morning and headed north up Rt 19 not sure where we were going since we had no real plans for today. A quick trip around and through Tarpon Springs was convincing enough that it didn't seem like a pleasant place to spend the night. So we kept going until we stopped for lunch at Upper Deck Restaurant in Hernando Beach where we had a couple of okay sandwiches and watched the air-boats come and go. Afterward, we continued driving up the road until we got to Weeki Wachee Springs State Park when we remembered that John and Bonny told us we should checkout the Mermaid Show. With nowhere else to go, we got a room at a cheap hotel and went to see the Mermaids. It was sort of entertaining and after taking the Wilderness River Cruise thought it was a mostly worthwhile stop. The water here comes from a warm spring and is as clear as any water I've seen anywhere. The river was loaded with fish and wildlife and made me wish for the Patuxent River to look half as good as this.

Today was Sylvia's birthday and a decent dinner was necessary. Sylvia found a Spanish Italian place called Brian's Place (http://www.briansonthebeach.com). It's located in Hernando Beach and turned out to be absolutely terrific. It had the best menu I had seen in a long time. The Chorizo Cristini, Tuna Ceviche Tacos, and a special of the day Hog Fish dinner were all fantastic. I would have liked to try a half dozen other dishes but had no room. Brian's Dad Bob spent a lot of time giving us the history of him, his son and the restaurant - it was more than interesting. If anyone gets in this area - and I don't know why you would - Brian's Place is a definite must-go-to stop. I will if I'm ever in the area again.