Crystal River Trip - The Good, The Wet & The Ugly

[anolefan 8]

Yes, a life jacket for the dog! Believe me, being a Retriever, he is a great swimmer. The main purpose of the life jacket is it has a handle on the top, so when we are out in the middle of the lake (where no one can touch) we can toss him overboard to cool off, then just lift him back into the boat with the handle. He weighs about 90 lbs. so there would be no way to pick him up unless we were standing on bottom. We also ended up using it on Sunday.....which I will get to soon!

I was going ask about the handle, thanks for clarifying. I wish you had a picture of you tossing him overboard and lifting him up. That would be great.

This is a great report!

[stefa70 205]

We're on the downhill run now.

Sunday morning we sat around camp drinking coffee. The sky was clear and the sun was shining! Normally at home, I prefer tandem showers....ya know only to conserve water. >:D In the rv, that's not possible!! So Trevor decides he will go use the resort shower while I use the rv one. He comes back within minutes. I figured maybe they were full. No, when he walked into the pool area, the cleaning lady came out and told him the pool wasn't open yet. He explained he was going to the shower, to which she replied:

"You don't even want to go in there, and I'm gonna be there for a while!"

I would assume that for every person that vomited along the roads, at least a few of them actually made it into the bathroom! SO Trevor had to wait his turn at the rv.

We loaded up and went out to the shallows for a while.

There were a few kayakers already there when we got there.

Mason was raring to go! He had this whole shallows thing figured out by now.

Within 5 minutes of being anchored we saw the ripples in the water. There were two manatees about 30 feet in front of the boat. I hadn't brought any kind of raft that I could have used to float out there, so I just stood on the bow and watched them. It was hard to get pictures since they only surface once in a while but I did get a couple.

I swore up and down that I would bring my pool float on the next trip so I could get out to them.

Mason played ball:

Once he was good and tired we decided to ride over to Three Sister Springs. You can almost always find manatee in there, along with many boaters, kayakers, scuba divers and snorkelers.

This is on the way in:

We have another friend who lives right on the corner. She works for Plantation Realty, so she bought this boat for advertising and uses it in the boat parades.

The springs were so crowded with boats that we thought we'd come back in there another time. Like NOT a holiday weekend, but a weekday. So we headed back out the canal.

We passed a few people on kayaks.

That is the ultimate way to see the springs as it's easier to navigate. The water is crystal clear all the way to the bottom.

Just outside of the bridge going into Three Sisters, there's a sandbar area. When we got there, there were quite a few boats huddled together. We stopped just outside of them and Nate jumped in. He was about waist deep so he could just walk and pull us into that area without worrying about any collisions. I was standing on the front bow when we notice all the other boaters are pointing at Nate (who I can barely see as he's under the front bow)

Then I realize that they're not pointing at Nate, but rather at what was headed right at him. It was a baby manatee!! He was about 4 foot long and about 2 foot in front of him. We all told Nate to just be still and see if he would come up to him, as they are pretty inquisitive. In 21 years, I have never seen Nathen be so quiet or be so still. The only thing he said (very softly) was "Mom, it's kind of freakin me out!" He got about 6 inches from him, then turned to the right. The laws for manatee are pretty strict. You aren't allowed to go after them or touch them, but they have been known to come right up and bump into you.

In this picture you can just see the bow of the boat...but you can't see Nate! :laugh:

I WILL have my pool float with me next weekend, and can only hope I get that lucky. It was such a strange feeling for them to be so close and really made me grateful for all the manatee sanctuaries and laws to protect them. I had quite the sappy moment!

When baby manatee was clear of the boat, we jumped out. It was too deep for Mason so he had to have his life jacket. Everyone got a kick out of him swimming around them.

We went back to camp that afternoon and Mason and I napped while the boys went into town to pick up a few things. After they came back, we cleaned up and went to Crackers. Crackers is a great little restaurant that's been there for years. We drove the truck, but you can dock the boat right there and eat or go to the tiki bar. Great seafood, burgers and sandwiches!

We knew we wanted a couple of their apps so we started out with conch fritters:

And calamari:

We decided we'd better just stick with sandwiches after that, and even then, half of mine came home with me! As my dear Grandfather used to say "Your eyes are bigger than your stomach!"

Trevor had a burger of some sort:

Nate had a Mahi sandwich:

And I had a philly steak:

This is out the back door. You can see Pete's Pier (which you saw in earlier pics) in the background.

On the deck of the tiki bar: (Trevor is hiding my doggie bag behind his back :) )

We took the scenic route (back roads along the water ) on the way back and I saw my next boat....Lol, yeah right!

The funny thing was on the back of this boat it said "Sea Toy" That's one heck of a toy!

We got back to camp and believe it or not, met some friendly neighbors! More on that later along with resort pics and final thoughts.

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Okay next year we plan a weekend at Crystal River. The baby manatee is awesome. I have to be honest and agree with Nate, I would be feeling a little freaked out too. :eek: Looks like the food was yummy too

I'm trying not to think about what went on in the bathrooms, but I do know I won't be visiting on a holiday weekend :barf:

Great pictures, the river is beautiful. waiting for more :pc:

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

It is definitely a gorgeous place. I love the water! Mason looks like he is having a blast!

[Lou... 3,118]

It's not the Fort, but all and all, it looks like a fun time. And no complaints about pictures of Mason instead of little kids. Most dogs are cuter and better behaved than little kids anyways.

[BouncingTiggers 98]

That area just looks terrific. I have never seen a manatee thanks for showing me something new. I have to agree with Lou. Most dogs are better behaved than kids. Of course yours could be terrified what else you might make him wear if he wasn't. :rofl2:

[BouncingTiggers 98]

double post

[LORNADUCK 261]

Sounds like it was a good trip after all. Looking at the pictures I miss Crystal River, I love the Manatees and we have seen dolphin playing with each other and swimming around us, can't wait to get our boat working so we can go to the flats and 3 sisters. I love chedders. I can imagine how wild it must have been at the CG, we have been there for many big weekends.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I did think of Dave and his love of food, but I was in a pretty crappy mood at that point and Arbys isn't too exciting. I do have some food pics coming up soon though!

:argh: :popo:

Oh, wait...have you redeemed yourself for your lack of an Arby's pic??

Why YES!!! You DID redeem yourself...and in the process you win the DaveInTN Gratuitous Food Pic Award for the week!!! :dance:

:heart: :heart: :heart:

[stefa70 205]

It is definitely a gorgeous place. I love the water! Mason looks like he is having a blast!

Rita, you are not too far away. Maybe you could plan a trip here and meet up with us! :banana:

It's not the Fort, but all and all, it looks like a fun time. And no complaints about pictures of Mason instead of little kids. Most dogs are cuter and better behaved than little kids anyways.

No Lou, it's not the fort, but it is a beautiful area. Yes, Mason is much better behaved than most children. I will have a story about that later!

That area just looks terrific. I have never seen a manatee thanks for showing me something new. I have to agree with Lou. Most dogs are better behaved than kids. Of course yours could be terrified what else you might make him wear if he wasn't. :rofl2:

You've never seen a manatee? You should really think of planning a trip this way the next time you go to the fort. It's only an hour or so away and there are many tour boats that will take you right to the areas that they hang out. It really was an experience. That was the first time I have ever been that close. And Mason loves his lifejacket! :raspberry: He knows that if the lifejacket is going on, there's water involved!

Sounds like it was a good trip after all. Looking at the pictures I miss Crystal River, I love the Manatees and we have seen dolphin playing with each other and swimming around us, can't wait to get our boat working so we can go to the flats and 3 sisters. I love chedders. I can imagine how wild it must have been at the CG, we have been there for many big weekends.

I wish you'd get the damn boat fixed! You probably can't imagine how wild it was at the cg. Most people who we talked to said that it has really gone downhill over the years. Even the guy next to us asked where we were from and when we told him, he said "why would you come to this shit hole? :laugh: They should really do some over hauling, and pay more attention to their own rules. Business must be pretty bad though because I would say half the people around us were leaving their rv there for a couple of months at $350.00 month, for PREMIUM sites!! I wish Disney was hurting that bad, I've paid that for a long weekend! Of course, with those prices, you get a different class of people. It's a shame too because they are in a great area and the campground could be much nicer. Didn't bother me too much since I really only slept there, but I wouldn't spend the whole summer there!

:argh: :popo:

Oh, wait...have you redeemed yourself for your lack of an Arby's pic??

Why YES!!! You DID redeem yourself...and in the process you win the DaveInTN Gratuitous Food Pic Award for the week!!! :dance:

:heart: :heart: :heart:

Thanks Dave! The people in the restaurant probably thought I was some wacko tourist, but I couldn't forget food pics for you!

[SCTigerCock 171]

Stef,

Glad things got better. :banana: Didn't sound like it could have gotten much worse. :rofl2:

I wish my youngest loved the water like yours. But my prisspot is a no go in the water.

That food pron looks great!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Hey S70-

I'm just back from my weekend at the Fort, and am just now catching up with the trip reports.

I am glad that the rain stopped for you after Friday. And, your no-rain dance worked at the Fort, too. We arrived on Saturday and left yesterday (Tuesday), and we had not a single drop of rain the entire trip! With all the rain we have had lately, that is quite remarkable. So, thanks!

Thanks for the Crepe Myrtle photo. Maybe my Grandpa and yours got together and l looked over us both for the weekend.

I love the Mason photos! He is definitely smiling.

Your boat looks great!

I love the manatee pics. I have taken the TCD girls to Three Sisters Springs a few times in the winter for some swimming with the manatees. Now that you have a boat, you need to go on a cold day in January. It is amazing how many manatees hang out there.

So, I guess we will see you at the Fort next July 4th?

TCD

[stefa70 205]

Stef,

Glad things got better. :banana: Didn't sound like it could have gotten much worse. :rofl2:

I wish my youngest loved the water like yours. But my prisspot is a no go in the water.

That food pron looks great!

Thanks Genia! If things had gotten worse on Friday, I would have needed medication!

Hey S70-

I'm just back from my weekend at the Fort, and am just now catching up with the trip reports.

I am glad that the rain stopped for you after Friday. And, your no-rain dance worked at the Fort, too. We arrived on Saturday and left yesterday (Tuesday), and we had not a single drop of rain the entire trip! With all the rain we have had lately, that is quite remarkable. So, thanks!

Thanks for the Crepe Myrtle photo. Maybe my Grandpa and yours got together and l looked over us both for the weekend.

I love the Mason photos! He is definitely smiling.

Your boat looks great!

I love the manatee pics. I have taken the TCD girls to Three Sisters Springs a few times in the winter for some swimming with the manatees. Now that you have a boat, you need to go on a cold day in January. It is amazing how many manatees hang out there.

So, I guess we will see you at the Fort next July 4th?

TCD

So happy that you're home, and I'm glad that my rain dance worked for you.

I love the thought of our Gramps together looking out for us. It's strange how things work. If you hadn't told us the crepe moytel story, seeing that crepe wouldn't have made me think of you and your Grandfather, which means I probably wouldn't have thought of mine. It's hard for me to do right now as it's still so fresh. Because he lived in NY, I only saw him once a year, so part of me still expects him to be there. So, I'm glad that you were on my mind at that moment. :heart:

I don't know if you'll see me at the Fort for the 4th. Normally we don't do any trips in June or July as Trevor is extremely busy. Crystal River is good because if he were to get backed up, we're close enough that he could travel back and forth. As it turned out, with all the rains, he did have to work on Friday for half the day. But ya never know!

Now that you're home, I must finish this report. I enjoy reading yours much more than writing mine. :)

[stefa70 205]

Time to wrap this report up. When I left you last, we had just returned from dinner. Tonight they had a DJ at the pool and the music was much more enjoyable. Nathen was at Jarred's house so I texted him to bring us some more beer. No sooner did I send that text, the lady behind us asks if either one of us wanted a drink. Of course I jumped up, and asked "what ya got?" She never did tell me, she just waved me over and dispensed some type of punch. It was amazing!! Very very sweet, but within 5 minutes as the ice melted it was delicious. I had to ask for the recipe. It was passion fruit juice, citrus vodka ( A LOT OF IT) & diet 7-up. We decided to call it passion punch. Real imaginative, huh? They were part of a large group who were leaving their rv's there for the whole month and coming down on the weekends from the Gainsville area. Very nice people, finally!! I was beginning to think my deodorant wasn't working! So I had a couple of glasses of punch, which made the night more tolerable.

I did take a couple resort pictures which I'll share with you now.

Along the canal are sites that have their own boat dock which is nice if you're there for any length of time.

Standing on a dock looking down at the others

Pool area on karaoke night

Shuffle board and tennis courts (never saw them being used)

There is a small lake inside of the resort and this lonely little bench was sitting along side of it.

This is part of the little lake, which is behind the club house/laundry

The rest of the resort was covered in vehicles and people so those are the only pics I took.

The only other near miss we had was Sunday morning. Trevor walked Mason over to get me a newspaper. When he got there, a SUV pulled up with 2 yellow labs inside barking their heads off. One in the front, one in the back with the tailgate window open. As soon as the driver got out of the car, the dog in the back did a swan dive out the window, claws scraping down the whole tailgate, face planted on the pavement and came after Mason! (who was leashed, sitting there calmly) Thank God, Trevor's parents owned a kennel for many years so he is unfazed by dogs. He quickly reached out and grabbed her by the back of the neck and pinned her to the ground. The owner came running over and apologized, picked the dog up by the collar and heaved her back into the truck. He started at Mason saying "oh you're such a good boy!" and Mason actually growled at him! Trevor told the guy that Mason was a little freaked out and he understood considering his dog just tried to assault him!

By the time Trevor walked back to our site, his eyes were as big as saucers. Just another "Oh My!" moment.

Monday morning, we got up early as usual and packed up. We were back home by 9:15, so we had time to unpack and still have the whole day to goof off.

My final thoughts:

Crystal Isles Resort has a lot of potential, and from what people have told me, it used to be very nice and well run.

I'm sure the economy has hurt them, along with everyone else, which is not their fault. But I'm afraid they are on a downhill spiral.

All the concrete pads have broken apart.

We counted a total of 3 garbage cans throughout the whole place which means people prefer to toss their garbage on the ground.

Our water spigot had no handle, thankfully Trevor always has tools in is truck so we used a wrench to turn it off & on.

The office is open from 8-6. So at 6:05 the madness begins as there is no one to stop it.

Many times we were thisclose to having a head on collision with the carts and bikes as everyone speeds around. The site across from us had a huge 5th wheel, 3 trucks, a golf cart and a boat at their site which narrows the roads even more.

Everything "bad" about the place is minor stuff that could be remedied fairly easy, but it doesn't seem as if anyone cares. I hope I'm wrong because it is a perfect location for boating or fishing. Only time will tell!

I was smart enough to walk through on Friday night and note on the map all the sites along the canal that stayed high and dry in that storm. So now we know when we go back we can get one of those sites. That will prevent rear neighbors, won't be underwater, and we can park the two trucks sideways in front and barricade ourselves from the other crazies!

I swear there were moments when I thought I heard banjos!

Thanks for riding along on my trip! Til next time........

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Great finish, I always like it when there are adult beverages included in a report. Poor Mason, he was an innocent bystander and he got bounced. Maybe the female thought he was cute :heart: It's too bad that the owners of the resort aren't doing a better job of management, the place looks like a beautiful place to spend some time.

Do you have any weekend trips planned for Crystal River or are you going to try some other places. That boat looks like it wants to be in the water all the time :banana:

[anolefan 8]

Great report!

I really enjoyed your photos and think your recap hit the nail on the head. The only thing I would have love to have seen is a shuffleboard tournament between you all with Passion Punch involved :)

Great job!

[stefa70 205]

Great report!

I really enjoyed your photos and think your recap hit the nail on the head. The only thing I would have love to have seen is a shuffleboard tournament between you all with Passion Punch involved :)

Great job!

:rofl2: Oh Tom, it wouldn't have been pretty! That was some strong punch! I'm going to make some soon as a trial run before I hit the fort next time. Who knows what kind of pictures I could post after an evening of those. (No, I don't mean those kind of pics, but like shuffleboarding or cornholing) Gee that didn't sound so good either! Hope you know what I meant! Insert foot into mouth

[SCTigerCock 171]

:rofl2: Oh Tom, it wouldn't have been pretty! That was some strong punch! I'm going to make some soon as a trial run before I hit the fort next time. Who knows what kind of pictures I could post after an evening of those. (No, I don't mean those kind of pics, but like shuffleboarding or cornholing) Gee that didn't sound so good either! Hope you know what I meant! Insert foot into mouth

Nope, not a clue. Never texted, phoned or facebooked under the influence. Neva. :parrot:

[stefa70 205]

Nope, not a clue. Never texted, phoned or facebooked under the influence. Neva. :parrot:

:rofl2: I've decided to hide my phone when drinking. Kind of like hiding the car keys, everyone is safer!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

S70-

Great job on your final thoughts.

This does look like a nice campground. It's a shame about all the rule breakers. It is a sad commentary on how things have become today. While I may not care for all of the recent po-po activity at the Fort, I am afraid that if the effort were not being made, the kind of stuff you experienced would soon be going on routinely at the Fort.

So, when's the next camping trip?

TCD

[stefa70 205]

S70-

Great job on your final thoughts.

This does look like a nice campground. It's a shame about all the rule breakers. It is a sad commentary on how things have become today. While I may not care for all of the recent po-po activity at the Fort, I am afraid that if the effort were not being made, the kind of stuff you experienced would soon be going on routinely at the Fort.

So, when's the next camping trip?

TCD

Seeing a resort run that way definitely makes you appreciate the Fort! I blame the owners for not controlling things more, but I think a lot of guests were just inconsiderate and rude.

No trips planned at the moment (until Labor Day) with all this rain, business is booming! Ya gotta take it when it comes.

[We4mickey 6]

The pics with the manatee are fantastic. It would be great to see! Sounds like you ended up having a good time. You have more patience than I do. I probably would have been outta there.

[stefa70 205]

The pics with the manatee are fantastic. It would be great to see! Sounds like you ended up having a good time. You have more patience than I do. I probably would have been outta there.

Thanks! We did end up having a great time. I'm not sure about the patience, I just vowed to make it through that first night. If it hadn't dried up the next day, I may have been back in the comforts of home.

I suggest to anyone who hasn't done a manatee tour, and has the opportunity, DO IT! Though I'd seen them a million times, being close enough to touch one was really an experience.

[mgsmom 9]

What a great report! I'm just getting all caught up - love the manatee pics and story! Those are awesome! I saw some manatees at the Columbus Zoo but that's about it. They are amazing creatures. :heart:

Mason is just adorable - and I think the life jacket is a great idea! Just one less thing to stress about while you're on vacation. Our boxer sinks straight to the bottom of any body of water, so I'm familiar with the handy handle.

Thanks for the great TR!

[stefa70 205]

What a great report! I'm just getting all caught up - love the manatee pics and story! Those are awesome! I saw some manatees at the Columbus Zoo but that's about it. They are amazing creatures. :heart:

Mason is just adorable - and I think the life jacket is a great idea! Just one less thing to stress about while you're on vacation. Our boxer sinks straight to the bottom of any body of water, so I'm familiar with the handy handle.

Thanks for the great TR!

Thank you! Glad you're getting caught up. There have been a lot of great reports in the last couple of weeks.

Mason is my baby, (since my real baby is 21 ) I had an english bulldog for 11 years, and he too, would sink like a rock in water. The life jacket is a nice peace of mind.

Steve if you read this.... :raspberry: