Bahamas: Sea Squirts at Atlantis

Atlantis offers a program for kids 3-6 called Sea Squirts, which offers young ones the opportunity to get up close and personal and learn more about the sea animals that live at the resort.

Sea Squirts participants get to pet and feed several varieties of baby sea life, like this shark. They receive careful instruction and one-on-one oversight.

They also check out the turtles! In the basement, she saw and held Atlantic Green Sea Turtles.

She also loved the young zebra shark, and came back explaining to me why it is called a zebra shark, even though the adult version has spots.

The zebra shark definitely knew it was feeding time! She came right up to the platform where she knew children would soon be offering her fish to eat.

Bria wasn't so sure about holding fish in her hands, so the guide picked one out for her that she could hold by the tail...

...then she dumped the rest of the bucket out for them to eat on their own.

Next was the tank of rays. The children learned that it is important to shuffle your feet, to avoid stepping on them.

Then they learned how to feed the krill to the rays from their bucket by shaking it in their hands to break it up.

Bria wasn't about to do that, either, so he taught her how to swirl the krill with some water in the bucket to break it up, then toss it out to feed the rays.

Sea Squirts is a one hour program, with about 20 minutes of marine activities and 30-40 minutes of feeding time. The program is about $40 and includes a keepsake swim shirt. One adult is asked to accompany each squirt.

Reservations can be made at Atlantis Guest Services. We recommend making a booking near the beginning of your stay, because they can be booked up a few days out.

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Florida: Weeki Wachee Springs and Buccaneer Bay

Want to find the best-kept secrets in an area you are visiting? Chat with the locals. We were buying a snack in St. Augustine and got to talking with the college kid who was running the snack bar (he is going to school to be a NICU nurse - how cool is that?), and he made a few suggestions about other places we should take the girls while in Florida. Another local heard us talking and joined in with a tip - Weeki Wachee Springs.

An hour north of Tampa, Weeki Wachee claims to be one of the smallest towns in the country, with a population of 12 (maybe they should spend some time in Eastern Montana?) and a mayor who herself is a former mermaid.

Opened in 1947, the park is the baby of Newton Perry, who was former U.S. Navy and trained SEALS to swim underwater in World War II. Perry was a promoter and a performer, but he was also an inventor - he invented the free-flowing air hose supplying oxygen from an air compressor that allows the mermaids to stay underwater for long periods of time, giving the illusion of breathing underwater with no breathing apparatus.

The spring is pretty amazing in itself. Named Weeki Wachee by the Seminole Indians (meaning little spring or winding river, depending who you ask), the bottom has never been found, despite the efforts of divers. More than 117 million gallons of water, an even 74.4 degrees year-round, comes up through the spring each day. It feeds the Weeki Wachee River, which is a beautiful clear river meandering through curves and turns 12 miles to empty into the Gulf of Mexico.

We took a 20 minute boat ride down the river, but there was an option to rent a kayak and paddle down, too.

We saw birds and fish, two turtles on a log, and an alligator named "Lefty" hanging out along the river. Our guide told us it is more common to see other animals on less busy days.

The river boat ride was a great way to see the gorgeous clear waters of the Weeki Wachee River.

Next we went to the mermaid show. They recommend you line up early, and they mean it! Lining up starts 30 minutes before the show, and goes until capacity is reached.

The mermaid show is performed underwater, of course, but the audience is underwater, too - in a 400 seat submerged theater. The theater is 16 feet below the spring, allowing you to get face-to-face with the beautiful mermaids as they perform their underwater ballet and tricks like eating and drinking underwater.

Reading about the park ahead of time, I must admit I expected more magic and mystery surrounding the mermaids. Instead, we got a behind the scenes look at the history of the Weeki Wachee mermaids and learned a lot about what makes the whole thing tick. That was fun, too, but not what I expected. In fact, the mermaids performed without their tails from about halfway through the show, and showed off some incredible diving skill with a 117-foot free dive.

There are other shows available, as well, so maybe we just selected the wrong one if we were looking for illusion. But it was hot, and no one was up for standing in line for another show.

The girls got their picture taken with a mermaid! Bria kept staring at her, she thought she was beautiful and pretty amazing.

Then it was time to cool off. And I do mean cool off. If 74.4 degrees sounds warm, think about your body temperature. Brrr! We were all pretty shocked when we jumped in the spring. But the water was clear and gorgeous, and we were excited to try the water slides.

Even Bria went down the slide. She stood in line for a long time, but when she splashed into the water, it was well worth it. She did it by herself!

Buccaneer Bay was added 1982. According to their website, it is the only spring-fed water park in Florida. There are four slides, and tubes are available to rent for floating on the river.

This park has the distinction of being a very "local" feeling place - in fact, there are a lot of references (in the show and in talk about the park) about it being a surviving piece of "old" Florida. You can feel that when you are there, and the history is well commemorated. 

A friend who was born and raised in Spring Hill (just a mile or two down the road from Weeki Wachee) described the spring as the "life blood" of Florida. It was very busy the day we were there, and the website says they fill up during the summer and have to cut off entrance. So come early!

Admission prices are reasonable - $13 for adults, $8 for kids 6-12 and free for children 5 and under. That price includes the mermaid show, boat ride, reptile show, and Buccaneer Bay. Annual admissions are also available. They are $60 for an individual or $120 for a family, and because it became a state park in 2008, that includes parks across Florida.

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