On The Road Again: Homosassa/Gainesville, FL
By Lloyd Carroll
Don’t feel badly if you’ve never heard of Homosassa, located about 90 minutes north of the Tampa Bay area on Highway 19. A key reason for Homosassa’s anonymity is that there has been relatively little development here compared to practically every other part of Florida. You won’t find any condo apartments or big hotels here. A lot of the land is protected by either by the state or Citrus County from development. In short, if you are looking for where “the old Florida” still lives, look no further than Homosassa.
Fewer intrusions by man in this north central Florida town, located six miles from the Gulf of Mexico, has meant good news for one of the planet’s most endangered aquatic species, those gentle giants, the manatees. While you can find manatees in any of Citrus County’s seven rivers, the ones who are injured and can no longer survive in the wild find refuge in Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park. There are nearly 200 other animals on display here, most notably the bobcat and puma, who are native to Florida. The biggest crowd-pleaser though is an emigre to the area, the hippo named Lu who just turned 50 years old last month.
One of the best values you’ll find anywhere is at the Homosassa Riverside Resort & Riverside Crab House. For $25 you not only get a three-course dinner at the restaurant but an hour private boat ride along the Homosassa River where you’ll encounter dolphins, grouper, and of course, manatees as well as such Floridian birds as egrets, storks, and pelicans.
Another fun dinner option is Neon Leon’s Zydeco Steakhouse. This New Orleans-themed restaurant was started by the nephew of the late Leon Wilkeson who was a founding member of the legendary band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, who were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. You can enjoy blackened catfish and jambalaya while listening to local musicians perform.
By Florida standards, there are not a lot of lodging options. The humorously named Last Resort consists of six cabins that resemble small efficiency apartments. Yes, there is a high definition television set in every cabin.
Just a little more than an hour northeast of Homosassa is Gainesville which is home to the University of Florida. The U of F has been a perennial powerhouse in both football and men’s basketball. Tickets to a Gators home game either at Ben Hill Griffin or the Stephen O’Connell Center are a hot commodity but not impossible to get.
The University of Florida is home to two terrific museums, the Florida Museum of Natural History, which has numerous fossils on display including those of mammoths and dinosaurs, and the Harn Art Museum which features African and Asian art as well as works from such Western modernists as Claude Monet, George Bellows and Herman Herzog. The Harn also boasts a sizable photography gallery as well.
Parking is extremely hard to find if you visit the U of F campus. My suggestion is to invest $3 in an unlimited ride pass on Gainesville’s RTS bus system. There is frequent service particularly during daytime hours.
You’ll feel as if you are in the plains of the Midwest if you go just a few miles outside of town. The Paynes Prairie Preserve is a popular hiking spot and don’t be surprised if you see bison, wild horses, alligators and eagles during your trip. The Paynes Prairie Preserve (say that one ten time fast!) is located in the town of Micanopy which is known for its antique stores. The 1993 Michael J. Fox film, “Doc Hollywood,” was shot here.
Nearly every chain restaurant and lodging property can be found on Archer Drive, the main artery into Gainesville off I-75. The city’s best restaurants, Mark’s Prime Steakhouse and 101, are located downtown right next to Gainesville’s popular bed and breakfast district. The Camellia Rose Inn recently underwent a million dollar renovation and is every bit as luxurious as many high-end big name properties but the rates are a lot less.
For more information on Homosassa call the Citrus County Visitors Bureau at (800) 587-6667 or visit them on the web at www.VisitCitrus.com. For info on Gainesville you can all call the Gainesville Visitors Bureau at (866) 778-5002 or check out their website at www.visitgainesville.com.
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Gainesville is only 75 minutes north of Orlando on Route 441. If you haven’t been to Orlando in awhile, here are a couple of tips.
It pays to invest in a three-day Disney theme park pass because the prices between a single day and multiple day pass are not very much different. Assuming that you are not traveling during a week when most schools are out, your best bet to avoid waiting on lines is to visit the various parks during the week.
Sea World sometimes gets forgotten about with all of the attention that Disney and Universal Studios receive. That is a shame because it is a great way to appreciate the large and small creatures that populate our oceans. Sea World has an excellent children’s section that is not crowded and has roller coaster rides that won’t scare you. You get the best bang for your theme park buck here.
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