Don and Marcia had wanted us to see the Blue Moon Bed and Breakfast near the Wildlife Park and Old Homosassa so we stopped on the way. We were in luck. The manager was there and quite pleased to give us a tour. He and wife are both artists. His sister, an interior designer, bought the building in 2000 and they worked until 2005 to get it ready for customers. It had been a large pole barn built on stilts used as a vacation home. They have converted it to a two story facility and the furnishings are unique. There is a lot of artwork throughout. Here's a turtle fountain in the entry court.
From there we drove to the Wildlife Park. It evidently was a private facility at one time and the State of Florida took it over. The manatees are the main attraction, but they have alligators, a hippo that was born at the San Diego Zoo, and some key deer. When the State took it over it was only supposed to have animals native to Florida, but the hippo had been there so long and there was such an outcry from the community when they said she was going somewhere else, that she has stayed. Here she is. 
The coast of Florida has many warm springs and manatees need warm water or they will die. This Wildlife Park is built over a very large warm spring and the manatees here are captive. Just outside the gate on the river there are many wild manatees enjoying the warm water that flows out through the gate. We came to this area outside the gate two years ago when we were here and the group rented a pontoon boat.
Manatees can live to be 60 years old. They are vegetarians and are fed all kinds of fruits and vegetables at the Wildlife Park. An underwater viewing area brings you up close and personal as they are grazing the lettuce thrown in for their enjoyment
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