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Unfortunately, being tied town with several jobs means that most of the time I can’t go too far from home (at least for now).\u00a0 The bright side of this is that I live in Florida and there are plenty of weird and wonderful locations only a day trip away.\u00a0 <\/span>Weeki Wachee Springs<\/a> State Park is one of my favorites.<\/p>\n <\/span>A bizarre mix of nature preserve and mid-century tourist trap that seems largely unchanged since it’s opening in 1947.\u00a0 It is a state park and a natural spring, with all that entails, picnics, canoeing, swimming and even a river boat ride to look at all manor of swamp creature. Of course the most notable part of <\/span>Weeki Wachee Springs<\/a> is the Mermaids.\u00a0 That’s right, live mermaid shows!<\/p>\n <\/span>For $13 ($8 for children) you can get into the Weeki Wachee Springs State Park and wonder the grounds with the peacocks.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/span>The park features live reptile shows where local children can touch lizards, but like I said, the main attraction is the mermaid shows.\u00a0 There is an underwater theatre where 3 times daily the Weeki Wachee Mermaids perform shows like The Little Mermaid, or the one I saw that definitely hadn’t changed since 1947.\u00a0 In this show, an announcer voice introduces the mermaids as they perform tricks such as deep dives and drinking a coke underwater.\u00a0 The show culminates with an underwater dance number around the American flag.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The park is odd and delightfully kitsch. There’s even a machine (that was probably banned years ago most places) that pours hot wax into a metal mold making a weird souvenir that you have to “use caution when touching.”<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/span>It’s a lady riding a seahorse!<\/p>\n And of course tacky photo opportunities.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n There’s even a chance to meet a real mermaid.<\/p>\n