I was surprised when I drove into the parking lot at Warm Mineral Springs. For a spa that billed itself as the natural spring with the highest mineral content in the U.S. and the third highest in the world, I had expected the facility to be state of the art. Instead, the unassuming single story building seemed a bit neglected and was wholly unspectacular. But having driven the 45 minutes from Sarasota to get here, I decided to check it out. To my surprise, it turned out to be one of the most fascinating places I have ever visited in Florida.

A historic marker stands at the entrance of Warm Mineral Springs, which is located on 100 acres of of old Florida native landscape that was recently annexed into the fast-growing city of North Port

From the main entrance I passed through a long, dim hallway leading past bathrooms and locker rooms before stepping out into the sunshine for my first view of the springs. A tingling n the back of my neck told me there was something very special about this place. Fascinated by the perfectly circular, water-filled sinkhole, I decided to make a circuit of the lake to scope things out.

Fearless blue heron spears a minnow at the edge of the spring, just inches away from the author

Part way around the springs I paused to watch a great blue heron fishing along the water’s edge. As I photographed him, the bird fearlessly walked up to me. Standing just inches away, he eyed me curiously and then calmly walked to the water’s edge, where he proceeded to snatch a minnow from the water and gulp it down. Simultaneously, a large turtle swam up to the shore, poked its head out of the water, and looked at me as he proceeded to munch on the reeds growing along the shore, just inches from where I stood. Astounded, I began searching for more information about the site. Read the rest of this entry »

I LOVE to travel. I can only stay put for a few months before I get the urge to head out for another one of the distant, exotic places that I haven’t yet checked off my list. Unfortunately, I can’t travel all the time. Once in a while I have to stick around and make some money to pay for all this travel about which I am so passionate. When I find myself grounded for a while – like now – I have to find a way to scratch that travel itch or I go crazy. That’s when I start looking around in my own back yard.

I am ashamed to admit that, despite the fact that I was born and raised in Chicago, I never visited Lincoln Park Zoo, attended a concert at the downtown band shell, went to the top of the Sears Tower, toured Frank Lloyd Wright’s home, visited the Old Water Tower, or watched the futures trading at the Chicago Board of Trade. It’s a mistake I don’t intend to repeat, now that I’ve relocated to Sarasota. Read the rest of this entry »