Mama Kat Thursday: Homosassa, Florida

The Mama Kat question of the day is, "Where do we plan to travel next?"

Homosassa Springs, Florida.

Hubby has relatives trying to put together a clan gathering in Homosassa. They tried to get together there last October, but the hurricane situation forced a cancelation. Then again this past week, but 2 feet of snow in Boston, kept Brother Bob's plane from getting off the ground.

These relatives are Hubby's half-brothers and sisters, whom he never even knew existed until around 2000. They contacted him.

The long and short of it is, Hubby's Dad had many children; not all of them with his legal wife.  

Anyway, the oldest half-brother, Bob, is 80 and he and Hubby have a great relationship and Bob very much wants to meet up in person.

One of the other half-brothers lives in Homosassa, Florida, which is why that locale was chosen, plus another sister lives in Florida as well.
So everyone is converging on Homosassa next week.
Just myself and Hubby will be representing his side. 

I've never been there before, so it will be someplace new.
Homosassa is located on the west side of Florida, about halfway between Gainesville and Clearwater. Homosassa Springs and Crystal River are both located between the rivers by those names. It's a small town with a population of less then 4000.

Homosassa is Seminole meaning either "River of Fishes" or "Pepper Ridge."

The area's claim to fame is it's a sanctuary for Manatees. The towns are located amidstlarge wildlife preserves and wetlands:

Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park
and

Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge

That's all I know about it. So, it will be an adventure.

The photo at the top as a good example of what the area generally looks like. 
The region is  backwoods, small-town America heavily surrounded by scrub oak, pine, wild palms and live oaks thickly draped with Spanish Moss.

Thanks for Visiting!