Roadside America: Highway 19, Florida

Weird big stuff in Florida. Click to make them even bigger.

So, roadside attractions can make a roadtrip a little longer, but they definitely make the drive more memorable.

Having done this drive a few times before I didn't think there would be too much to see. Turns out, all it takes is one different road to make a huge difference. Most of this difference came around Homosassa Springs, FL, mostly.

Sugarmill Manor Assisted Living Facility shares a creepy front yard with some folks offering to let you "snorkel with manatees". It has some very... interesting seascape decorations around the entrance. I hadn't even PLANNED on finding this oddity, the giant shark just jumped up and bit me. I HAD to pull over and photograph this place. A painted mannequin-mermaid sits atop a huge reef of sorts, apparently defending itself from a dolphin attack. Giant jellyfish line up to welcome you to manatee rides, while an enormous shark devours what is probably the original lower-half of the mermaid. As I took the photos, an old man sat in a lawn chair and just watched me. I waved, but he just kept staring. Perhaps he was another mannequin?

Homosassa Springs is home to Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, which happens to have a giant manatee out front. His name is Bubbles! This one I was prepared for, but it was so much larger than I expected. She sits on the roadside advertising the park and its manatee tours. (She doesn't have refelction-stripes anymore!) I did pop inside the building to try to get a park stamp (failed!) but I did manage a very blurry photo with another manatee, this one dressed for success in his favorite Hawaiian shirt.

On my way out of town I ran into the "GMC strong man" statue. It was a little disappointing, actually. The internet pictures make it look so much larger. Perhaps after that HUGE manatee, even a 7-foot strongman looks tiny. He is... very creepy looking, all bulgy and pretty much naked. Yeesh. According to the internet his originals are pretty unknown, but "He used to be a milestone on an annual scavenger hunt by local high school seniors."

There was supposed to be a giant gorilla north of town in Crystal Springs, but I couldn't find it! I did stop and ask a local near the expected location of said giant gorilla statue, thinking I couldn't be the first person to not be able to find it. The gent claimed to be new to town, and honestly recommended I "drive around and look for it"... because of course I was not already doing so. I abandoned the search. Afterall, I DID have a bonus creepy shark/mermaid encounter.

A not-huge-but-historical train sat off the side of the highway some miles up, and I stopped to get a picture with it. The sign reads "Patterson-McInnis Train; This locomotive, known locally as "Three Spot", often pulled 30 to 40 cars as it transported logs from area woodlands to the Patterson-McInnis Sawmill. Originally a wood burning engine thought to be built around 1915, it was converted to steam during its service, which ended about World War II. The locomotive was donated to Levy County by the Patterson-McInnis Lumber Company in 1969 and maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation in the Gulf Hammock Wayside Park."

Lastly, while continuing up Highway 19 I saw a huge purple rooster. It didn't even register at first, and I had to make a couple U-turns in order to get to it. This giant concrete fowl marks the salesyard of Dixie Monuments, a company that seems to specialize in customized tombstones and random garden statues.

All in all I'd say this little stretch of Highway 19 was very entertaining. It did add probably close to an hour to my trip, but the oddities are so worth it.