An underwater treasure....

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is located just 90 minutes south of Miami ...in Key Largo, Florida.  It was the first undersea preserve in the United States and just celebrated it's 50th birthday.  

One of the most distinctive features is the Christ of the Abyss, which is an 8 1/2 foot tall, four thousand pound bronze sculpture of Jesus Christ located 25 feet underwater.

Photo from Florida Travel & Life Magazine

The statue is one of three cast from a mold by an Italian sculptor and was donated to the Park in 1966.   The original " Il Christo Degli Abissi" was placed in the Mediterranean Sea in Genoa, Italy in 1954.  

This second statue, "Christ of the Deep" was cast from the same mold and was donated by The Cressi Family of Italy to the Underwater Society of America, who in turned donated to the Florida Park Service in recognition of opening the first underwater park in the country.  

This is one of the most visited underwater sites in the world....and is easy and accessible to both divers and snorkelers.  

Isn't this spectacular?  

Weeki Wachee - City of Mermaids

Have you ever wondered if Mermaids are real?  Well for those skeptics who say they don't exist - welcome to Weeki Wachee, a place that proves there really are Mermaids.

Mermaids, also known as Sirens, are mythical creatures who's top half is a woman and bottom half is a fish.  One of their greatest talents is that they are able to breathe both in and out of the water which makes them all the more elusive & mysterious to humans.  They are known for falling in love with handsome men, and pulling them beneath the water, to live with them under the sea.  

Some cultures feel mermaids bring good luck and it is said, if you help return a lost mermaid to the sea, she will grant you a wish.  It's also common folklore, that if you anger a mermaid, she will seek vengeance with storms, floods and tidal waves.

So welcome to Weeki Wachee, a City of Mermaids, the world's only enchanted springs, located on the Gulf Coast of Florida.  The spring is so deep, the bottom has never been found.  Each day, 117 million gallons of 72 degree, fresh spring water surges out of the cavernous bottom.  This fabulous place opened in 1946 and is one of Florida's most historic roadside attractions.  It hit it's stride in 1959, and became one of the country's most popular tourist attractions and women would come from all over the world for the privilege to audition as one of the Weeki Mermaids. 

One of most fabulous things about Weeki Wachee is that it has transcended time and is still a popular attraction - with modern day Mermaids.  It's so wonderful to see how something that began in 1946, with a 16 seat theatre can sustain itself and maintain it's originality and appeal to people who visit from all over the world.  

So 64 years later..here's proof that Mermaids really do exist...... 

A color brochure from the early years

Mermaids from 1947

Love this shot - you can see the hose she used to breathe.  
This was revolutionary at that time.

Elvis visited while filming "Follow that Dream"

Love The King's smile

Photographs from brochures

 in the early years

Modern Day Mermaids

Is that a whale?  No - it's Larry the Cable Guy - swimming with the Mermaids in April 2010

Somehow - I don't think he is going to be a permanent Mermaid

I'm linking this up to It's a Blog Party Favorite Saturdays!