On January 1 we decided to head to Florida for a couple of weeks for warmer days. We found most days to be in the 70's or even the 80's. 
One day we went to Blue Springs State Park where many manatees spend the winter. Manatees need water temperature about 70 degrees - they have only a thin layer of blubber so they don't stay warm if the water isn't warm. If temps get down to 65 or below, the manatee will become stressed, become hypothermic and die. They live in shallow water and eat as much as 150 pounds of food each day. We also took a boat ride in this park and saw many varieties of birds along with alligators and turtles.
One day we decided to go to Epcot where we visited exhibits from many countries. We had dinner at the German Restaurant, Bier Garten where we had good food and interesting entertainment.
We also visited Homosassa State Park. This park is set up with pens and cages for fox, bear, a 48 year old hippo, alligators. In the center of the park is a large area where there are many birds - flamingos, herons, ibis, egrets, owls, whooping cranes, wood ducks and anhingas along with eagles and many other birds. They were in an enclosed area, but many were able to fly out and were sitting in trees or on the path. In an underwater observatory, we could see fish manatees and anhingas. A couple times each day someone feeds the manatees and talks about their habits and life span. 
Then we headed for the Atlantic and fortunately the weather was very nice. At Daytona Beach, we were able to drive our car on the beach and also took walks. We saw the tallest lighthouse in Florida - Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse. The 203 steps to the top seemed like a greater challenge than we wanted to take so we just took pictures from the bottom.
