Week 3 at Wekiva Falls: Bikes, Beers, Manatees & a Karaoke Redemption Arc

Mar 2
4 min read

If Week 3 at Wekiva Falls Resort had a theme, it would be: cardio, carbs, and questionable musical bravery.

Let’s unpack it.

Broncos, Booze & a Blast from the Snack Past

We kicked things off with Broncos Sunday at Dan & Stacey’s house — because football always tastes better when someone else cooks.

The evening featured:

A “fancy” charcuterie spread courtesy of Swiss Colony (hello, 1987 holiday catalog nostalgia)
A delicious pork loin dinner
Our contribution: farm sweet corn from this past summer, because Midwestern produce pride never dies
Fancy cocktails to celebrate the Broncos' win over the Chargers

Nothing says “sports fans” like cured meats arranged with unnecessary elegance.

Domestic Goddess Meets Bike Warrior

Camping life isn’t always sunsets and s’mores. Sometimes it’s realizing your bedspread is too beefy for your RV washer.

So I hauled it over to Dan & Stacey’s, where:

I conquered Mount Laundry
Stacey treated me to a dip/gel manicure while we waited (10/10, would outsource chores again)

Meanwhile, Darren decided to test-ride a future adventure with a 50-mile bike run to Blue Spring State Park — with a necessary scientific stop at Blue Spring Brewing Company for a beer flight reward.

This is what fitness experts call balanced training.

Big Ride Energy + Fancy Dinner in Mount Dora

Mid-week, we knocked out a 28+ mile ride before rolling into Mount Dora for dinner at Pisces Rising with a fun crew of fellow travelers:

Paul (see this earlier story for introductions)
Social-media phenom Charlie Grace (van/RV traveler, podcast host of RV Queens, internet everywhere at once)
Paul’s sister Barb & her wife Jackie from nearby Eustis

Perched on the edge of Lake Dora in downtown Mount Dora, Pisces Rising delivers that perfect mix of Florida sunset views, breezy patio vibes, and elevated comfort food. It’s the kind of place where you linger over cocktails and watch the light fade on the water.

Good food, good company, and a reminder that RV life is basically summer camp for adults with better wine.

Closer-to-Home Miles: Rock Springs Run

We also logged miles riding into Rock Springs Run State Reserve, which is just down the road from the RV Park.

This park has one of those long entrances that makes you question your life choices until suddenly you’re surrounded by:

Glamping cabins
Horse pens and barns
Pine flatwoods
Sandhill habitat
Wildlife corridors
Quiet trails perfect for biking, hiking, and pretending you’re in a nature documentary

We’ve mostly used it as a scenic cardio tunnel, but it’s definitely a place worth exploring more intentionally someday.

The Big One: Coast-to-Coast Trail to the Manatees

Toward the end of the week, together we tackled a 50+ mile round-trip ride along parts of the Florida Coast-to-Coast Trail to Blue Spring State Park — and this ride came with one very special audience: the manatees.

Manatees may look like oversized floating potatoes, but they’re actually pretty sensitive creatures. They can’t tolerate cold water for long because they have very little body fat to insulate them. When water temperatures drop below about 68°F, they risk cold stress — which can lead to illness, slow movement, and even death.

That’s why every winter they migrate to places like Blue Spring. The spring water flows out of the earth at a constant 72°F year-round, creating a warm refuge that can host hundreds of manatees at once.

Seeing them clustered together in the clear spring run is wild — slow tails drifting, noses popping up for air, babies tucked beside their moms. It feels less like wildlife watching and more like stumbling onto a secret underwater senior center.

The ride itself was gorgeous:

Smooth paved trail stretches
Quiet rural backroads
River views and shady canopy sections

And the payoff?

Manatees. Lots of manatees.

Watching them drift around like underwater baked potatoes was deeply soothing.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/9ddf1e_93ce95012d2e4fb3968501d491116e83/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

After soaking up the manatee magic, we hopped back on the bikes (off-trail) and rewarded ourselves at Blue Spring Brewing for:

Bike charging
Beer flights
Pizza break

Verdict:

Darren’s buffalo chicken pizza: solid

My Tuscany pizza: excellent
Fried mushrooms: meh
Next time: garlic knots, because that crust deserved better representation

Friday Karaoke Courage

Friday brought a short 25-mile neighborhood ride, dramatic storm clouds that never delivered, and Karaoke Night.

I debuted Faithfully by Journey (sorry Bruce) — terrifying choice, but the crowd loved it.

Then I met Jake, a Gen-Z camper with pipes from another dimension. Turns out he’s a musical director for an a cappella group in Chicago. He complimented my voice (I checked for hidden cameras), introduced me to his family, and invited me to duet on Saturday.

The song?

Shallow.

The Lady Gaga part.

I immediately entered a quiet internal panic spiral.