Tuesday, October 6, 2009

The Glass Bottom



Photo number one was taken just the other day at Silver Springs Park in Ocala...it is one of the glass bottom boats now in daily use at the park. The second photo is an older model glass bottom boat which was used some years ago in an archeological dig at the park known as the Discovery Expedition.

For an original glass bottom boat, please check out a post by Lois at Tallahassee Daily Photo here.

40 comments:

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

WOW! That looks like great fun! I'd love to go out in it! Cool captures!!

Don and Krise said...

I read Lois' post yesterday. My how the design has changed. Nice shots Jacob. It sort of helps bring the subject up to today.

Nefertiti said...

ca doit etre formidable a voir et la premiere photo est superbe,les gens ont l air captives !

;O)

http://unephotounsouvenir.blogspot.com/

Small City Scenes said...

It looks like it could be fun. Is that Eel Grass pictured there? What was discovered on the Discovery Expedition?

We have lots of Eagles out here and I would not like them to know you even thought of violating an Eagle Crossing. And what does that mean anyway? MB

Olivier said...

j'aimerais bien faire une ballade comme ça, voir les bas fonds marins, cela doit être bien.

Kcalpesh said...

This must be really a wonderfu experiencel Exploration of what's there beneath the clear waters! And what a coincidence, Up Next, I'm also gonna post pics of photos taken from a glass-bottom boat in Andaman. :-)

Pixellicious Photos

Hilda said...

That really looks like a great tour! Are there lots of fishies to see?

VP said...

After some of your posts, anything on the water of Florida bring to my mind the word 'gator'...

magiceye said...

looks like everybody is praying for a goosd sighting!
lovely capture!

Janet said...

I've always wanted to ride in one of the these and view the life beneath!

Jim Klenke said...

Looks like you can reach down and grab something.

brattcat said...

I went on one in Key West once. I got incredibly sea sick. But it was spectacular.

Leif Hagen said...

Is that boat brand-new? Maiden voyage?

Lois said...

Quite a difference in the size of the viewing window in the present day boats! I haven't been to Silver Springs in a long time and this is making me want to take a trip. Great photos Jacob and thanks for the link! Also you and Frank are cracking me up in the comments. I have a post planned for him featuring pictures of old cigar boxes from Tampa.

Lowell said...

@ Safe Leif - Brand new? Nooooo. But it still works.

Lowell said...

@ Lois - Ol' Frank will like your post on old cigar boxes...perhaps more apt, though, for him, is a post on old cigar smokers! Heh. Heh.

Pat said...

You know, I have never taken a glass bottom boat tour....I want to.

Lowell said...

@ Brattcat - I'm not sure you being incredibly seasick was all that spectacular, but, if you say so! ;-)

Halcyon said...

Ok, this is the kind of glass-bottom boat I know. What fun!!

Lowell said...

@ Vogon Poet - And, there are many gators in these waters...you can see them sunning themselves on the banks as you take the glass bottom boat trip and the other river cruises...

Lowell said...

@ Hilda - lots of fishies, from bream to large-mouth bass or gar (some of the latter reaching 4 feet in length!) Lot of turtles, too, and anhingas, and alligators...oh, and monkeys (sometimes)...

Daryl said...

Fabulous ... I would love to spend time on that boat

Lowell said...

@ Small City Scenes - Yes, that's eel grass, used by the natives for just about everything...the Discovery expedition uncovered a number of artifacts, but if I remember correctly, the biggie was digging out a Mastodon skeleton from a few years back.

Re: violating an Eagle crossing. I don't have a clue what I meant...sometimes I write silly stuff just to be silly...

EG CameraGirl said...

What a great way to see what's underwater without having to don a wet suit, goggles, and flippers!

jusdealem said...

How fun! I have to do this on my next trip to FL!

Marie-Noyale said...

I love underwater sights..
Could stay for hours looking at the movements!!

Frank said...

OLD cigar smokers? To be perfectly clear, is that OLD cigars? OR OLD smokers?

In either case, you won't find them while looking through glass bottomed boats. ( I understand Jacob that you carved that original wooden boat that Lois posted. True, right? And fought gators with your bare hands?)

I can't wait to see what Lois posts on cigar boxes.

Judy said...

That is so great to see. My parents took me and my sisters to Florida when we were very young and the thing I remember most about that trip was going for a ride on the glass bottom boat. Thanks for the memories!

cieldequimper said...

Ughh... I'd panic if there was an alligator below.

Unknown said...

I prefer snorkling or diving but have to agree it must be great watching the bottom of sea and not get wet! :-)))

Lowell said...

@ Jarat - You know, it's very likely you were at Silver Springs Park...it was a huge attraction in the days before Disney!

Lowell said...

@ Frank - I think we're talking about "old smokers." But then old smokers sometimes have a problem distinguishing old from fresh cigars!

I have to admit I've never fought alligators with my bare hands. But there was a fellow at the park who did so...of course it was a little gator, but still...

Try to stay calm, the cigar box post is coming!

Steve Myers, Broker said...

I love these boats, great shots!

Cezar and Léia said...

This is so interesting! The other day I saw in a magazine even an underwater hotel room, can you imagine that?
God bless you!
Cezar

Buenos Aires Photoblog said...

Fascinating! That is a great way to learn the mysteries of the underwater world. I bet there's a lot to discover. Fabulous shots!

Tussy said...

One thing I forgot to say earlier, it seems your competition with Hagen for followers go very close everyday.

Not sure when it turns to be in my interest. Both of you are funny.

Have a great day1


My Bangkok Through My Eyes!
You got a Posty: I want to give 15 postcards :)

Lowell said...

@ Beachlike - I'm not in competition...Hagen lives in Minnesota and people's brains tend to freeze up in that cold climate!

James said...

Oh wow. I'm glad I came back because I missed this cool post. T hat looks so fun.

Believe me I wasn't complaining, I love Paris, hate crowds and cold weather doesn't bother me.
I'm getting nostalgic for Paris too. I actually wanted to go next month when we take our vacation, but Vicki made the point about not going twice in one year, plenty of other places to see. etc etc. I love Paris! :-)

Memphis MOJO said...

I have to comment on Jacob's comment. I live in Memphis, it's warm most of the time, but my brain freezes up here too. I'm sure it has nothing to do with aging, though.

Lowell said...

@ Memphis M - I'm not gonna comment on your brain 'cause I have a feeling it runs in high gear most of the time...but Hagen, that's another story...it may not be Minnesota at all...it maybe something even more serious, like an addiction to silliness.

Or, and this is a good possibility, he slipped on the ice and hit his head many years go...

That's easy to do 'cause I used to live in Minnesota and fell once or twice before...did a lot of damage to the ice!

"Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again." — Henri Cartier-Bresson