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Posted: 8:53 PM Jun 23, 2009
'Staycation' At Blue Springs Recreational Area
The poor economy has hurt most businesses here in Florida, especially those dependent on tourism. But one local attraction is booming, thanks in-part to the current heat wave and the new trend called "staycations".
Reporter: Vanessa NguyenEmail Address: vanessa.nguyen@wjhg.com Blue Springs Recreation Area |
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The poor economy has hurt most businesses here in Florida, especially those dependent on tourism.
But one local attraction is booming, thanks in-part to the current heat wave and the new trend called "staycations".
Jackson County's Blue Springs Recreational Area is having a record season.
It's hot outside and one of the best places to be is in the cool water.
9-year-old Zoe Burch says, "it's freezing cold when you first get in the water!"
The Blue Springs Recreational Area has 68 degrees of crystal clear blue water.
Many kids say there's so many things they can do here.
"I like to go up to the concession stand and get snacks most of the time," says Joshua Walker.
His younger brother, Matthew, says he likes to "splash people!"
And 9-year old Chance Keith says, "you get to jump off the diving board and do all kinds of tricks."
Approximately 122 million gallons of water flows through Blue Springs everyday.
It's one of 33 "first magnitude" springs throughout Florida.
County Parks Director Chuck Hatcher says they've already seen a big attendance increase even though they're only open 84 days out of the year.
"We're about a third of the way through our season and have the attendance that we had halfway through the year last year."
He believes the economy is a big reason for the increase.
"Everybody's tight on money, this is like a 'staycation.' We get a lot of visitors from Tallahassee, Alabama as far away as Andalusia...Georgia."
Dothan resident Jordan Smith is planning to bring her two little sisters as many times as possible this summer.
"There's always kids here, there's lifeguards here, the water's really shallow and you can watch them easily."
Aside from swimming, the facility also offers a beach area, concession stand and several lifeguards at a reasonable price
"Two dollars is great! And the kids can stay all day, you can bring your food out here, you can cook out, it's great especially if you have a big family," says DeeDee Goodson.
Sneads resident Paul Mikell says, "you can't beat that, it beats any water park around!"
Blue Springs is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11am to 6pm.
Season passes are available.
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