When you visit Blue Grotto, everything you see, besides the Grotto itself and Guest House, didn’t exist before 2013. We don’t have many photos from that era, but we did come across this image showing how much the Grotto changed in just the first six months of 2014.
As you can see, there is a world of difference.
When our friend Dave purchased the Blue Grotto property in 2013, he immediately began making substantial improvements. Here are just some of the things he did:
- Crushed gravel parking area
- All-new pavilions
- Vastly improved bathhouse
- Safer stairs
- Brand-new deck and floating dock
- Brand-new dive center
- Improved fill station and rental department
- Brand-new training pool
- Brand-new cabins, cottages and RV slots
- Extensive solar arrays
- Ten Tesla Powerwalls to store solar energy
As important as these improvements are, the commitment to maintain them in as close to “as new” condition as possible is equally important.
One indicator of the magnitude of these improvements came when a friend of ours visited the Grotto in 2015 after being away for two years. He told us that he nearly turned around and left as soon as he came through the gate. The changes were so dramatic he thought he’d gone to the wrong place. ■