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Chad and I had the pleasure of spending the weekend paddling with the Florida Sport Paddling Club. We headed to Dunnellon on Friday and set up camp right after night fall. It was bone chilling cold, the temp got down to 27 degrees by the morning! After setting up camp, we made a late dinner of burgers and lipton noodles. Then, off to sleep in our cozy tent, aptly equipped with a small heater (thank you, Chad, for making the run to get that heater earlier tin the week!).
We awoke Saturday morning to a frigid morning, but as we got moving, the bite of the cold wore off and gave way to a gorgeous morning. We loaded the gear and headed to our kayak drop off on the Withlacoochee River. After shuttling back with the club, I rejoined Chad and off we went down the magnificent river. We paddled for many hours, enjoying the quiet, the fresh air, the serenity of being in nature and clearing your mind. We stopped at a clearing in the woods for a short lunch break, then headed back out on the water. We were on the water about 5 hours on Saturday, I give total credit to the fitness level of this club, they paddled for so long and kept a great pace – and did not complain once about aches or pains. I think it was the scenery, you just cannot feel bad in such a perfect place!
We finally landed at our finish mark and loaded the kayaks. While many of the club members wanted to catch an early dinner, we wanted to get back to the campsite and enjoy the down time and have a nice cocktail. For dinner, we made tortellini and pasta sauce, a favorite of ours when we camp. The night was capped by a gift exchange among the group, we laughed together, shared stories and cider, and kicked back after a long paddle. The tent was calling my name and we were sleeping soundly by 10!
Sunday morning brought a close to many of the group member’s weekend. Many had long drives and decided to pack up and head out early. We, on the other hand, wanted to spend another glorious day on that water! Staying at the Rainbow Springs park allows free access to the boat launch. We loaded our gear and headed upstream to Rainbow Springs, about a 2 mile paddle. Arriving at the spring, it was quiet and free of the usual throngs of swimmers. The cold weather meant we had a spring all to ourselves! We took great pictures and enjoyed the clear waters.
We decided to drift back to our launch point, and fish along the way! Chad chose to fly fish, while I chose spin. Neither of us had any luck, I think the fish were stunned from the cold! Either way, it was a great time to practice casting.
After we arrived at our launch site, we had some lunch by the river, then packed up our gear for a ride home. What a spectacular weekend, great new friends, beautiful scenery, a perfect Florida weekend!
