16 - 17 February 2022
Orlando / Kissimmee KOA Holiday, Kissimmee, FL
Marc- Today was my birthday and we had an adventure. We went on a fantastic kayak trip through Florida wilderness. We drove up to Wekiva Springs State Park in Apopka. We set out from Kings Landing with two rented kayaks down the Rock Springs Run. This is a 5 hour, 8.5 mile river paddle through pristine sub-tropical forest to the merger with Wekiva Springs Run, forming the nationally designated Wild and Scenic Wekiva River. The area is home to much wildlife including black bear, deer, raccoon, alligators, a variety of fish, turtles and many birds. The river winds its way through dense forest with a few camping spots along the way. We used Otter landing for a lunch break. The eight alligator sightings were the most exciting. We saw smaller alligators swimming, but two six foot long alligators were sunning themselves on logs near where we passed. We kept paddling as we passed, not bothering them so they would not bother us. Although the current was in our favor we were still required to paddle to stay in control and move along in some of the areas with less current. At one point we reached a fork in the river and went left down what appeared to be the larger section only to find a large fallen tree blocking our path. Rather than climb out and over the tree we paddled back upstream to the fork and came down the right channel. There were no other kayaks traveling with us although we encountered a few other travelers along the way on stand up paddle boards and canoes. We ended our journey at Wekiva Island, a Park outpost. Sue could not get out of the kayak. There just happened to be quite a few firemen and first responders having lunch there (they had a new boat they were learning about) and 3 guys pulled her out while I held the kayak. Then we had a second lunch at a picnic table while we waited for the bus to take us back to our truck by the launching site. A great experience - thanks Mindy Donnelly for telling us about this place.
When we got back to Kissimmee we went to Camper's World and bought a 21 foot Flagstaff Micro Lite travel trailer. We are a bit squished in the Flagstaff EPro 16 footer, so we're upsizing. The trade-in offer increased to 80% of what we paid 2 years ago, so we took it. We'll pick it up Saturday morning, February 19, assuming a) we can get the title from home by then (Steph will Fed Ex it), b) we can get insurance in place and c) can do a wire transfer to pay for it. The "rush" is because we're scheduled to leave Kissimmee Saturday and head up to St. Augustine. Camper's World will give us a temporary plate.
Anhinga
Deer in the marsh
Wild oranges
One large turtle
Snowy egret
A Whimbrel
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At an orange grove to get some oranges.
The honeybells are the best and then the tangerines.
