Wekiva Springs

After a bit of a drive up the I-4, past downtown and somewhere around Apopka I think we finally found Wekiva Springs. Oh my goodness this place is beautiful. You forget what real nature looks like when you live in Tourist Town.

I live on the South side of Orlando, there are no hills, valleys, not even a ramp. We have trees... they're all palm, and planted within the last 5 years. Reaching Wekiva Springs was a bit of a shock to my system. How could I live so close to this place and not know about it? Never been here, in 10 years of living in Central Florida, I was missing out. Before I even paid my parking fee I vowed to not neglect the natural beauty of Florida anymore. I was going to get in touch with nature. My mind was made up.

I paid my parking fee, and unloaded myself and my party. I'd brought my brown leather Dooney & Burke (brown... leather... nature... give me a break! I was trying) but sadly it didn't quite fit in with the rugged backpacks I saw everyone else wearing so I popped my Dr Pepper lip balm and debit card into my jeans pocket and we set off.

First thing I noticed... a hill. Wow. It's been a while. The little wooden walkways lead to a bowl shaped green grassy area. At the bottom is a pool... a natural pool. The closest I've ever gotten to fresh water is the beach, and somehow it's not even close to the same thing. There were people swimming, splashing and just having a fun time in the water. On the grassy bowl a group were tossing a baseball around. It was awesome.

As we got closer to the water I could see right down to the bottom. It was crystal clear. There is no way in hell I'm brave enough to go in but it looked so beautiful. There are a few sets of metal steps leading down into the water, I was brave enough to walk down a step or two and feel the temperature of the water with my fingertips. It was warm... in December... I love Florida.

Next up, my party wanted to Canoe... I didn't think so. 15 minutes later I was sitting in the front of a canoe with J in the back and my son in the middle. How. Did. This. Happen? I was terrified.

Canoe's wobble. Was I the only one who wasn't comfortable with this? Everyone else seemed to think it was perfectly normal. I don't find it normal to be in a long bowl, in the water, wobbling. Not to mention this is FLORIDA and there are GATORS out there.

We were pushed out by the attendants and my freak out began. I am perfectly happy on solid ground, on man made footpaths. It's another thing altogether to be in the middle of a river in their environment. "They" are the gators, and they were looking at me. I spotted one eyeing me up like a prime rib dinner within 5 minutes. I demanded we turn back, I was not down for this type of excursion.

Back at the little beach area we docked the canoe. I demanded statistics from the attendant about boat rollovers and gator dinners. They said none. I took solace in the fact that I wasn't made to sign a waiver for my life before renting the canoe, sucked it up and we went back out. For the next hour and a half I shrieked, pouted, freaked out, made threats of violence and hyperventilated.

Canoe people are friendly, everyone we passed greeted us, and giggled at my lack of composure. I really gave this my best shot, we got quite far. Our journey was in a back and forth pattern. We went down the river, I freaked out so we turned back, I decided I didn't want to give up so we turned around again. I saw another gator so we turned back, I relaxed a bit and we turned around again. We got stuck on a log, I flipped out, we turned back again, then back around when I became more comfortable. There was a fallen tree in the middle of the river, I was scared so we sat there for about 10 minutes until I my breathing returned to normal and we had to do the limbo to get under it. I haven't done a limbo since I was 8.

During this time J was a saint, reassuring me and coaxing me into trying to have a good time. My 5 year old became the parent and I, the child. It should of been a reality check when your kindergartner whispers soothing words of encouragement to you, "Don't be afraid Mommy, don't be scared, look at the turtles" and I appreciate his efforts so much. My sweet little boy was trying to take care of his big sissy mother.

My one rule was "DO NOT PUT ME NEAR THE BANK" I know this is where the gators sit. After about an hour we accidentally hit a bank, I screamed. There was nothing on the bank, but I screamed anyway. That was it, I was done. J had had enough of my shenanigans anyway so with his temper frayed he snapped on me. "I give up" he said. To be fair, I'd been snapping on him for an hour but my anger boiled when he snapped back.

The ride back was swift. I lost my fear. I channeled all my anger into paddling and I was surprisingly good at it after my fear was gone. I was fast, I was nimble, I maneuvered us around trees, rocks, undergrowth. I was super woman... in a canoe.

Once back J's dark mood continued for a while but he came around eventually. We were exhausted, both mentally and physically. The rest of our party had left us after we turned back the first time, about 10 minutes into the trip. We waited for them to return, and they'd found a little beach with a cafe and had a beer. Grrr. That actually sounded like it would be nice.

I feel better about the whole thing now. After my anger driven canoe ride back I became more comfortable in the boat, with the oars and with avoiding obstacles. We saw 3 gators, 2 in the water, one big bertha on a bank. We saw lots of turtles of all different sizes, in the water and sunning themselves on fallen trees. Lots of different types of fish, one almost as long as our canoe (I had a panic about that one).

Even though I'm a sissy, and J will need therapy from dealing with me soon...

I want to do it again



details: Canoe at Wekiva Springs parking was $5, canoe rental was about $16