Lazy Paddle Down The Rainbow River

Rainbow Springs State Park, Dunnellon, FL (75 degrees,  blue skies)

 

Two years ago John and I paddled down the Rainbow River.  It was such an incredible experience we wanted to share it again with our friends JC & Bev. 

Rainbow Springs State Park, Site #10

This time we stayed for a week at  the lovely Rainbow Springs State Park in Dunnallon ($266/7 nights, full hook up). There is a nice kayak/canoe launch at the campground where you can  paddle upstream to the headsprings. From there you float down the river (six mile to a take out)with very little effort.  The river is feed by numerous fresh water springs (vents) which pour in 400-600 million gallons of water a day. 

The white sand bottom sets off the water with striking colors of blue and turquoise.  The temperature is a constant 72 degrees and we saw several hardy soles swimming the river as we paddled down. We saw lots of birds, otters, an eagle, and lots and lots of turtles sunning themselves on any available log.  Pretty homes and cottages dot the shore most of the route and eventually the river joins the Withlacoochee River where the color changes dramatically. 

 

 

Unfortunately we were all struggling with the flu (except for JC) and our paddle trips were short in length. There a lots of paddle trips that you can take in this general area. An author of guide that I'm currently reading about the Florida rivers says the following...."I came to Florida for the beaches, however, I stay in Florida because of the rivers". We certainly can agree.   This beautiful river is a gem. 

 

 



The Adventure Begins–A Visit To Walt Disney World

Orlando, FL (62 degrees, balmy, occasion showers)

 

We are off to a great start on Florida Adventure with JC & Bev. Our first stop was Walt Disney World for a week. Prior to arrival we purchased deeply discounted four day hopper passes at the military base in Charleston S.C. on our way  to Florida.   This turned out to be a great bargain.

 

 

We  also used a book called the Unofficial Guide to Disney by Bob Sehlinger to help us plan each of our days.  For the OCD tendencies in some of us this book is a dream. The author claimed if you followed the plan you could save about three hours of wait time in line each day.  You definitely visit the park in a rather illogical manner with some back tracking, however, our wait times were very minimal.  We saw far more of each park than in previous visits. 

 

 

We visited all four parks. However, John missed out on seeing Magic Kingdom due to a very bad cold.  As I write this blog it amazes me how much we were able to see.  It was a fun filled, action packed visit. We had such a good time.  Here are a few of the highlights.

 

 

 

Our favorite park was Disney Hollywood Studios with Animal Kingdom coming in for a close second. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best ride - Toy Story Mania at Disney Hollywood Studios.  Under the Sea, a new ride in Fantasyland, in Magic Kingdom was a close second.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best fireworks – Wishes Nighttime Spectacular show at Magic Kingdom.






Our favorite parade - Animal Kingdom. The book helped us find the perfect viewing place for all of these.

Best show – Finding Nemo at Animal Kingdom (amazing puppetry)

 

 

 

 

 

Most jaw dropping event- The Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights with over 5 million individual lights at Disney Hollywood Studios.  Words really cannot express the beauty of this super spectacular display.  The buildings along Streets of America are covered with rows and rows of lights and it all comes alive at night to music.  We really were spellbound and will certainly include this in our next visit.

 

 

The food at the parks was for the most part expensive and disappointing. We did have one nice candlelight dinner in Epcot San Angel Inn and a fun lunch at Rainforest Cafe  at Downtown Disney. 

 

 

Best shopping – Downtown Disney (need a tiara or castle…they’ve got it)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a lot  more to follow.  Be sure to check back again soon. Our next stop is Rainbow Springs State Campground in Dunnellon.  An exciting swim with the manatees is planned along with some kayaking down the beautiful Rainbow River..