Picnic and Kayaking Day.

Our Location today is Crystal River, Florida.

Shortly after 7:00 this morning after having been awake for a time and just laying in bed I headed to the computer. Ten minutes later Kathy followed wondering what was wrong. Simple answer it was time to get up to start our adventure for today.

Morning Wake up.

This one was eating breakfast on the fly.

We had talked to the office about filling our empty propane cylinder yesterday and were told that unless it was an emergency (No Propane and it will be freezing tonight) they always scheduled propane filling for Tuesdays and Thursdays. When I went to remove the tank the gauge showed half green and half red on the second tank. Luckily when I went to lift it out as well I knew the gauge was having a bad day. So I just loaded the empty tank and went to the office to get it filled because we wanted to leave and I wasn’t going to leave the tank sitting in front of the trailer while we were gone for the day.

A half hour later I was reconnecting the propane tank while Kathy was putting our picnic supplies and spare clothes in the truck.  Minutes later we were headed down the road towards Hunters Spring State Park in Crystal River Florida. Our plan was to enjoy a light picnic lunch then using our Sea-Eagle370 inflatable Kayak to possibly paddle our way back to the Three Sisters Springs to again visit with the Manatees.

Scuba Classes

Tupperware  Lunch N Things Container..

After checking out the park and all the activities that were going on we sat at a picnic table to enjoy our lunch. Of course when food is brought out the natives of the region automatically think that they are invited. After ignoring their pleas for handouts we saved our snacks by putting them away before they left to beg from others trying to eat their lunches.

Our boat in a bag.

We then hauled the duffle bag containing the kayak near to the launch point and started the inflation and assembly process. People were stopping by and asking us questions about our kayak and some were shocked when we told them this was our first time using it. Following the advice of a scuba instructor we headed across towards an inlet that turned out to be a dead end to people’s personal docks. So we returned to where we started to make some air pressure adjustments to the seats which are also inflated to make them more comfortable for us to sit on.

Sharing the waterways with the ducks.

After a quick adjustment we're heading back out.

We finally headed in the direction that someone else told us the Three Sisters Springs was in. We were almost out into the bay when Kathy spotted a manatee surface for air near us but it disappeared before she could think to take a picture. We knew we were close because we were near Pete’s Pier & Marina but the wind was kicking up and starting to make white caps on the waves.

Now we're heading in the right direction.

Where we left port the other day to swim with the Manatees.

 Being amateur kayakers we headed back to Hunters Spring Park figuring we had done pretty good for our first attempt at kayaking. After deflating drying and storing the kayak we were feeling tired and hungry. We’ll try in another week or two when we’ll be back in the area and hopefully there will be less wind and it will be slightly warmer. Even experienced kayakers were heading into shore and complaining about the change of weather and the white caps. It really was a great day!

Water must be rough. Those are Pelicans and Vultures on the roof and deck.

Look at the rough water behind this Heron.

Deflated and wiped dry.

For supper we tried Chili’s tonight as we had never eaten there before. We both enjoyed the Margarita Chicken and shared a Lava Cake ala Mode for desert. We will return there again somewhere in the future.

Margarita Chicken.

Lava Cake ala Mode, More than enough for two.

With the exercise and all the fresh air we had today we shouldn’t have any trouble sleeping tonight. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

Office Jokes, Quotes, and Anecdotes

A committee is an animal with four back legs.

John Le Carre