Newlywed Date: Kayaking the Wakulla River
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Kurt and my mom at the Lodge at Wakulla Springs in February, 2015 when she came to visit.
Since one of the very first times my mom came to visit us in Florida, I've been telling Kurt that I wanted to go kayaking on the Wakulla River. You see, during one of those early visits with my mom, we took her to see the Lodge at Wakulla Springs. Built in 1937, it's located in the middle of the Wakulla Springs State Park and overlooks one of the country's largest natural springs. In short, it is a beautiful place.
During our visit, we took a guided boat tour up and down the Wakulla River and got a close up view of some of the flora and fauna that live in and along the river. In addition to the multiple species of birds, manatees, snakes and other reptiles, and alligators that all make the river their home, we also saw during the tour lots of people enjoying the river in kayaks and canoes. Seeing how much fun they seemed to be having, I told Kurt that I wanted to kayak the Wakulla someday, and he very quickly said no - kayaking with alligators was too scary for him!
One of the alligators we saw during our boat tour with my mom. Our kayaking guide told us that some of the alligators that live on the Wakulla River can grow to be ten feet long or more!
So after about two years of asking and making no progress in scheduling our kayak excursion, I finally out-smarted my husband! This past Christmas, one of the gift options I included on my list for our family gift exchange was a gift certificate to go kayaking. The theme was "date night" gifts, so you had to select activities to do with your significant other. I gave Kurt fair warning that I was adding a kayaking trip to my list, and let him know that he would be coming with me should that be what I received. Lucky for me, my aunt surprised me with the kayak rental gift certificate and a sweet little kayak ornament to celebrate the trip!
The weather was absolutely beautiful during the almost three hours we were on the water.
We finally used the gift certificate (from TnT Hideaway in case you're interested in going yourself) on Father's Day and had a great time. It was nice to spend a couple of hours enjoying nature from a different perspective, and our guide was very reassuring throughout the trip, which was nice for a novice like me. We had hoped to see manatees, but the water was so cloudy due to heavy rainfall in the weeks prior to our excursion. Instead, we got lucky and saw an osprey diving into the water to catch fish, a whole lot of turtles, and a little alligator too!
Check out this little video of the highlights my brave husband was able to capture during our time on the river. And, now you can watch more little videos like this one by using the link in the menu at the top! Enjoy!
