Much Ado About Somebody

 

water color birthday cake

Continuing my habit of finding water color images on the Internet to begin new blog posts, there were so many from which to choose that I finally had to just pick one and go with it. 

I made "much ado" about Gary's birthday this week and it was such fun! Since we both are advanced in our years 🤭 and are not lacking for anything, we decided early in our relationship that experiences would be given in the place of gift-wrapped presents. 

our rented canoe

With the help of Rainbow River Canoes and Kayaks, the two of us boarded a canoe to spend four hours on a very peaceful river. Last November we spent a morning with our local Adventure Club on this same river, paddling a shared kayak. This time it was just the two of us.

me modeling "canoe fashion"

In addition to the canoe, we were given two oars and life jackets, which they said we did not have to wear. Since I am not a strong swimmer, I opted to wear mine. I'll just say what you're probably thinking: the fashion lines of the thing do me no favors. It was the life-saving benefits that outweighed all else in this case. 

the shuttle bus hauling our canoe

As was required with our catamaran boat adventure a couple of weeks ago, we wore our water shoes and clothing that would serve us well should we end up in the drink (which we did not).

sun glasses

At the boat ramp this extensive collection of sun glasses embellished the trunk of a tall palm tree. We did not ask but our guess is these have been lost over the years by other guests, perhaps dropped into the water. With swimmers and shallow depths, people have probably retrieved them and this is the result.

the Captain of the Canoe

The young man who launched us from the shore told us whoever sits in back is the Captain, presumably meaning the one in charge, the one who determines which direction we will go, and so forth (however, according to my guy, he knows how not to push it). The Birthday Boy got that honor, which elicited no argument from me. He had been on a canoe before while this was yet another entirely new experience for me. 

good help is hard to find these days

It became clearly evident from the start that Gary's shipmate was nearly useless for moving the canoe in the right direction, which was upstream. Near the end of our four hours afloat, I finally got the hang of it: paddle on the left to go right and paddle on the right to go left. That makes no sense to me, but then, I don't have to be an expert on everything, now do I? 

Rainbow River

Scenes like this are common in Florida. There is so much water where the trees have stood upright for centuries. These are probably Cypress trees. Look at those thick roots anchoring trees that are several stories high. You see the Spanish Moss draped from the branches blowing gently in the wind. It is absolutely idyllic. After having lived in the high altitude, semi-desert climate and landscapes of the Rocky Mountain west, scenes such as this look to me like something out of a movie. 

turtles stacked on a log

We were told to expect to see turtles, birds, otters, and possibly a reclusive gator. The turtles "got the memo" and showed up often along the way. Usually where there was one, there were two, or even four. They must enjoy company while sun bathing.

bird on a branch

There were plenty of birds, although I can't seem to photograph them very well. See the big black thing with the beige head perched on a branch (pretty much center of the picture). A lot of them will sit there with their wings fully extended to allow their feathers to dry out. They look like they are airing out their armpits! 🤭 They need to dry off because they dive into the water, staying submerged for some time in their hunt for lunch. 

This scruffy-looking guy didn't have time to smooth his ruffled feathers before I took his picture. We watched one with a small fish in his mouth but I didn't catch that on my phone's camera.

otter art from Rainbow River Canoes and Kayaks

We saw some otters, too, but they were kind of behind us and out of sight by the time I got myself turned to look at them. We were told some people try to pet them but you don't want to feed or pet them because they will bite! 

There were plenty of ducks, of course, and then this odd looking sight: 

This is one of the [human] swimmers/divers sharing the water with us. The smart ones have this red-and-white flag on a small buoy following them so boaters can avoid them. 

homes along the shore

There were many houses, cabins, and rentals along the water's edge, some quite large and grand, and others much smaller and humble. Nearly all of them had their own dock.

One particular large property had this wonderful tree house:

tree house

To get back to the river itself, from the headwaters to where it ends is 5.7 miles. Underground springs bubble up to create the river at the north end. The water eventually meets up with another, bigger river, the Withlacoochee. Until they meet up, the Rainbow River's water is clear enough that one can easily see the bottom, ten to 25 feet below.

Where we boarded our canoe, we were about a mile and a half from the headwaters. We, uh, correction, GARY paddled us upstream, making it look effortless and especially when he had to correct my misguided attempts to help steer straight. While that was a gentle ride (boats are not allowed to cause a big wake), for that distance the Birthday Boy used a lot of muscle and he said "it wore me out!!"

At the headwaters we turned 180 degrees and headed downstream the 5+ miles to the Withlacoochee River. At day's end Gary figured our distance on the water came to just over 7 miles. 

As we traveled with the current, there was no need to paddle vigorously. We felt like we were moving very slowly, but when we watched the landscape on the riverbank go past, it was clear we were making significant progress. 

gourds on a swing set

I took this picture of the gourds for my Arizona friend, Loraine. We were in conversation recently about the creative uses for gourds grown in the garden. These are probably bird houses, with a hole cut on the side (which we can't see in this picture).

Our plan was to have lunch at Swampy's, a very casual grilled burger restaurant on the water's edge. I've mentioned this place before because it's scenic, the food is good enough, and most of the tables are outdoors.

the big rubber ducky

It took a long time to get there as we mostly floated with the current, only occasionally correcting our drift with the oars but eventually the big yellow rubber ducky came into sight. That meant we were getting close to Swampy's. 

Swampy's

We did not stop to eat at that time because we had brought minimal gear with us on the boat, choosing to leave our lunch money locked up back where we began.

Swampy's outdoor dining

But in another hour or so we went back with our car and sat underneath one of these blue umbrellas to order a late lunch. It was a thrill to see the place from the perspective of the water after having been on the shore all the previous times.

under Highway 484

We went under only one bridge. The man who gave us our map said that if we went under more than one bridge, we were in the wrong place and would need to turn around and go back. 

Gary with his burger and fries

Finding our way to the place to return the canoe was a little baffling (some shoreline signage would have been helpful), but by 2:30pm we were at Swampy's sitting underneath a blue umbrella with that yellow rubber ducky in view.

a blurry selfie

The night before, on "birthday eve," we began the party (just the two of us) with a small ice cream cake purchased at Publix. As you can see, the cake is very small and to add the appropriate number of candles would have been, well, you know (too much!!), so I sang "Happy Birthday" to Gary and he blew out his one candle.

I don't mind telling you that this small cake was the perfect size for just the two of us, providing 4 servings that were not too large, not too small but just right! We enjoyed half of the cake that evening. The cake was just under $17, which for the specialness of an ice cream cake seemed priced right to me. 

Weeks before this time, I ordered 2 photo paper weights of us that were just the right size to decorate the top of the cake. He loved that!

On birthday morning, Gary opened the cards that had come to our mailbox and a gift. He received many greetings via social media (emails, FaceBook, and texts).

It blows my mind to realize this is the second year I've been able to celebrate with Gary on his birthday. Where does the time go?!!! As they say, time flies when you're having fun!

This is the day the Lord has made,

we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

Until next time, grace and peace.