Becoming an adult is hard work. There is a lot more responsibility involved once you graduate from college and obtain a job that requires your utmost attention for 40 hours a week. You also begin to realize that your vacation time is limited. So, to surpass this issue you begin to think more about weekend trips and ways to break up the work week monotony.
It helps to have friends that also share similar feelings and have a craving for exploration that needs to be fulfilled. This is a trip that involves my friend, Jessica Smith. We needed to take a day trip. We weren't exactly sure where and we didn't know what we really wanted to do. But, we knew it had to happen. I started researching all of the local state parks within an hour or 2 from Jacksonville, Florida. I found that a lot of the parks offered hiking trails, biking trails and even spots to launch kayaks. However, we don't own kayaks and we wanted a new sight to see. If we were going to hike or bike then it was going to be with a purpose. That is when I discovered Juniper Springs. The recreation area offers both kayak and canoe rentals, trails, a swimming hole and campsites. This was it.
I woke up at 5:00 am on a Saturday morning back in October to drive to Jess' house. We left town listening to Ben Howard as the sun rose above the horizon. The maps application placed us on a dirt road in the wrong direction to Juniper Springs. We spent 20 minutes trying to get back on track. We finally arrived, walked around for a bit and reserved our canoe rental.
It was a cool, crisp morning as we paddled on the crystal clear water. We saw an otter, a 5 foot alligator, turtles and a few fish as we journeyed down the 7 mile canoe trail. It was beautiful but, it's not a trail for amateur paddlers. The spring is narrow and winding. Some points are very shallow with fallen palm trees that must be ducked under. Near the end, there are bushes that extend out into the pathway that you are unable to avoid causing a brush against limbs to your upper torso and face. Did I mention that there are bees? Yeah, we didn't know about them either until we heard a loud hum as we crashed through the bushes that they inhabit. The coolest part of the trip down though is the rapids. You heard that right, Florida has a set of rapids.
In summary, the Juniper Springs experience is one of pleasure and persistence. It is without a doubt, a whole lot easier to paddle in a kayak. Jess and I selected the canoe based on the challenge and traditional feel. A word of advice, if you are planning on sharing a boat with someone then you better hope that you both harness an empowering level of communication skills. The safety ranger that briefed us before we launched made sure to tell us that the 7 mile trail can make or break relationships. Good news, Jess and I are even better friends due to this trip to Juniper Springs.
After our paddling escapade, we attempted to hike a portion of the Florida Trail but, we were approached by a disoriented raccoon on the trail head that made us feel very uneasy. Not to mention, we left our bug repellent in the car and were mobbed by a scourge of mosquitoes. Nevertheless, we were famished and it was about time we headed home. We used Yelp to find barbecue restaurants to stop and eat at as we made our way back to Jacksonville. It just so happened that we saw one of the most interesting abandoned properties along the way. We stopped to admire the land and take pictures. Then we spotted a taxidermy business that was two doors down from the barbecue restaurant that we were planning on eating at. The level of irony is uncanny.
The locals shared some quality southern hospitality with us, which I was grateful for. We discussed the different methods of taxidermy with the shop's apprentice. The apprentice made an Etsy account for the shop to sell these odd creatures that he creates from unused bone pieces and joins together from different species. He also uses a marbling technique and dips the bones into a solution that gives the bones a swirl of colors in appearance. It was an interesting conversation to say the least. At the restaurant, Jess and I had a friendly waitress that was attentive and helped us make our decisions on what we should order. I don't think I have ever had such an assortment of liquids to drink at a restaurant. We ordered sweet tea, water and a pitcher of beer along with our meals. It was cheap, easy and super filling.
Our trip ended with an awesome sunset at a public park. We drove home quietly with Local Natives albums on repeat, tired and feeling enlightened by our day. I think I am still living this day even now. I realized from this trip that you don't necessarily have to drive hours away from your hometown to feel the warmth of a new place and culture of people. There are places in your own backyard that are waiting to be discovered and experienced.
Moral of this blog post: Give the area where you live a better chance to inspire you. Don't get stuck in the mindset that you are better off being somewhere else that's really far away when you can have plenty of fun just a couple hours from your house or apartment. There's nothing wrong with wanting to travel abroad or to another state. I am just mentioning that I think we all forget to see what is already in front of us, waiting to be noticed.
PS. You don't need a fancy camera to capture moments. The pictures above were snapped on my iPhone 5 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯