Rainbow Springs SP (Feb 22-Mar 6)

Wednesday - We got in after 3 hours on the road, got set up, and were greeted with several hours of rain storms.
Thursday - We (mostly Joan) got a couple loads of laundry done despite intermittent showers all morning. We then drove over to Crystal River and checked out a couple of kayak shops looking for bungee cord to replace ours, then to a fly shop so John could buy a few needed items for tying. Next, we drove to Ft. Trail Park and John fished for awhile without success, and finally, we stopped at Applebees for dinner. Very nice! The rain seems to have stopped for awhile.
Friday - Despite high winds, friends came to the park here and we kayaked into town. This is an easy paddle down river, but with the wind, it was a real challenge. Anyway, it is still a beautiful trip and good to see Ray and Faye and their friend Bob. Afterwards we had lunch/dinner at the Blue Gator. They have excellent grouper salad.
Saturday - We drove to The Villages for a luncheon with friends from Joan's hometown area in Vermont. We have gotten together with them for the last several years. Afterwards we went over to our good friends and Joan's former classmates, Julie and Barry's place in The Villages. We sat on their nice screen room and chatted. John was given permission to fish their pond and managed to catch two and lose one bass. (Pictures included) Later, we went out for excellent pizza and salad.
Sunday - Rainy day. Thankfully, we got mail delivery from our mail service, so we could sort it and get our tax forms together. We really enjoyed a streaming video from Bayside Community, where we attended for the last four weeks.
Monday - Rain all night, morning, and late afternoon.
Tuesday - It finally stopped raining, so we launched kayaks here on the river and fished. We each caught small bass and bream. It was beautiful on the river, but overcast.
Wednesday - Back to Crystal River with a group who are friends if our friends Ray and Fay for kayaking on Kings Bay. Most of the folks had never kayaked before. It was a gorgeous day in the low 80s and everyone did super. We saw many manatees and eco tourists. Our friends Julie and Barry are here at the SP camping thru the weekend. We had dinner together at the CG, which is always fun.
Thursday - We took Julie and Barry over to Crystal Bay, this time we put in at Hunter's Run Park. There were many fewer manatees than yesterday, since it looks like with the warmer weather, they may be beginning to go back out to deeper water. We fished, but had no action until nearly back to the put-in John had a big fish on but after a couple minutes of very good fight, it took him into weeds and got off. He figured it was a redfish by the way it fought. After we got the kayaks loaded, we went to Crackers Restaurant for lunch. We decided it is not as good as The Blue Gator or Margarita Grill. Next, we drove to Yankeetown to the end of County 40 and fished a little. Julie had the opportunity to help a fisherman get a pelican free from fishing line. We then drove a little ways back to Withlacoochee Gulf Preserve and hiked around. This is a beautiful area.
Friday - The four of us drove over to the Chassahowitzka River and kayaked out to the fish camps. We fished on the way and out there as well, but only produced one small bream. The highlight of the trip was seeing two dolphins chasing baitfish and a pelican picking off his share. We also saw several large gators, river otters, osprey, shore birds, kingfisher, cormorant, and anhinga.
Saturday - Again, we braved strong winds and paddled the Rainbow River. We paddled to the head springs and shared the water with many other paddlers, scuba divers and snorkelers. For lunch we went to Stumpknockers Seafood Restaurant, but still like The Blue Gator best. Next, we went to an art show at the headwaters. It was ok, but not great. We walked around the gardens there, which are nice, but would be better in the summer. Finally, we cooked hot dogs around Julie's and Barry's fire.
Sunday - We said goodbye to Barry and Julie as they left for home. We made it thru a very windy and stormy night with no damage, but were awakened during the night with our weather radio warning us about heavy thunderstorms in the area. It has become sunny, but cool and very windy. We attended Bayside Community via streaming video and enjoyed a great service.
Monday - We traveled out to the end of County Hwy. 40 at Yankeetown to launch and fish. We crossed the Withlacoochee River and fished the back bays, but not even a hit. When we got back to the river, John had a trout take a swipe at his fly. It was windy and cool, but pleasant. We wanted to beat the rush at the Blue Alligator, so we left fishless.
Tuesday - A day to get things ready to head back to ZH for about two weeks. We will then start our slow return to Trackrock.
Wednesday - Back in ZH and unloaded.

View Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/114754015214438395393/RainbowSpringsSPFeb22Mar6u