The Adventures of Canoe-y Baby

Meet Canoe-y Baby.

The youngest Utter has a baby for almost every occasion, and they are all appropriately named.  For example, Swim-y Baby came with us over the weekend when we went to swim at Rainbow Springs.  There are a lot of springs here in Florida, and they are very fun for swimming.  Some look like a big, clear, natural pool, like this one:

Although the weather wasn't the warmest, the five oldest members of the family jumped in the water to enjoy the spring.  It was fun to swim out to the middle of the "pool" area, over the spring, and feel how the water was warmer there, where it comes bubbling out of the rock.

We also did some hiking at Rainbow Springs, and it was beautiful.  I love waterfalls!  (Hmm.  Maybe we need to get a baby named Waterfall Baby!)

But, back to Canoe-y Baby.  This week we are camping in Chassahowitzka River Campground, and so Canoe-y Baby has been very busy in the S.S. Utter.  We are making the most of our lunch breaks every day to do some good canoeing.

We got to paddle out to a little cove off of the main river and float for a bit.  This particular cove is known for the manatees that like to hang out there.  As we waited to find a manatee, one swam over by us and put his nose up so close to me in the S.S. Utter that I could feel his breath.  IT WAS THE COOLEST THING EVER!!!  (Canoe-y Baby thought his breath smelled bad, but how how cool to be close enough to the manatee to notice that!)  There is something so wonderful about being so close to such a huge, but gentle, creature!

Char, B, and E all got to reach out and pet the two manatees that were swimming with us.  Then, one of the manatees got underneath the S.S. Utter and took us for a ride, by pushing up on our boat with her back, and swimming under us.  This day may end up being one of my favorite memories of this whole trip.  Another person who was also floating in the cove in a canoe told us that the manatee must have thought there was something tasty on the bottom of our boat, as she was nibbling on it.  Canoe-y Baby found this a little disturbing, as the S.S. Utter is an inflatable canoe, but it was still the best experience!

On a different lunch break, we paddled the opposite direction on the river.  Paddling this way takes you to the "Seven Sisters," or seven springs that are close together.  These springs look completely different than the spring we visited over the weekend.  The river is about knee-deep, but then there are sudden holes, maybe 7 feet in diameter, and 10 feet deep, and you can see water bubbling up to the surface from them.  They were really special to canoe around and examine.  Then, the five oldest members of the family again jumped out of the S.S. Utter and into the springs.  It was amazing.  So clear!  Several of the springs are connected by underground tunnels, and it is possible to swim through the caves from one spring to another.  We did not do this.  Canoe-y Baby was a little concerned because of the signs saying that people had died attempting this underground swim, but we had a great time jumping into the springs!

Okay, so it's really hard for me to get good in-the-water pictures.  Trust me that this spring looked awesome!  (You can barely see the circle with the more turquoise water in it.)

If anyone likes to kayak or canoe, or in general loves the water or manatees, we highly recommend Chassahowitzka River Campground!!  Go there!  :)

It would be nice if this were the end of Canoe-y Baby's adventures for the week, but it was not.  Before dinner, all the family members were told to go wash their hands.  One family member forgot to turn off the water in the bathroom sink and flooded the bathroom.  That was a little more excitement than we needed.  None of the children would admit to doing this, but finally, the littlest Utter confessed on behalf of her baby.  Guess who flooded the bathroom?

Yep, it was Canoe-y Baby.  Hmm.  Canoe-y Baby's mama has now been educated in the importance of turning off faucets.  There will be no photos of this, as we'd prefer to forget the whole thing.

We hope that you have been having a great week, and that wherever you are, your dolls have been well-behaved.