Best thing about living in Gainesville during the summer: it's surrounded by several natural springs and nature preserves.
Worst thing about living in Gainesville during the summer: all of my friends are either in class or working.
And it was these two things that brought me, alone, to Rainbow Springs in Dunnellon, FL. At the beginning of the summer, I wrote myself a list of goals that I want to accomplish. Most of them are pretty basic - read some books, run a 5k, practice my french. One is unique to Gainesville: visit every surrounding spring.
The Fine Print printed an article during spring called "Spring Fever," which listed nine different springs in the area and gave a brief description of each. I read the article at the beginning of May and thought to myself "Hey, I can visit all of those no problem. In fact, I'll probably be able to visit them twice." Little did I know that scheduling a day trip like that with friends is extremely difficult - especially when my days off are during the week, and everyone else's are the weekends.
I've been in a weird mood recently that I can't quite explain. Normally, I'm a social butterfly and I crave constant conversation (just ask my coworkers or roommates - I'm sure they're sick of me). I love being around people, laughing and joking and exploring. But over the past month, something in me changed. I dread getting out of bed in the morning because it means that I have to interact with others, and while I still want to be around people, the commitment of making plans feels like almost too much.
Because of this, I've been trying to make more time for myself. A cup of hot tea in the morning, an hour of yoga before work... being alone with my thoughts puts me simultaneously in the best and worst mood. That is why I went to Rainbow Springs by myself. I knew that if I really wanted, I could find someone to go with me. Who wouldn't want to take a day trip to a beautiful spring that costs only $2 to get in? But part of me needed this.
I spent the day looking at waterfalls and abandoned zoo enclosures; Observing as children shrieked when they jumped into the ice-cold water. It didn't matter to me that the weather was less than ideal (of course on my day off it had to be the only rainy day of the week). I swam solo in the icy water, and when it started to storm, I hung my hammock under a pavilion and read. I bought myself a coke and thought about how different the trip would have been had other people accompanied me, and how one day, I would like to return with my friends. But for that day, my own company was perfect.
I can now proudly cross two springs off of the list (I visited Ginnie Springs earlier this summer), and I can look back on this trip with fond memories: driving with the windows down and the cool wind on my face, jumping into crystal clear water, hanging out as the rain droplets gave me goosebumps. I just hope I can visit the other seven springs before the summer is over.
Beautiful pictures Emily. You are doing what granddad and I want to do. We want to see all of the waterfalls in Florida. Good for you Emily.Love your Blog.
ReplyDeleteWay to practice self care! I loved the natural springs in Ocala and that 7 mile canoe run is a treasured memory from my childhood.
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