We’ve kayaked all over North America, but this spring-fed river is our favorite paddle of all. The crystal clear water is an astonishing turquoise color. Herons and egrets fish from the cypress-lined banks, and hundreds of turtles jostle for space on logs. In late winter, we’re almost certain to find manatee, the gentle, endearing roly-poly giants of the Florida springs.
Can you believe that color?
Egret and turtle friends
Kayaking this river is a soul-soothing experience
We saw hundreds and hundreds of turtles on the river
Slowing down to the pace of nature
This is the first time we’ve seen a White Ibis wading
There are a few narrow passages to navigate heading upriver
In mid-February, the redbuds are starting to bloom
The manatee pretty much look like gray blobs. But they’re endearing.
Manatee kisses
I love this river so much that I’ve written about it before. If you’re interested in more details about where/when/how, check out this post: Kayaking With Manatees.
This was the first time we’ve paddled the Ichetucknee in a rental kayak. As part of simplifying our lives, we gifted our big, heavy tandem kayak to the people who bought our home on the bay. While we figure out our new way of adventuring through life, we’re going to be renting kayaks. I must say, it was really nice to have the kayak and all of the gear waiting for us at the launch, and when we were done, to just walk away.
Meanwhile, Continuing The Downsizing Operation
Along with thoroughly enjoying our stay in Gainesville, we’ve been busy downsizing our lives. Our Arctic Fox trailer sold quickly on the consignment lot. And a few days ago, we traded in our trusty 2013 Tundra for an SUV.
In my opinion, car shopping is second only to a root canal in terms of less-than-fun activities. We did our due diligence in researching vehicles online, and narrowed down our choices. We steeled ourselves for the ordeal of car shopping. Gainesville has every car dealership you can imagine, all lined up in a convenient row.
A vehicle with plenty of cargo space and the ability to tow a small trailer were two non-negotiable items. We started out looking at the biggest SUVs, and test drove one.
We felt like we were driving our living room sofa. Which was kind of nice, LOL. But we really don’t want anything that big.
So we downsized our desires to a mid-size SUV. After several days of looking, we bought a Subaru Ascent. In part, we ended up at Subaru because their sales people are not annoying. But also, the Ascent is highly rated, it’s comfortable, and it can tow 5,000 pounds. On the lot, it seemed to have abundant cargo space.
Saying goodby to the Tundra, hello to the Subaru Ascent
And then, we got it home and did a trial run of loading our stuff into it. That didn’t go too well. I was ready to take it back to the dealer and get a living-room-sofa-sized SUV, but Eric wasn’t having any of that.
So we are continuing to root through our stuff, giving each item a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. We’ve made three trips to Goodwill since we’ve been in Gainesville. And we’re not done yet. I need another trip to the river to get through this ordeal.
There aren’t a lot of choices in color…so silver wins again
P. S. We ordered a cargo box for the roof. There goes the view from the fancy sun roof! But at least we’ll have a place for the cat tree.
I was thinking about you guys wondering if you had sold the trailer and suddenly your blog appears! Glad the trailer sold quickly! Your river adventure looks and sounds lovely. I loved the photos! Did you see any alligators? Congratulations on the new vehicle–I think! :) Downsizing is hard but so freeing I would imagine–what do I know?!! We drive living room sofas and have two houses!
LOVE YOUR OUTDOOR PICTURES !!!!
And your lifestyle was mine for many years….
But, just covered Calif., Nevada & Ariz.
Thanks, Bob. We do love our outdoor activities. :-) I hope you’re doing well and enjoying your adventures!
Haha!! Downsizing is SO HARD! Much more challenging than I imagined. We were really glad that our trailer sold so quickly, but I already miss it. I think we’re going to be fine, but this is all definitely a big adjustment.
I’m glad you enjoyed the river photos, Janna. It’s such a gorgeous kayak trip! We saw one little alligator. That’s the first time we’ve ever seen a gator on the Ichetucknee, and we’ve kayaked the river at least a half-dozen times.
Good morning.
Happy you can enjoy Gainesville which is a lovely area.
Lucky you!
Still stuck in freezing NJ, in a house with no insulation and little heat. Trying not to end up in the hospital with pneumonia.
Thanks for the great photos and sending the FL warmth my way.
Kathryn, we’re so glad we chose Gainesville for an extended stay. It has all of the things we need for taking care of the business of downsizing our lives, and also offers so much natural beauty and fun things to do, as you know. I know it’s been a rough winter up north. I hope things will be better soon.
What a beautiful day on the Ichetucknee! Love the manatees! Thanks for sharing your adventure. We were in nearby Crystal River about three weeks ago and saw a lot of manatees there. We have never paddled the Ichetucknee but many years ago in the the summer we floated down the river on tubes.
Hi Beth, how fun that you were in Crystal River recently! We’re looking at places to stay next winter so I’ll have to check it out. You would love kayaking the Ichetucknee. I floated down the river in tubes many times during my years in Tallahassee, but kayaking it in the winter/early spring is even better (very few people, lots more wildlife).
Nice to know some parts of the country are having good weather. What about a storage locker until you move into your new home?
Love the turtle and egret! You couldn’t have staged a more amazing photo.
Sheila, we’ve had wonderful weather this past month in Gainesville. This is definitely the time of year to be in Florida! So glad you liked the turtle and egret. They were pretty cute together. :-)
We have a small storage unit in Apalachicola with our stuff in it. Our mistake was that we had far too much in our trailer and truck when we arrived in Gainesville. We had no idea until we started unloading it all, LOL.
Thanks for the morning peaceful read and meditative photos. Best wishes for the ongoing downsizing.
Thanks for your good wishes, Nancy. We honestly had no idea that we were carrying so much stuff. And I’ve always thought of myself as traveling kind of lightly through life…LOL. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos from the river. It’s one of my favorite peaceful places.
At the risk of sounding incredibly romantically maudlin, I have tears in my eyes after seeing the photos of the river. I read that blog of yours from 2016 and it was my inspiration for making sure that we spent a week at Oleno State Park and kayaked that amazing river while we were in Florida for the last time in 2019. I too have sweet photos of the big gray blobs that are so loveable and the turquoise water. Your stories of downsizing are helping me to understand that when the time comes to sell the MoHo and rethink our travel lives, it won’t be as awful as I imagine. Mo says we can get a newish Lexus at that time, since our current well-loved Lexus is 20 years old. We can fly, drive, stay in air bnb’s and rent kayaks. Although I don’t imagine a rented kayak will be as sleek and wonderful as our gorgeous Swift boats. You didn’t mention how well those boats were in the water, but no matter, you didn’t have to lift them up to the top of the car. Those days for us are getting closer. As Mo approaches 85 we are beginning to look at what that future might look like. Thankfully we have no plans to downsize from Sunset House, but we will let go of the MoHo dream in the next few years. Your blog encourages me, Laurel. I am glad you found a good little SUV and are able to get on the river for solace.
Sue, I don’t know you, but wish I did. Your comment (and Laurel’s post) is an inspiration! As someone once said, and I often remember, “Regard the future as friendly.”
That’s a lovely and inspiring sentiment. Thanks for sharing it, Janie. :-)
Sue, I loved reading your comment. Although Eric and I both feel ready to simplify our lives, it has also been bittersweet letting go of our trailer, our truck, our kayak…all of those things that accompanied us on so many wonderful adventures. We’re hoping that this new lifestyle that we’re embarking on will give us more freedom and more ease as we continue our adventures.
It was strange to not be paddling our kayak on the Ichetucknee, but it was also wonderful to just walk away after kayaking six miles and to not have to load our 75-pound kayak onto the roof of the truck, flip it over while standing on a step stool, and tie it down. Of course, now we no longer have the truck, so we can’t carry a big kayak anyway, LOL. Thanks for being there and for always being so encouraging. And I’m so glad you’ve spent time on the magical Ichetucknee River!
Your blog made me laugh. I am sure it’s not really funny as you are going through it but it was funny all the same. How many clowns fit in a Subaru Ascent? When you know let us know. Lol! Nice looking rig you got. Hard to believe you are out kayaking while we have been inundated with snow. Winter Storm Piper hit us with 3”+ of snow and it is still taking it’s sweet time melting. We are actually going to have to purchase a snow shovel, who knew? Glad you are both getting some relaxing time in the outdoors. Enjoy!
Hey Brenda! You are hilarious! Trying to fit all of our stuff into our Ascent does feel like a clown car stunt. I need to get a clown costume for Magnolia, hahaha!! Or even better, clown costumes for Eric and me and a tiny lion costume for Magnolia. 😂😂 Being able to laugh at the ridiculousness of what we’re putting ourselves through is the only thing keeping us sane. That, and getting out into nature.
That winter storm you had was crazy!! Were you able to get to the store for a snow shovel? Do they even sell snow shovels on the Oregon Coast?
Paddling the rivers, swimming in the warm springs, and seeing manatees will forever top the list of our favorite things to do in Florida. I knew you’d like renting all the kayaking equipment rather than having to fuss about with your own. I’m sure, despite the initial glitch of the Subaru not holding quite as much as you’d hoped, you’ll come to love it. I’ve had four Subies, and if we’d been able to tow one 4-down, we would’ve kept my last one and traveled with it. If it lives up to the great Subaru reputation, it should bring you years and years of traveling enjoyment!
Joodie, you left out spending time with us during your Florida adventures! That comes before paddling, swimming in the springs, and seeing manatee, right? 😍 Seriously, I wish we could have paddled the Ichetucknee together.
Knowing that you had four Subarus that you loved makes me feel even more confident that we made a good decision in buying the Ascent. We definitely have some adjustments to make, but we’re continuing to experiment and are making many trips to Target to find just the right storage containers for packing the car. We have about 10 days to get this figured out. I’m ready for another trip to the river!
Our time with you transcends lists! <3
❤️❤️❤️
Gotta have room for the cat tree!
What a stunningly beautiful place to paddle. I can see why it is your favorite!
Haha!! Yes, definitely must have room for the cat tree! And the catio/travel crate/favorite kitty food/litter box/and more. It’s an adjustment for all of us, but we want Magnolia to be as comfortable as possible while we drag her around on our adventures.
Lisa, you and Hans would love these Florida spring-fed rivers. Hope you two are doing well!
I’m so glad that you guys are making time to enjoy the natural beauty of the area in between all your business transactions. You can’t spend all your time going to Goodwill, and I love seeing the gorgeous photos from your adventures. That river paddle looks perfect and I’m particularly happy to hear that the gear rental experience was a good one. There’s a lot to be said for having no maintenance or storage responsibilities!
Shannon, we definitely need time in nature to balance out the work in this downsizing/simplifying project we’ve taken on. We were very happy to find that renting a kayak was so easy! The equipment at the park concessionaire is new and very nice, too.
The longer we spend in Gainesville, the more certain I am that you and Ken would love it here. We’ve been having a great time exploring all of the good stuff here, including excellent food choices. I know you’re a great cook, but it’s so nice to have options! As we all know after being stuck in a food desert for the last three years, LOL.
LOLOLOLOL. You are too funny.
It really is hard to assess space. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten it wrong – thinking we would have enough space for something, or not nearly enough. Until you’re actually sitting there with said stuff in said space, it’s just difficult to judge. But this is true tiny living and you’re gonna rock it! You’re already finding the joys of less stuff with your foray into rental kayaks. It may not be what you’re used to, but you don’t have to deal with all the lugging and the lifting and the cleaning and the storing. It’s so freeing!!
Glad you got some downtime and some manatee snuggles while you were between meltdowns. It’s just what the doctor ordered!
Laura, I have a special talent for organizing, but I am absolutely terrible at figuring out how much space something is going to take. As you said, it’s really hard to figure out until we start packing and loading our stuff! Which is why we are doing some “practice runs.” We don’t want to end up on the day we’re supposed to be leaving Gainesville surrounded by a mountain of stuff in the driveway that won’t fit into our Subaru. “Byeeeeee!!!!” 😳
This is definitely preparing us for our adventure in tiny house living. Hopefully we’ll have more space in our tiny house than we do in the Subaru, haha. At the moment, I need more manatee in my life.
What a spectacular paddle!!! That river is so beautiful. The turtles are a hoot and the manatee are so precious. You two definitely deserve a day to decompress. Renting a kayak is a great idea until you get settled and decide what you want next. Love the car! And Subaru’s usually have a little higher clearance for back roads! Hope you can get everything to fit!! Glad the trailer went quickly. It was the best design for a small space. It had it all. Now head out for another calming paddle!!
Pam, we always thought our trailer was a great layout for a relatively small trailer. And now we’re realizing just how well-designed it was in terms of storage space! I hope our tiny house will be as efficient as our trailer was. If not, we’re in trouble. But we’re going to have a tiny storage shed, LOL.
After our experience renting a kayak on the Ichetucknee, we’re sold on the idea of renting instead of hauling our own kayak with us everywhere. I’m just hoping we can rent a kayak wherever we want to paddle. We have more experimenting ahead, in so many ways. What an adventure!
Great SUV find and congrats on the sale of your trailer. We found getting rid of our kayak a relief and renting works well. What a beautiful paddle.
We’re feeling a sense of freedom to not be dragging that heavy kayak everywhere we go! As long as we have rentals available, I think we’re going to be fine. It’s a gorgeous paddle, Deb…if you ever make your way to Florida, don’t miss the Ichetucknee!
Laurel, this post and the gorgeous photos that accompany it tested my resolve to never kayak in Florida. Because, well, alligators, and alligators are not my friends. I think you nailed it with one of your photo captions – “slowing down to the pace of nature.” Spending time outdoors never fails to refresh my soul and lift my spirits. There’s something about nature that helps to keep life in perspective. Congrats on the sale of your AF! I had no doubt that it was going to sell in a heartbeat. Wishing you the best of luck and many happy miles in your Ascent. Don’t worry – you made a good choice, and you’ll adjust to it in no time. Personally, I’m more of a living room sofa kind of gal. :)
Mary, I hope you’ll kayak in Florida! As far as alligators, we’ve paddled many times where there are gators, and they’ve never bothered us. I must admit, I don’t love alligators, and I definitely wouldn’t swim in waters where they live. But I don’t worry when we’re kayaking on the Itchetucknee or other cold, spring-fed rivers. Fortunately, they don’t like cold water.
We’re planning to head out for another kayak trip this week. It’s the best soul-soothing medicine I know of. And it will be a welcome break from our on-going puzzle of trying to figure out how to pack our new Subaru. See you Thursday! :-)
Thank you for the river tour! We’ve only walked along it, and my only photos of manatee are the “blob” kind. Great camera work, Eric!
And with today’s high hovering just above freezing, that blue water & sunshine were so welcome…
Good luck with the continuing move! Living in Asheville, I’m pretty sure owning a Subaru is required anyway. :)
Gretchen, if you guys head back to Florida, I think you would love kayaking the Itchetucknee. As I mentioned, it remains my all-time favorite paddle of the hundreds of places we’ve kayaked. But only in the winter months! That’s when you’re assured of peace and wildlife.
Thanks for your good wishes. We’re happy that we’ll have all-wheel drive in the mountains. We had four-wheel drive in our Tundra, and it came in handy more than a few times!
Laurel, it is great that you have checked some things off your ‘to do’ list and still managed to find time to play. Malcolm and I have paddled that river, also in a rented kayak – very convenient. Glad you found some peace there. It is that kind of place. We weren’t at the right time of year to see Manatees, but we did see lots of turtles sunning. Love your beautiful photographs.
I completely agree with your root canal analogy regarding buying a new car. Not fun.
Suzanne, we were very happy that we found the car we wanted pretty quickly. We’ve made great progress on our “to-do” list since we’ve been in Gainesville. Of course, we have no choice but to downsize at this point since we no longer have the truck and trailer!
We’re really enjoying being here, and are taking plenty of time for the fun things that we came here for. This is such a great area of Florida! So fun to know that you and Malcolm have also paddled the Ichetucknee. :-)
Laurel,
We talked about a trip to Florida next spring, and you gave us another option. We have camped at Lake Kissimmee before, but the Ichetucknee looks so inviting we may give it a go. If we give it a go, I’ll be on the lookout for a new Subaru with a cat tree on top! The only drawback is that I don’t fit into kayaks very well. Love your pictures, especially the Ibis and his turtle pal. Hang in there with the downsizing…it will be complete before you know it! Joe
Thanks for your encouragement, Joe. Our downsizing operation is going well…one more week in Gainesville, and then we’ll see how successful we’ve been when we pack up the Subaru and head out! Hopefully, Magnolia’s cat tree will fit INSIDE of the cargo box. 😂😂
They also rent canoes on the Ichetucknee if kayaks aren’t comfortable for you. Or inner tubes! I highly recommend the river. I know you and Helen would love it.
Wow, those are some gorgeous pics of the kayaking on the river. I’ve never done that one, I see I am missing something! I was thinking of you, paddling up here in Georgia yesterday.
Congrats on selling the old rig and getting the Ascent. A lot of people tow their Altos with that, and really like it so I hope it works out for you, too.
Thanks, Annie! I’m so glad you enjoyed the photos of the river. You really must kayak the Ichetucknee the next time you’re in Gainesville. We’re planning to return next winter…maybe we could meet up and kayak together!
We’re busy researching smaller trailers…your Alto is so cool! I need to chat with you more about your experience with it.
You are indeed on the road on a new chapter, new beginnings and new car. And paddling on the clearest river soothes your soul and gives you peace and relaxation that you both so needed.
Whew, what a relief with the trailer sold quickly!
You gotta have a room for the cat tree, everything else will just have to be given away :) Magnolia is so loved!
Oh my gosh, MonaLiza. So many changes for us, in such a short period of time. This really is a new chapter in our lives. I know you understand all about new chapters! We’re hoping that this will free us up for many more travel adventures, just in a little different way than before.
And yes, Magnolia must always be comfortable, no matter what we’re doing or where we are. She’s such a good kitty. We’re lucky. :-)
Thanks for the preview of a kayak trip I hope to take within the next month. Wish you could be there with me. Your manatee pictures are fantastic and way better than the ones I got at Silver River where I saw them every single time I went out on the water.
You guys are quite brave and amazing to change your life so totally in all these ways. LOL at driving your living room sofa. Great image.
Sherry, I wish we were going to be here to kayak together, too. I know you love the Florida springs just as much as we do. Although all of them are magical, the Itchetucknee is still our favorite.
I don’t know if we’re brave or crazy. It’s kind of too much change all at once, but we just decided if we’re going to downsize, we might as well go for it! I think it will all be worth it. We’ll let you know. :-))
Hola, you two!(and Gato)
We’ve been following along with your adventures. The twists and turns are riveting! We are happy you are adjusting to your own new world order.
We made our journey back to San Miguel de Allende about a year ago.
Short journeys seem to be what we have settled on of late. We utilized Airbnb for a couple of years but are now ensconced in a lovely home for a year or so. There are some intriguing options to Airbnb that we are exploring for our travels. We’ll let you know how they pan out. :)
Be well on your journey. Keep writing.
Saludos,
Colleen & Robert
Ashland Exiles
Hola mis amigos! It’s so great to hear from you! We appreciate your support and encouragement in our latest life adventure. It’s so exciting that you’re back in San Miguel de Allende. That’s high on our list of places that we would like to visit, so I’d love to find out more about your lives there. I actually have some Airbnbs bookmarked for a future trip. Sadly, the gato might have to stay home. :-( We need to find a loving and indulgent cat sitter, haha.
Enjoy, and thanks so much for staying in touch! :-)
I thought I commented on your previous post, but maybe I was just thinking about doing so! I’m sorry the Airbnb was such a mess when you arrived. I hope you have settled in and are enjoying your time in Gainesville. I’ll bet it was bittersweet to say goodbye to your trailer, but I’m sure you’ll still enjoy your adventures via Airbnbs. We love our RV travels, but I sometimes wonder if it’s worth all the money spent!
Goodness! The Itchetucknee River is stunningly beautiful. What a great place to paddle. And what an awesome shot of the egret and turtle!I like the idea of renting kayaks rather than dealing with transporting and storing them yourselves. Way to simplify your lives. Oh, and you’ll love your Subie! I was sorry to let mine go when we moved to Oregon, but we really didn’t need two vehicles. I agree about Subaru dealerships. When we bought my Forester (also in silver), it was hands-down the most enjoyable car-shopping experience we’ve ever had!
Getting ready to post my monthly summary tomorrow, so I won’t send you an email. :)
Hi Lesley, we’re doing pretty well with our downsizing project. Although it has definitely been bittersweet to let go of our Arctic Fox, truck, and kayak, we’re also beginning to feel the sense of freedom that we were hoping for. It’s an adjustment to stay in Airbnbs instead of our trailer, but after the initial cleaning misery (LOL) we’re loving this experience! We’ll see how the rest of our Airbnb experiment goes.
Thanks for your encouraging words! I’m heading over right now to read your latest blog. It’s such a bummer that Blogger and WordPress don’t play well together anymore. I really appreciate you giving me a heads up when you post. :-) Oh, and if you ever come to Florida, you would absolutely love paddling the rivers here!
Your time on the river was magical, I’m grateful that you shared the beauty and tranquility – very timely for me!! I laughed at the comment on how the space looked on the lot and knew that must have changed later :-) That is definitely downsizing! LOL at the cat tree. Perhaps there is a portable option that will fit in the new trailer? It does sound like you’re having success getting smaller, although I know it’s exhausting at times.
Jodee, it truly was a magical day on the river! Every time we kayak the Ichetucknee we feel exactly the same sense of wonder and peace.
Downsizing is hard, but we think it’s going to be worth the effort. I’ve been searching for a portable cat tree but there’s nothing that is small enough to fit into the Subaru. We’re all adjusting, LOL.