juniper springs

I don't know about you, but it seems like in my life, all the crazy stuff just happens at once. Once a series of mishaps kicks off, every day following it something else ridiculous and annoying sort of joins in until you reach that point where you're not sure whether to laugh or cry. I mean, at some point it's just funny, right? (Or so I tried to tell myself on the day we were stuck with one functioning car, as the key broke off in the ignition.)

Anyway, things have been a little stressful and crazy around here so we really wanted to just get away if not only for a day or two. I've been eyeing Florida's natural springs online, captivated by the beauty and a little shaky about the whole alligators-and-bears thing. By some miracle, my husband was able to get off of work long enough for us to develop some kind of plan to take Ethan up to one of the natural springs that has a designated swimming area (which only 30% minimized my fear of alligator attacks but, hey, I'll take what I can get). My parents have a lake home about forty five minutes from this spring, Juniper Springs, so it all seemed to work out perfectly, give or take a few hiccups (see also: our diabetic cat had no choice but to join us on this trip and Ethan wound up coming down with a yucky cold).

No one got attacked by alligators (actually, we didn't even see any alligators) and, despite the spring water being a crisp 73 degrees, it was the perfect getaway.

Our little trip made me promise myself to force these little getaways on our family more often. Even if we only have a day or two to work with, make it happen. There's so much to see in this state of ours that isn't a theme park and it's worth taking advantage of. Less things and more experiences.