Sunday, February 15, 2015

A Weekend Trip

Hello Everyone!

Well, last weekend, (Feb. 6th-8th) was quite exciting and amazing! I'm going to tell ya'll all about it in this extremely long post. I'm going to just write about the main highlights, because this would turn into a book if I wrote about all the details that took place on this adventure!
Friday afternoon our family packed up the car and headed out for Deland, Fl. Our friends had invited us to come visit them and we could go camping with them. So, we took our tent and made it to our friend's house, probably around 4:30-5 pm.  (This is a picture of a pretty tree I took when we stopped at the store. )
 When everything was ready, our friend's led the way to a pathway off the road. They took half of our family back into the woods where we were going to camp, and then came back to get the other half of our family, and all our things. The other half of our family, except mommy, rode on the back of the car, hanging on as we bumped our way farther and farther into the woods. Finally we arrived at "Gator Lake", so our family pitched the tent. Oh, I forgot to mention that it was dark and cold out, so yeah, we had to put up the tent in the dark. Well, we had flashlights, but still... Anyway, after our tent was all set up, our friends pulled out their tiny gas stove and heated up the taco soup mommy had made. This fire was a welcome sight to the ones who were freezing. :)
                      This isn't the best picture, but it shows the full moon that was shining.
So, around 10:30, we retired to our tent after singing some hymns and talking. Well, we had packed sleeping bag and enough blankets to keep us warm that night. So we thought. It was freezing! Even with sweatshirts and sweaters and blankets and more blankets piled on top of us, we were all shivering! I woke up somewhere around 4 in the morning, and mommy and daddy woke up too.  I had blankets piled on top of my head so I wouldn't breathe in the cold air, but it didn't help that much. But mommy, daddy, and I did manage to fall asleep again and we slept for a couple more hours. In the morning, daddy started a fire and he and my older sister went for a canoe ride, hoping to catch some fish.  
The lake was right across from where our tent was set up. In the morning, a fog had fallen over it, and the scene was very beautiful. 
                                                           The fog is slowly disappearing...
                                           and the sun is peaking through the trees.
Here are some more pictures of the lake after the fog cleared. 
                                               This panoramic photo came out nicely!
                                 The water was very clear and had a beautiful reflection.
After breakfast of cinnamon apple pancakes, our tent was packed up and place in our friend's trailer, along with the rest of our belongings. Us girls all squished in there, and bumpity bumpity bumpity we went, all the way out of the woods. Sometimes it felt like we were going to tip over, and it really did feel like a roller coaster. 
Our friends went to borrow a pontoon boat from their friends, and this cow was standing in the driveway. 
                                     This is another panoramic photo of a beautiful lake.

 We then drove to lake George and prepared for the pontoon boat ride.
 There were a bunch of pelicans hanging out at the boat landing, waiting for people to carry in their fish
And yet another panoramic picture. This was a huge tree that was growing out of the water. 
Now, for some pictures of Lake George. 

This manatee was swimming around when we got closer to the springs. The water in the springs was super clear!!! It was a little cold when I first got in, but after you got all wet, it warmed up. It really started getting cold when you got out of the water!
                                    This manatee was near the spring, eating the seaweed.
                                                   It was very neat to see him up close.
 
 

                                I took this picture (below) as we were leaving the springs.
                                        And we saw this Bald Eagle sitting up in a tree.
We had such a long ride ahead of us when we left the Springs. The picture(below) was taken as we left Silver Glen Springs. You can't even see the land, it was so far away.
 
The next morning we went to a church with our friends. After that, we toured a farmer's market, and then drove home that afternoon. Overall, it was an extremely fun trip, and lots of memories were made. :) 

Have you ever been camping? Did you enjoy it? Have you ever ridden on a pontoon boat or visited any springs? Leave a comment below! I would love to hear your answers! :) 
Thanks to our friends for the pictures of the manatee.



19 comments:

  1. We went camping once, but there was a huge thunderstorm, so it wasn't the best experience... I found the photos of the pelicans fascinating as Australian pelicans are a different colour to the ones you saw. Ours are whiter with right down to the back where they are black. You got some great photos of the area - it's very pretty! ^_^

    http://amityinchrist.blogspot.com.au/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Awww. I'm sorry your camping trip wasn't so fun. It's never fun when it rains. Yes! The area was prettier than pictures can describe!!! :)
    Love,
    Ashley

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have never seen pelicans that looked like that, you did get some nice shots.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Clare! They were really close to me. They thought I had fish. :)

      Delete
  4. Awesome! It looks like you had a lot of fun. Great pictures! :)

    ~Lydia~ <3

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful pictures! I go camping by my aunts house about every year with my family. I was imagining everything you said but at my aunts place where we camp. HAHA!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heheheeh. Glad you are able to imagine yourself camping. :)

      Delete
  6. Hey Ashley! Yes, I've been camping twice. The second time it rained, and I woke up squealing, cuz' I thought the boys were pranking us! But both times were really fun!
    Those pelicans and manatees are really cool! I remember seeing pelicans at our bird park last time. Manatees are really cool to me; I've never seen one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you had fun camping in spite of the rain. :) I think pelicans are neat birds! I love watching them swoop down into the water to catch a fish. I think Manatees are really neat, too. They're such gentle giants. :)

      Delete
  7. Sounds like you had a lot of fun Ashley! You got some amazing pictures!!! Great post!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Amazing pictures! The manatee is adorable!!
    Grace

    theshortendofthings.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hey Ashley,
    I had so much fun with you.
    It was so cool to see the manatee with you.
    I love the picture of the palm tree in the water. I did not see that when I was with you.
    Those pelicans looked so cute and cuddly.
    I thought that was so funny that there was a cow in the road.
    The boat ride was very cold on the way back to the dock. But it was still very fun.
    I have to go now by.
    Love,
    Deborah

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love all the pictures, especially the ones of the pelicans. The manatee was very big.
    Love,
    Lauren

    ReplyDelete
  11. That is so neat!! I would love to see a Manatee. The pictures are very pretty! Made me miss Florida. While we lived there, we went to some beautiful springs. We too went swimming in one of the springs in the winter. and although the water temperature was around 70 degrees, it was still pretty cold! Anyway, thanks for sharing about your trip, looks like you all had fun!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I used to live in FL, I miss it so much! Thank you for sharing these BEAUTIFUL pictures!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. These pictures are beautiful!!! You did such a wonderful job. :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. These are beautiful! I found your blog though Digital Diaries. I like your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Woops, sorry, I meant I found your blog through Melani's blog, Reflections of the Heart.

    ReplyDelete

Hello there!
I'd love it if you left me a comment...they totally make my day!