Aquaholic: 6/15 Clear, Cool Waters of Crystal River

We slept well after our Gulf crossing yesterday. Erik awoke at his usual pre dawn hour and preceded to fish a bit. Yep.....they have catfish here also.

Good morning Steinhatchee

It is gong to be another beautiful day!

We decided to skip over going to shore and exploring Steinhatchee. It really did not appear to have a lot to do and we thought instead that we would get an early start back on the water so that we could arrive at our next destination, Crystal River, early in the afternoon and do more exploring there. Today planned journey brought us back out into the Gulf where we would travel another 87 miles south. However, today we would stick closer to shore (about 4 miles off shore) and the waves were much friendlier.

Coming into the channel to Crystal River. This area of the Gulf is VERY shallow off shore and all of the ports have long channels to follow the markers into

We have seen many dolphins. This is a good example of the typical fabulous pics that Renee gets of them playing! Do you see them? haha...that's because those little boogers are a real challenge to photograph.

Our first choice of marina in Crystal River was 'Petes Pier' in the Kings Bay area. Unfortunately, we were not able to get a slip there since they were filled up. Instead, we called and made arrangements for a slip at Twin River Marina. After stopping through the marina and checking in/paying we decided to continue on back further into the channel to Kings Bay. Since it was early enough into the afternoon we thought that it would make sense to do some exploration before getting settled in at a marina slip. We found a nice anchorage along with quite a few other boats in the bay. By this point in the afternoon and after our long trip out in the sun we were both MORE than ready to jump into the water to cool down. What a pleasant surprise entering into the water was! Because of the many springs feeding the bay at this location the water temp was much cooler than what it is in the Gulf or other areas that we have been. Additionally, the salinity of the water is WAY lower. It was almost like swimming in fresh water . Ahhhhh.....we needed that. After a quick dip we got back into the boat refreshed and decided to blow up the kayak and explore. We had heard from other blogs and forums as well as from our McConnelsville snowbird friends who winter in Crystal River that the springs are very nice. From the anchorage we set out down a small creek (our boat would not have fit under the bridge). We started off rough with Renee and Erik NOT in unison on their oaring! Our inflatable kayak is not the most water dynamic craft that you have seen. Soon though, after some loving and understanding conversation (or bitching at each other), we were cruising along nicely. The are along the creek had many channels shooting off of it with very nice homes everywhere. There were a whole bunch of other people on kayaks and paddle boards coming and going. It felt a bit like we were on the Mohican River canoeing on a hot Summer day. Our arms were getting tired but we were certain that there was more to see just around the bend. We were right! Just a little further and there was an entrance to an absolutely stunning part of the springs. The water opened up into a small bay where the water was as clear as drinking water. There were quite a few people swimming and kayaking around. This is the area that Crystal River is most known for. In the Winter months (December-April) there are many (sometimes hundreds) of manatee swimming in this area. They love it because the springs keep the water here at a constant 72 degrees. We paddled our kayak to the shore and exited on the rocky ledges. The rocky shores were a bit slippery, but once in the water the reward was nice. This water was even cooler and more refreshing than in Kings Bay. Because we were in our inflatable kayak, that tends to get some water on board, we had not brought our phones. However, Erik saw a lady who was standing on a paddle board taking pics. He asked her if she would be willing to take a picture of us and text it to his phone. We had brought our snorkels and masks along in the kayak. It was very neat to swim around and look at the rock ledge shores under water and explore the bottom. There were some fish, but mostly just a sandy bottom.

One of several pictures that Erik had the bikini clad lady on the paddle board take and text to him. Little did she know that it was just a ploy to get her phone number! hahaha....she did text a few hours later inquiring whether the pics had come through. It was nice of her to do that

After our paddle back to the boat we determined that we were both STARVING to death. We pulled anchor and headed back up the channel to the marina. Once settled into our slip we cranked up the A/C and got the grill lit. We grilled out some burgers and ate some leftover guacamole and chips that we had made the day before. After dinner Renee got online to balance the check book, pay bills AND make sure that Discover Card still had enough OTB to keep us on the water for the next ten days! While she was doing that, Erik gave Aquaholic a good and much needed fresh water bath. The two days of travels out on the Gulf with the saltwater spray had EVERYTHING covered in a layer of sticky, salty grime. We stuck close to the boat during the evening but did walk the dock a bit and conversed with a local live aboard boater who was originally from New Jersey. Nice guy who was in the process of restoring an old wood boat that he is also living on.