We were invited to Ocala, Florida in early November for a birthday bash weekend honoring our friend Alex turning 40. We had so much fun on our last visit down to them so it was a no-brainer for us to say yes, so we loaded up the canoe on top of the truck and drove down to central Florida.
Part of the appeal of the trip was that almost all of the Torsilieri clan would be down there for the occasion and I was excited for Scott to meet everyone. The clan consists of: Gus’s parents Dean and Chris, his adult sisters Holly, Geneva and her husband Ben, and his youngest siblings Remy and Willow. The only one not in attendance was his sister Piper and her husband who lives in Washington state and had just welcomed their new baby.
When we arrived at Gus and Alex’s house most of the clan was already there and it was a whirlwind of hugs, enthusiastic greetings, and introductions as soon as we walked through the door. Scott did a pretty good job of remembering names and figuring out who was who. I hadn’t seen most of them in several years and it was fun catching up and getting life updates from everyone. Holly was still a teenager living at home the last I saw her and she’s now a doctoral candidate! Geneva is a lawyer in D.C. Willow was about four years old the last time I saw her and quite shy, and now she’s in high school, quite talkative and outgoing, and is a proud member of USPC in addition to about five other hobbies that she is pursuing. Scott fit right in and started to get to know everyone. He was excited to be reunited with his Florida dog-friend Elwood, or “The Wood” as he has nicknamed him, and petted and scratched him some.
Because there were so many people, Scott and I had decided that it would be easiest for us just to tent camp in Gus and Alex’s backyard. I was excited that we were able to bring our cushy tri-fold mattresses for this trip since they had been understandably jettisoned from the packing list of our last camping trip, the canoe camping trek to Capers Island. We set up our tent in the backyard and the herd of dogs were all quite confused over its presence and barked their heads off at it.
Gus made dinner for everyone that night which was quite a feat since the clan had grown even bigger with the arrival of one of their friends, and Alex’s father and brother. Alex’s party was planned for the following night and we all finalized the details of the trip to Silver Springs that we would be making the next day. Gus had rented tandem kayaks for everyone except us (we would be in our canoe) and we would paddle the clear river in hopes of seeing manatees, and if we were lucky(?), monkeys.
The next morning we somehow got the whole group together and onto the road in a somewhat timely fashion and got to the state park for our paddle. The portion of the river at the canoe and kayak launch at the park looked like it was part of Disney world. The river was unbelievably clear and quite narrow with tropical forest towering above us and we could hear the monkeys somewhere off in the forest. We were less than five minutes into our paddle when we saw something fall from a tree on the left bank, followed by a big splash. My first thought was that it was a monkey or an iguana but as we watched the source of the splash swimming and then scramble up onto the bank and back into the tree, we saw that it was just a squirrel. I can’t say that I had ever seen a squirrel fall out of a tree and into a river before!
Sidenote: The macaque monkeys that inhabit this area were intentionally released in the 1930s by an enterprising glass-bottom boat tour owner who wanted to make the boat ride more “jungle-like” for tourists, except that he had no idea they could swim. They spread throughout the area and multiplied fruitfully. Like most introduced species they have had a negative impact on the local ecosystem and they have the added bonus of carrying a strain of Herpes that can cause brain damage and death in humans. They have also become quite food aggressive since tourists have been feeding them. Hoorah! Also…should you want to know how to pronounce the word macaque you’ll enjoy this helpful tutorial :)
This initial portion of the river quickly opened up at the namesake main spring and we spent some time paddling around it. You can see clearly all the way down to the bottom which is over 30 feet deep. We were able to find the three submerged statues that were leftover props from the filming of the TV show “I Spy” in the 1960s. Just after we moved on down the river from the main spring and glass-bottom boat launch, we saw the first manatees of the day. Watching them never gets old. They seem so nonplussed by the paddlers and just go about their business.
We made our way further down the river and were entertained by the abundant bird life, fish, and turtles that we saw. When we were about halfway down the river we saw the first alligator of the day, it was basking atop a floating island of lily pads, and was big enough to make me nervous (probably about 6 feet long) and Scott of course wanted to paddle us closer for a better look at it. Throughout the paddle we saw about four more alligators, all spotted by Geneva’s husband Ben, who has a knack for finding them evidently. They don’t typically inhabit these clear rivers and springs, and usually prefer the darker and murkier bodies of water since it makes hunting harder if your prey can easily spot you stalking them. We continued to see manatees as we made our way down the six-mile stretch of river, and even saw some mother and baby pairs.
At the takeout, to the horror of about half of the group, Scott hitchhiked his way back up to the put-in to get our truck. I had to explain that this was normal behavior for him and he hasn’t been abducted yet and it is quite a common practice in the kayak world. When he got back with his truck, the shuttle for the rest of the group still hadn’t arrived so he ferried them back up to get their vehicles. When he got back we packed up the canoe and gear and decided to string up the hammocks in a sunny spot under some palm trees. We had an enjoyable siesta before heading back to the house.
The party that night was fantastic and we enjoyed celebrating Alex’s birthday. Gus had gone all out and had it catered. The caterer set up an incredibly elaborate charcuterie spread before transitioning to an equally elaborate taco bar. Alex was adorable in her pink tutu, radiantly happy, and enjoyed ringing in her 40th birthday surrounded by friends, clients, and family.
Scott and I got to quiz Dean about the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree that his company is responsible for procuring, transporting, and setting up every year, as well as the other projects that he has done. We enjoyed hearing Ben’s tales about having a chance encounter with Matthew McConaughey (Ben’s dare caused Matthew to break his nose…), then another chance opportunity that led to Ben teaching Matthew how to play his band’s song “Quill” in an upcoming movie, and then actually getting to play alongside him in the film.
After we sang Happy Birthday to Alex and had some cake, the party slowly dwindled down. We helped clean up the backyard once most everyone left. We all chatted a bit longer before the rest of Gus and Alex’s family dispersed back to the nearby houses that they were staying in and then Scott and I headed back to our perfect little backyard camping spot.
