tennis, life and a few things in between

215 Lightfoot Road
Wimauma FL 33598

Swimming with alligators …

A little Amazon in Florida: Little Manatee River State Park is one of blackwater rivers in southwest Florida and the most pristine.

A blackwater river has slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. The darkness comes from vegetation decays, tannins leach into the water, making a transparent, acidic water that is darkly stained, resembling black tea.

This park begins in a swampy area near Fort Lonesome and travels west nearly 40 miles, to merge into Tampa Bay from E.G. Simmons.

One of the friends said that the tide was below sea level when we started.

I’ve done canoeing in the Delaware River many times, especially during the spring when the rapids are strong. Kayaking on the Little Manatee is different, the water is very calm, and couple of times the water is so shallow, we have to get off the boat to push. Weight of the paddlers do make difference. For newbies, it’s better to rent flat bottom kayak.

We started from Access Point #1 and rent from Canoe Outpost. Their fees are $5 parking $30 rental that includes van pick up for 1; two paddlers in a kayak is about $50.

One of interesting posts we’ve seen is this 

Y’all better paddle faster I hear BANJO music

Suppose a homepage paid to Deliverance, a 1972 thriller film by Boorman, starring Burt Reynolds (1936-2018)? A few men went on a canoe trip … and one of them was being raped/molested by a group of locals … “Paddle faster, I hear banjos” becomes a phrase, perhaps means immediate danger or bunch of really stupid people. We all got a good laugh out of it.

I finally got to circle the Lake Harmony, on New Year Day. I would have do it again but the oar is bit too short, that getting myself wet.

The lake is privately owned, about 2.5 miles long; serene and the glacial water is very clear.

As I was paddling the small kayak, I thought about Alan Kulwicki (1954-93) whose trade mark was “Polish victory lap“, which is going clockwise after winning the race. We attended a nascar race here, in the Poconos in 1992. Unfortunately, Kulwicki died in an airplane crash the following year.

The sound of crashing the thin ice ⇓ sounds like music to me -:)

Here is my 2.5 miles circling of the lake ⇓

Kayake @ Pier 26. We were waiting for our food @ City Vineyard, so I went over to check.
“What time is it?” The girl asked.
“6:59” I said, looking at my phone.
“Ok, you’ll be the last one.