Weekend Camping Trip
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (118435)
Gainesville, Florida
March 24, 2019 6:08pm CST
I finished up my pre-op appointment with the knee surgeon at about 3 pm Friday afternoon, and on my way back home I had a great idea, so I called up my son and told him to get his camping gear ready, because we were heading out to the river for a fun weekend! The impromptu decision was brought on by the fact that the weather was just too beautiful to pass up on such a fun opportunity.
We loaded up our gear and headed out to Ginnie Springs, which is about a 45 minute drive outside of Gainesville. Ginnie is a privately owned property along the Santa Fe River in Florida, and offers camping, canoeing/kayaking, tubing, swimming and more.
Despite getting there late on a Friday afternoon of a busy spring break weekend, we were able to find a camping spot right on the river, and set up our hammocks right over the water. We then enjoyed a fun evening sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows and eating S'mores. On Saturday, my daughter and girlfriend had to work, but my son and I launched our kayaks in the water and spent a few hours on the river in the morning, and then in the afternoon floated down the river a couple of times on out tubes. The girls joined us later in the afternoon just before sunset, just in time to barbecue and enjoy another cold night around the campfire.
This morning (Sunday), we got up super early so we could be some of the first ones out on the river. We hopped on our rafts and tubes, and lazily floated down the river again, this time searching out one of the many rope swings we had spotted on the river the day before. Since the river was not crowded yet with tubers, kayakers and paddleboarders, we had all the time in the world to enjoy swinging off the ropes on the high banks out into the river. Even the girls, who were a little timid at first, really got into it after a while!
It was a great weekend, and just what we all needed to refresh and recharge us heading into another work week. I wanted one last hoorah before my knee surgery this coming Thursday, since it would be 4-6 weeks before I could realistically be up and about again after my surgery.
My girlfriend was a little worried about me having a fun weekend with my injured knee. "What if you hurt it worse?" she asked. "Relax" I said, "what's the worst that can happen...I'll need knee surgery?" haha
28 people like this
30 responses
@LovingMyBabies (85127)
• Valdosta, Georgia
24 Mar 19
I am so glad you had a great time! Ginnie Springs is beautiful. =)
3 people like this
@LovingMyBabies (85127)
• Valdosta, Georgia
25 Mar 19
@moffittjc Yes, I believe that's the one we went to last summer! Could've been another one, I can't remember the names but I think that was the one.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Mar 19
Have you been to Ginnie before? Or any of the other springs around north Florida?
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Mar 19
@LovingMyBabies Was it expensive to get into? Ginnie is privately owned, so it is very expensive. Other popular springs right around Ginnie are Blue Springs, Itchetucknee Springs, and Poe Springs. They're all right in the same vicinity of each other.
1 person likes this
@SophiaMorros (5046)
• Belews Creek, North Carolina
24 Mar 19
Sounds like a wonderful weekend!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Mar 19
I had a blast! it felt good to swing on the rope swings again. The last time I did that was about 3 years ago, and the rope broke and sent me plummeting about 30 feet to the ground, breaking all my ribs. I was much luckier this time, no injuries of any sort! Even my knee held up well (thanks to a thick, heavy brace).
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Mar 19
@SophiaMorros It took me a while to get up the courage to try it again. This particular swing was off a tree leaning out into the water, so no matter how I fell or dropped, it would land me in the water. When the rope broke on the previous one in which I broke my ribs, I landed on a cypress stump on the bank of the river.
1 person likes this
@SophiaMorros (5046)
• Belews Creek, North Carolina
24 Mar 19
@moffittjc I'm not sure I'd ever trust another rope swing after something like that! My oldest daughter has a smile-shaped scar on the back of her head from a rope swing that broke. She only fell a few feet but landed with a bigger child on top of her and a piece of one-by-six under the back of her head.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (95136)
• Marion, Ohio
24 Mar 19
That was a great idea. Glad you had so much fun.
2 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (95136)
• Marion, Ohio
24 Mar 19
@moffittjc Its still too cold here to think about that kind of stuff.
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@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Mar 19
@wolfgirl569 It won't be long before you have wonderful weather! And by the time you get your gorgeous weather, it will already be hot and muggy here...
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Mar 19
It's nice to have such fun outdoor recreation opportunities right outside of town. I really wanted to go to the beach, but our nearest beach is over an hour and a half away.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Mar 19
Thank you Dianne! I appreciate you keeping me in your thoughts. How was your weekend down in Lake Worth? Was it as beautiful there as it was here?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Mar 19
@DianneN Busy and fun weekends are always the best! Except for when they end!
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@DianneN (246720)
• United States
25 Mar 19
@moffittjc Welcome! It was gorgeous here! Busy and fun weekend, too.
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@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Mar 19
I've already damaged it about as bad as it can get, but I have been trying to be very careful. Mostly because I'm in a lot of pain when I walk! haha
I can't wait until I'm healed so I can have some more fun weekends!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Mar 19
@cintol I wear my brace to support my knee and help curb some of the pain. But I did not wear it while in the water. I did okay going down the stairs into the spring, and I did okay climbing up the river bank for the rope swing, but I didn't do so well walking back up the trail at the end of the tubing run to get back to the starting point at the main spring. My knee kept popping out on my the whole walk back after my first tubing run. For the second tubing run, I put my knee brace in a waterproof bag and carried it with me on the river.
1 person likes this
@cintol (11261)
• United States
26 Mar 19
@moffittjc Isn't your brace helping to curb some of the pain or do you not wear it anymore?
Yes, fun is what everyone needs to keep life happy and exciting, you will have more just don't do anything to mess it up after the surgery. OBEY the doctors orders sir!!
1 person likes this
Glad you enjoyed your weekend 
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Mar 19
The water felt fabulous! It was cold, but felt good after lying in the sun for a little while! And the water was crystal clear, which is always a nice thing.
1 person likes this
@nela13 (55698)
• Portugal
27 Mar 19
@moffittjc Yes, it is possible to see in the picture that the water was crystal clear.
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@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
31 Mar 19
@nela13 It is beautiful water to swim in and have fun!
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@snowy22315 (169940)
• United States
24 Mar 19
It looks like a great weekend. In another month people will be out in the lake..but it's a bit cold for me to think about that now!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Mar 19
Our springs and rivers are a constant 72 degree year-round, since that is the temperature of the water coming deep from the aquifer under Florida. When the air temperature is below 72 degrees, the water feels warm, but when the air temperate is above 72, the water feels cold. Saturday's high was right around 70-71, so the water actually felt warm! But today, the high was 80, so the water felt much cooler than it did yesterday, even though it was at 72 both days!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Mar 19
I did have a very fun weekend! I've been cooped up the past month or so because of my knee injury, so it was driving me crazy not getting outside and doing things. Finally, I just thought to myself that I should just go for it, so when my son called and told me he wanted to go camping, it gave me the excuse I was looking for to get outside and do something fun.
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Mar 19
Thank you! That wasn't even my favorite photo, but it was the only one I could get to load!
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@LadyDuck (458008)
• Switzerland
26 Mar 19
@moffittjc This is very possible, the last time I came was 10 years ago.
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@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Mar 19
@LadyDuck It was pretty popular 10 years ago, so I'm surprised you hadn't heard of it.
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@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Mar 19
Ginnie Springs is privately owned, so over the years the family has been buying up more land and making it part of the park. Perhaps when you were here many years ago it was just a small place and not very well known.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Mar 19
@MALUSE People who visit our springs are quite surprised at the year-round constant temperature. It never changes, no matter how hot or cold it is outside, since the water comes from deep in the underground aquifer. It's quite nice, because there are thousands of springs all over north Florida, and no matter which one you visit, the temperature is always the same.
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Mar 19
The water is cold, but it's a constant 72 F (22 C) year-round because the river is fed by springs that come from the underground aquifer. Our lows have been in the 40s (4-5 C) at night, so with such cool night temperatures, the water actually feels warm! We did do a lot of swimming and snorkeling as well, as there are lots of cave openings in the springs that are fun to explore. You have to be a certified SCUBA cave diver to go down into the caves, but it's still fun to look down into the openings!
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Mar 19
No crocodiles, but there is an occasional alligator. But no worries on them attacking people, as the water is too cold for them to be aggressive. They will swim in that cold water, but it makes them lethargic.
I'm looking forward to the "new" me!
@Hannihar (129453)
• Israel
25 Mar 19
@moffittjc
Sounds like you had a good camping trip and glad you had such nice weather. I hope your knee will be ok.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Mar 19
The knee seems to be holding up well right now. It was sore after putting so much strain on it the whole weekend, but I've been keeping it iced to help with the swelling.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Mar 19
@Hannihar I'm supposed to keep it elevated and iced any time I am not doing anything. But I can only keep ice on the knee for periods of 10 minutes at a time. So generally when I'm at home, I'll put the ice pack on at the top of every hour.
@Hannihar (129453)
• Israel
26 Mar 19
@moffittjc
I am glad that it is holding up now. So how long and how often do you have to ice it.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Mar 19
The water was chilly, but very refreshing. In the photo I took, I'm standing at one of the springs looking out onto the river.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Mar 19
@Nevena83 I have a couple more photos that I'm trying to load, but they are not working right now, so I may have to re-size them before I can upload them.
How was your weekend?
1 person likes this
@simone10 (54189)
• Louisville, Kentucky
31 Mar 19
@moffittjc I should before it gets too hot. I'm sure you will be able to go camping in a couple of weeks. You would just have to be careful and you might not be able to get your knee wet in the lake.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
31 Mar 19
@simone10 I'm sure that by the time 2 weeks rolls around, my incisions from the surgery should be healed. In fact, I may want to try and go to the beach, because they say saltwater has magnificent healing powers on our wounds and injuries!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
31 Mar 19
Sharon, you should get out and go camping! This is the perfect time of the year for it!
Even though we went camping last weekend, my son said to me this morning, "Dad, I wish we could have gone camping again this weekend." And of course there was no way I could have with my knee surgery, but I even agreed with him and told him that I wanted to go too.
Next weekend our team has a paintball tournament in Orlando, and although I won't be playing, I will be down there acting as pit boss and managing the team. My son will be playing as well, but he is in a semi-pro division and not in the pro division like me. Anyway, that's all beside the point, but I'm thinking that I'd like to go camping again two weekends from now. By then, my knee should be healed enough to survive a weekend in the woods! By that time, I will have 2 weeks of rehab under my belt.
1 person likes this
@1creekgirl (40515)
• United States
25 Mar 19
That's really great you had such a fun weekend and made wonderful memories, especially before your surgery. I'll say a prayer for you on Thursday.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Mar 19
Thank you! This weekend was just what I needed after being cooped up for the last month or so. And it was perfect timing heading into my surgery on Thursday, as I won't be able to do a lot of physical or outdoor activity for another month after my surgery.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
3 Apr 19
Thanks. I was standing on the bank of the river right where the spring comes out and meets the river. All those people in the photo are actually in the river, the spring is off to the right of the photo. I have a photo of the spring itself, but for some reason it won't load, even though I re-sized it.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Apr 19
@noni1959 We have an abundance of springs and rivers in the local area that are popular with not only locals but with tourists. All great places to relax and unwind and have some fun. The place where we camped at, Ginnie Springs, is one of the few places that lets you camp right on the river, which is why we chose to go there.
1 person likes this
@noni1959 (9886)
• United States
3 Apr 19
@moffittjc It sounds like a perfect spot. I love finding swim areas that are safe and relaxing.
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (116860)
• Anniston, Alabama
25 Mar 19
That sounded like a wonderful weekend. Its still way to cold here to get in the water but I wanna do that here this summer, its been a year or more since I paddles the water shed lake and fished.
I hope everything goes well with the surgery, said a silent prayer for you.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Mar 19
I was worried that it was still a little too cold here too, as it's still been getting down into the low 40s at night, but we had a slight warm-up this weekend where highs finally went into the upper 70s. A perfect weekend to be outside! Originally, we weren't planning on swimming or tubing, as we thought the water would be too cold, but after kayaking on the river we decided that it felt good enough to jump in.
Thanks for the prayers for my upcoming knee surgery!
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Mar 19
It was just what I needed to recharge my soul! I've been waiting for the perfect weekend, and this weekend was it! I was hoping to have a chance to get out and have some fun before my knee surgery, so I really got lucky on the timing of the beautiful weather!
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
25 Mar 19
Just the kind of day you needed.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Mar 19
Exactly John! I really needed a fun weekend like this. I haven't been able to do much over the last month or so because of my knee injury, and I was starting to get a little stir crazy.
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