Today we officially begin our adventures on the Withlacoochee River.  My interest with the river began about 1 1/2 years ago when my daughter was invited to a friend's birthday party.  They have a place on the river in Pasco county.  Being there reminded me of my childhood days when I was never far from the water.  Growing up in Maryville, Tennessee, right outside of Cades Cove at the foot of the Smokey Mountains, we had a creek that ran through our back yard.  After my parents death, I went to live with relatives in a small Georgia town right outside of Chattanooga, Tennesee.  Again, a creek ran through our back yard.  Then as a teenage, my voyage south continued to Florida.  I left the hills and creeks behind and instead found flat lands, concrete, small yards, minimal shade trees and unbearable heat.  The southernmost parts of Florida also seem to suffer from a lack of distinctly different seasons.  It took me about 15-20 years to settle down and adjust to the climate that I now love.

Several months ago, my daughter was again invited to the river for a birthday celebration.  The minute I dropped her off, I again felt that deep longing for the hills, woods and fresh water of my youth.  I never dreamed in a million years that we could pull it off but still curiosity got the better of me and I started searching around just to get an idea of what it would take to have a small place on the river.  A small place in the country wouldn't do, if we were going to make the plunge there had to be water running through my backyard again.

I found a small place and contacted the realtor.  We were told the property was empty and we could drive up and take a look around.  We actually ended up making a list of several properties.  On our first trip my daughter declared that the first property we found was magical and came complete with the "Bridge to Terabithia" overhanging the water.  We looked at several more properties and went home to talk it over with the family.  Much to our surprise, we made a second trip with my husband to look at a few properties and then again with our older daughter.  To make a long story short, after many months of negotiations, inspections, set backs and learning curves, we are now the proud owners of a small property on a dead end road on the Withlacoochee river.  Now the real work and adventures begin. 

 The "bridge" from the river bank.

The view from the bank looking over the river.