Withlacoochee River another magical time attracting moments

The Cooch is of my favorite rivers that I don't spend much time on.  Most of my journeys on the Cooch are at or near the mouth of the river where it dumps into the Gulf of Mexico.  Last month I took a short guided nature cruise with Jean as it was our 25th anniversary and we ate a a nice restaurant in Yankeetown.

Click on the pics to see a larger view

I take pictures in this area  quite often and wanted to bring Jean to show her.  Jean has been here before and paddled her too, but it has been a few years.

First we took a hike and climbed tthe observation tower at the Withlacoochee Gulf Pathways Preserve

 

Next I drove her around a little to show her the sights

Then we got to the Isaac Walton Lodge.  It's called Ike's Old Florida Kitchen Now .  and is somewhat cheaper now that it is not a 3 star restaurant.  the historic lodge burned down in 2000 but they have restored it  fairly accurately from what I understand .

we didn't eat yet because we had reserved a river cruise  with Osprey guides

the river was filled with life

Taking pictures was difficult from a moving boat on a cloudy day with no tripod 

but I managed to capture some worthy images.

Alas the sun was sinking and we were cold and hungry by this point

The cruise was nice we saw dolphins and gators and lots of birds and 

the most beautiful old cypress skeletons.

Hope you enjoyed