Jolley and I broke out our teardrop and were joined by Dave and Doris (dancing in their campsite above), our friends from Sarasota, for a couple of days at O'Leno State Park, which is a little northwest of Gainesville Florida. The park has two camping loops. We were in the Magnolia Loop and it was great. The campsites are wooded and large. Of course, when you have a teardrop or an ALiner most sites are just fine. The park has plenty of hiking trails and the Santa Fe River flows right through it. There are several springs in close proximity and the Ichetucknee River is also very close. We rented some kayaks one day and paddled down the Ichetucknee and then into the Santa Fe. The total trip was about 12 miles and took about 4-41/2 hours. The Ichetucknee was the highlight. The river is crystal clear and beautiful. We were joined by several manatees for part of the trip. We also sighted a family of otters and about a million turtles. If you look at the picture above you'll see the manatee following us as we kayak. Although it was raining around the state, we were lucky in that it only rained one night, from about 11pm to 5am. This is a great park to visit.
