From Hobe Sound/Stuart FL, we headed NW for a two day excursion to paddle Three Sister Springs in the town of Crystal River and then off to Rainbow River in the town of Dunnellon.
DAY ONE: After a 3.5 hr drive, our first stop was to bike a portion of the Withlacoochee State Trail. At 47 miles (94 mi round trip), this is one of Florida’s longest, paved, rail-trails, lined with trees for shade and very flat making this ride both easy and beautiful.
We opted to pick up the bike trail at Hernando Park and made our way to Floral City and back for a 25.3 mile ride–– which is about all I could take on my vintage 50 year old Gitane 10-speed.
But along our return trek from Floral City, we stopped in Inverness for lunch.
It had been four years since my last ride but all was forgotten when we reached Inverness and sat down outside of The Side Bar Tavern, where I ordered an avocado toast (with the works) and about a gallon of water. Wendy had the BLT and both were plentiful and delicious. The bar was my kind of place and I will be back sometime soon.
After a bite and some rehydration, we returned to Hernando Park, loaded in our bikes and headed to the Holiday Inn Express in Crytal River. This hotel is perfectly located, busy, spotless and the staff are friendly and professional. What we liked most was getting ground floor rooms for storing our boards overnight and not having to trip over them for the rooms are large. Thank you Amy.
DAY TWO: We were up early, had some breakfast at the hotel–– hard to get Wendy away from the Pancake machine–– and we headed off to paddle both Crystal springs and Rainbow river. Each of these locations would take days and days to explore, but here is an overview of what to expect. Enjoy
I Paddle 4 U 
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