Maddie Mouse : Florida's Springs

Before coming on this adventure, I had no idea that Central Florida was home to many natural springs....natural fountains that bubble up from underground rivers deep inside the earth. Once I knew this, I just had to visit at least one while here. Finally, the opportunity came on Tuesday. Ashley and I were the only ones off, but Kaitlyn didn't work until 5:00, so the three of us made a day trip to some of the springs. We were hoping to see some manatees, but that didn't happen; it was okay, though, since what we did see was just as breathtaking.
We left the apartment around 8am, and headed to Crystal River Springs; we arrived at the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge (which is where I thought we wanted to end up) and went inside to ask where we could find a place to swim. We spoke to a very nice older gentleman who was extremely happy to help us and tell us all about the area; turns out he's actually originally from Utica, NY! Unfortunately, there was no place to really swim at Crystal River, but he did give us directions to Hunter Springs, which has a swimming area. Back in the car we went and drove a little ways further to Hunter Springs; when we got there, it was not what I was picturing for where we wanted to be, but we got out and explored for a few minutes anyway. I quickly checked my phone and found directions to another spring I had read about: Rainbow Springs. It said it was only about 15min from where we were so we took one last shot at finding what we were looking for.
As soon as we pulled in the entrance for Rainbow Springs State Park, I knew it was going to be exactly what I had been picturing. When we walked up to the window to pay our $2 fee, I asked if they took credit card since I wasn't planning on needing cash to go to Crystal River; they did, but when the woman went to slide my card, she realized the machine was broken! I told her I didn't have cash and her response was oh well, sorry. We drove 2 hours to get there, finally found what we wanted, and now had to head back disappointed because the rude woman wouldn't work with us to find a solution. We started back to the car when this family stopped us and asked if we were leaving; I said yes and told them the credit card machine was down in case they were planning on that as well. To my utter surprise, the family said they would be happy to pay for us; we were so touched by this small gesture and thanked them over and over. I could not believe it!
Thanks to them, we got to experience what I believe very well could have been heaven on earth. The water was as clear as a lens, to swim in it is an otherworldly sensation of flight through underwater gardens and around gnomelike rock formations, and the tranquility of the surrounding tropical forests is nothing I've ever experienced before. There are no words to describe the beauty we were surrounded by, so I will have to let pictures do the talking.

on our way!