I was working in the Orlando area recently for what will likely be my last time, for now anyway, as a result of some territory changes made by my company. Being the OOPS sufferer I am, I had originally planned on spending 2 or 3 nights in a campground instead of my customary hotel stay. Unfortunately the weather for the time I was to be in town was predicted to rain. And it did. A lot.
Rain is generally not a deterent for me on a run especially on the hot, humid days of summer. Last Friday was not hot or humid in central Florida. As a compromise to my proposed camping adventure, I was gonna enjoy one last trip to my favorite suburban state park on the planet - Wekiwa Springs. You may have read of my foreshadowing wildlife encounter last year at this same park Don't Waste a Tear.
On this morning it was 55 degrees with scattered rain. Kinda hard to get fired up about running in that. On the way to the park, Starbucks offered a warm, dry escape to enjoy a grande coffee (with room for cream) and some time on the Death Star. I was hoping the rain would stop, and on most mornings I think I would've blown this trip off, but this could be my "last chance".
In following through on this commitment I made with myself, I realized I'm one of those people that will do things just so they can say they did. I'll admit that some of that is fueled by narcism (I provide the dictionary link cause I didn't know what that meant until fairly recently - thankfully my picture wasn't there - nor was yours). Isn't that what blogging is all about? Look at me?! But in addition to that, I truly feel compelled to do things because of a fear of remorse.
I don't want to be on my death bed looking back on my life and this day thinking I wish I had done that. It's not a Christian vs. non-Christian thing. Plenty of my saved bretheren would be content to stay warm and dry. Our quick dialogue might sound like this:
"But we may never get a chance to do this again" I would say.
"So?", or "your point would be...?" they'd deadpan.
"But we could die tomorrow" I'd plead.
"Not likely Sherlock" they'd close.
Plenty of people have this compulsion - some way more intensely than me. They're called skydivers, base jumpers, spelunkers, race car drivers, etc. They're adrenaline junkies. I skydived a few years back. Once was enough. The thought of crawling around in a dark cave, wiggling through small tunnels, almost gives me a panic attack. Plus, I have a family, a dog, and a cat who all depend on me - so I don't have a need for those things.
What I have is a desire, a very strong desire, a thirst, a passion for abundance! I don't know what you call that. How 'bout a "10:10dency"?! That's pretty good. Anyway, sorry to take you on a tangent - now back to our park story.
After paying the park ranger, who was probably wondering what I was up to, I parked the sexy minivan and proceeded to the trailhead. I had the entire park to myself - pretty cool even on a crappy day. Here's the view of the boardwalk which leads down to the spring and the trail.
Notice the steam coming off the spring (in this blurry picture).
From here I snapped a before run picture using my camera's timer. Not raining at this point.
If you read or reread the post I mentioned before, Don't Waste a Tear, you'd know that I encountered not one, but 2 deer shortly after starting this run. Well guess what? At almost the same place on this run a deer crossed the trail! I stopped, turned on my camera, forgot to turn off the flash, and snapped this picture. Notice how the flash illuminates Bambi's eyes. Can you see her?
The trail I was on has the spray painted hash marks like you'd find on the Florida Trail or the Appalacian Trail. Gives this suburban park a feeling of authenticity. If you follow it around the entire park, you'd hike or run over 16 miles. The trail initially parallels the park road but then turns away into the woods as you can see here.
I would have loved to run a lot longer, but it was a work day, so I had to find a turn-around spot. It turned out to be a creek with a small bridge that provided a camera stand. Still not really raining.
But that changed quickly. It started slowly then really came down hard. Still 55 degrees outside, the effort of the run was just enough to keep me warm - but not by much. Part of the deal this morning was going to be a dip in the spring. Like the run this could be my last chance.
All I could think of on the way back from the woods was how cold it was gonna be jumping into that water. So I started psyching myself up and developing a strategy how I would get into and out of the spring in as little time as possible and still capture some wet pictures to document my endeavor.
I quickly stripped off my shirt and shoes and snapped a picture - a pretty useless one really.
I then stepped down the aluminum stairs leading into the spring and snapped this.
To my amazement the water felt warm! As you know, Florida springs hold a 72 degree temp year round - which feels pretty chilly in summer. Today, after being pelted with sub 55 degree rain for the last 20 minutes, this thing felt like a bath tub!
After some pretty thick apprehension, I'm literally laughing underwater. And I'm swimming around like a drunken otter! Here's a few underwater shots from near the stairs.
Here's what it looks like above water. Raining cats and dogs...
Why not a self portrait? Notice how well the rain and spring water collude to place my hair just right to cover my reseeding hairline.
As much as I wanted to stay and play, this was a work day. This next shot you're gonna love. I went to check the time and here's what it was...
Could you read that? 10:10. Amazing! God is good!
