Today Ryan and I decided to take advantage of our new hometown and head out to one of the local springs.
Springs are the best! The water is crystal clear so there’s no worrying about alligators (for the most part) and people are always in a great mood, enjoying time with family and friends while soaking up some sun and barbequing delicious food.
Ocala is located close to a handful of gorgeous springs and we can’t wait to visit all of them now that we’re living here.
Today we drove out to Juniper Springs for some fun in the sun.
A bunch of people apparently had the same idea we did. Juniper Springs was hoppin’!
We spent the majority of our time at the springs watching people jump off a ledge into the water.
We saw cannonball after cannonball. Ryan and I both thought some of the kids needed cannonball lessons. You have to lean back a little bit when you cannonball for the optimal splash. Plunging straight into the water doesn’t make nearly as big of a splash as one with a lean. Rookie mistake.
Some of the kids had some great tricks while others did the tricks Ryan and I dubbed the “non-trick tricks.” You know, the ones you used to do when you were little and wanted to do something fun before you had the guts to try anything too scary?
- The pencil: Jump straight off the board as stiff as can be
- The walk off: Nonchalantly walk off the diving board like you didn’t know it was there
- The 360: Jump off the board and spinning around in the air
Remember those? 
Any other “non-trick tricks” I’m forgetting about?
Eventually we had enough of the sun and headed off to the grocery store to pick up goodies for the week and some sushi for dinner before driving back to the hotel.
Brown rice sushi is the cat’s meow. Love it!
Off to try to get into The Glass Castle. I’m really tryin’ here…
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I would also add jack-knife, and also a tuck into a pencil dive 🙂
Sounds much more relaxing than my day!! We’ve been packing and moving all day 🙁 Blech….hopefully we’ll finish soon! Mmm…love brown rice sushi!
That looks like paradise!
How ’bout the “I didn’t mean to fall in!” non-trick. I know I did that one to catch my future-hubby’s attention when I was 14 years old! Obviously, it worked! 🙂
yes! that’s what we calld the “walk off.” classic.
i love all the springs up that way! they can get so crazy around the holidays. The water is soo cold sometimes. Were there any manatees? They usually hang out around the springs.
You can’t forget the good ole’ fashioned belly flop!
I loved the Glass Castle. Jeanette Walls came to my school to speak this past year and she was fantastic. I hope you can get into it.
I love spring fed water…it’s so cold and refreshing! My boyfriend is from Ocala (Dunnellon actually…you might not have heard of it yet…it’s tiny) so I am very familiar with the area. You and Ryan need to float down Rainbow Springs…it’s a spring fed river. You will LOVE it!
i’ve seen signs for dunnellon!! we will definitely look into rainbow springs. thanks for the recommendation. we liked juniper, but it was really small so we’re hoping to find something larger. rainbow springs sounds like it would be right up our alley!
It is a ton of fun. There is a spot on the river where you pick up a tube (if you don’t have your own float) and then you just float down the river. It takes a couple of hours, so bring sunscreen! I love that the water stays at 72 degrees even when it is 100 outside…so refreshing!
The pencil was my go to move. lol. We also used to jump off and attempt to do toe touches while in mid air like a cheerleader. 😛
I love relaxing at springs! In college, we used to go to Ginnie Springs all the time. So fun!
ginne springs is a sh*t show on memorial day weekend! we went one year and it was madness! SO fun!!
Ginnie Springs! As soon as I saw your post thats exactly what I thought of! I spent a month down in Florida my senior year in college and I have great memories of floating down ginnie springs on a lovely mattress consuming many a coors light. fun memories 🙂
CANNONBAAALLL! What a lovely little area! And WOW, looks like you won’t be too lonely in Ocala 😀
Enjoy your evening beautiful lady!!!
How about the flail? You act like you’re freaking out about falling into the water? I think that’s the lamest out of all of them. Obviously you waited in line to jump in, so of course you wanted to. Silly kids!
I loved The Glass Castle! I think you’ll like it once you get deeper into it. 🙂
I’ve been wanting to go to any springs since I’ve been visiting my boyfriend in FL for the past two years. Now that I actually live here, I want to go to Wakulla springs! They’re only 3 hours away from us and right below Tallahassee. If you look up the pictures on google, it looks like a beautiful place. 🙂
Juniper is good. Silver Glen is beautiful with trails and striped Bass you can swim with.
Alexander Springs is just as nice, Gators are a possibility there. I have seen 2 swimming in the boil.
Salt Springs really doesn’t have much of a swimming area, but still very beautiful.
Glad to see you in my kneck if the woods.
Fun! Fun! …. Looks like a pretty good day in my book! I loved your no tricks-tricks…. How about the running dive, running off the board with your hands above your head already to dive and then and diving in. 🙂 HA!
Awww I love Juniper Springs! Since I grew up in Gainesville, I used to go there all the time during the summer! How fun! 🙂
That place looks crazy fun! Is it free? If it is, that’s even more awesome! There aren’t really any places like that near where I live. I’m jealous! 🙂
Juniper Springs looks lovely! How pretty. I think you and Ryan should have shown those rookies how a real cannonball is done.
I haven’t yet tried brown rice sushi but I’ve been itching to. I’ve actually just been craving sushi in general for a while, but haven’t actually had it in a long time. Whoops!
That photo reminds me of the one JP gave Ashley … (The one looking down your body)
…I found it online and saved it as I loved it so much!
You were brave wtih that shot…can almost see down your bikini bottoms.
Of course you have the body for a bikini 🙂
I would do almost anything have been able to jump into those springs right after my run this morning! It’s so hot these days! We used to play a game where someone in the water would shout out an animal and everyone “on shore” had to imitate it as they walked into the water!
Sadie would have had a blast there … Too bad they don’t appear to allow dogs.
You must miss her to pieces…I always enjoy your posts and photos of her!!!
I’m trying to get my boyfriend to go to Blue Springs tomorrow. I LOVE the springs here. 😀
I’ve never been to a spring but it looks like a lot of fun!
I wish they had springs like that in Miami! I’m left to resort to the dirty populated shores of Miami beach 🙁
I live in West Virginia near where Walls grew up. My mother is actually from that same county. I love the book but I guess because I know the area, the book really hit home. The appalachian way of life is hard for some people to understand. I could see how some would be frustrated. Keep at it!
Julie… I agree with you on the glass castle, not my cup of tea. I stopped mid-read and never picked it back up! Let me know if it gets better! lol <3
Wow this place looks like a lovely place to go for a day! Except for all of the people… when at least half are gone then I would go haha 🙂
I love your throwback to non-tricks, I can relate to every single one! My step sister and I pulled the “walking off the board and pretending we didn’t know the ledge was there” one quite a bit! Never got old 😀
umm
JEALOUSSSS!! its rainin here!
The springs look so fun! glad you had a relaxing day!
Great pics! yum, brown rice sushi sounds bomb right now 🙂
That water looks so amazing and clear! I would love to go there.
The trick dives thing made me laugh. I remember doing those off my dock into the lake as a kid, and my friends and I would make ours up, example – “I’m going to be a person riding a bike!” and then pretend to ride a bike while simultaneously jumping in the water. Fun times.
I LOVED the Glass Castle! One of my fave books. I agree with you about having a suspenseful plot, but I really got into her life and what she went through. It made me really appreciate what I have 🙂
I love springs! They’re so beautiful!
Ohh, The Glass Castle. Try reading the follow-up memoir (Half-Broke Horses)…it’s a lot less dark, has a great narrator’s voice, and is very easy to get into! I promise, it’s so much better!
The springs look beautiful!!! I’m sure it was a great time. And totally true…brown rice sushi is AMAZING! Enjoy!
I can’t believe how clear that water is!! That’s crazy!
Looks like a great day! im totally jealous!
Where is your bikini from? Its super cute!!
thank you, liz! it’s from victoria’s secret.
I found her other book Half Broke Horses much much better.
That spring looks amazing – I’ve never been to one and would love to hop into it right this second!
I’m so sad you’re not enjoying “The Glass Castle”! I couldn’t put it down and read it in one day! And that brown rice sushi looks amazing!
Love your bikini. Blue and yellow were my wedding colors!
Julie! You must see Sarah’s Key the movie. I personally thought it was excellent!!
I wasn’t a fan of The Glass House either. There are just some books that are hard to get through, and this was a pain for me. But once I invest so much time in a book that was recommended, I have to finish it, hoping it’ll live up to the reviews. This one didn’t.
Wow that place looks beautiful! I work at a pool for the summer and the kids love to do the sailor dive…diving head first with your arms straight by your side? haha its not very impressive but apparently its all the rage with the middle school groups!
Ah I love love springs! My favorite place in the world is Krause Springs in Austin, Texas 🙂 I love people watching too haha! I remember my friends I would always act like different animals jumping off of diving boards lolz. The monkey, the tiger, the dog, etc. yeah any animal we could reenact we would lolz.
Cant forget the Can opener! its where you tuck and hold one leg in like a cannonball but with just one leg and lean back a little and boom….perhaps it was just something we made up in the middle of the boondocks in Indiana…ha
I totally remember all of those jumps! We also used to jump and do a stupid dance move in the air too! Ooh childhood! Springs sound like the perfect place to spend the weekend!!
That spring looks so cool! I’ve never been to one…but I would love to! I’m not sure about any other “non-tricks” but we always loved to do can-openers…those were great!
My friends and I would always make up scenarios, such as canoeing off a waterfall or running from a bear. Not sure where the bear thing came from since we were in Kansas…
Hey Julie! glad you got out and saw a few of the sights in your new hometown!
So…we would ALWAYS do the “Watermelon” which was essentially just balling up at the edge of the pool and rolling right in {it’s like a Cannonball pre-curser!} don’t know if that was just our crazy family, or if others did it also!
Anyway, I just wanted to tell you how impressed I am by your blogging, and I look forward to reading what you have to say everyday–keep p the good work lady :o)