“The river is constantly turning and bending and you never know where it’s going to go and where you’ll wind up. Following the bend in the river and staying on your own path means that you are on the right track. Don’t let anyone deter you from that.”

-Eartha Kitt

So, I’ve been in a writing slump. While I’ve done a few short camping trips, I was struggling to write about them. It felt forced, like I was checking boxes instead of sharing my journey, so I decided to wait and see what the future held. Enter, the Adventure Girls. And a four-day paddle/camping trip.

The irony is that the opposite of being outside led to meeting people who, like me, are looking for adventure in the great outdoors. A few years ago, after touring an assisted living facility with a family member, I discovered that playing bridge was the key to social success for women of a certain age. Hoping to be “of a certain age” someday, I signed up for lessons and met some new friends who introduced me to other new friends. A chance mention of kayaking while bidding a hand led to a meet-up kayak ride on a local lake. Funny how things happen when you don’t even know you’re searching for them. I hadn’t had my closet-cleaning epiphany/meltdown yet (see my first post). And now, a year later the Adventure Girls were born. I realize being open to trying new things (like sitting for hours playing bridge so I’ll have friends in twenty years) can lead to new friends and exciting adventures far from the cozy confines of the bridge table… like swimming in a freezing spring with caution signs posted nearby warning of alligators.

After some serious planning texts (really important stuff like meals and cocktails), we met up at a campsite near the Ichetucknee River. The campsite was perfect. Lots of room to spread out. And because rain was in the forecast AGAIN, (it rains every time I camp) we erected several tarps so we could enjoy the above-mentioned food and beverages in comfort.

The one tricky thing about this campground was the bathroom situation. There was exactly one women’s bathroom, two unisex outdoor showers and a Porta Potty. I fully disclose that I did, in fact, use the men’s bathroom and the Porta Potty. I’m not proud. I had to. And here’s why. There were a lot of large groups at the campground. Lots of young women and teenage girls, spending lots of time putting on makeup in the single, one-stalled women’s bathroom in the campground during a pandemic. This became a discussion over dinner and drinks. Why did this bother me?  Sure, they created a long line as only one person or family at a time could use the bathroom. But there was something more. I was them once. Everyone gets their time to shine. Dewy skin, thick shiny hair. Good vision. And then someone voiced it. Because, as women get older, we sometimes start to feel more invisible. I wasn’t alone in thinking this.

Are we really invisible? Or are we freer to be who we want to be? I think it’s more of the latter. Sort of been there, done that, and now we know what we want. And don’t want. Kind of like a superpower. I did mourn a little of my “lost” youth when I turned 50. Ok, 45. My body is different. I’m not as shiny. But I’m trying to appreciate and accept all the changes that have been shaped by the landscape of my life. I thought about the 5-hour paddle trip we did on the Santa Fe River. Each bend of the river offering a new vignette. Swamps with cypress knees protruding from tannic water, crystal blue springs with fish darting about, swirling rapids with otters swimming and almost still water with turtles lazily sunning themselves on fallen logs. Same water, but each scene shaped by the land around it. Always changing, always flowing. But just as beautiful at the end as at the headwaters.

Paddling over 22 miles is no joke. My arms were exhausted, and my butt hurt even though I used my life vest (which is not one of the soft squishy ones) for a seat pad. On a positive note, I worked off all the Cheetos I consumed over the trip. We were not in a rush to finish, instead savoring each mile as we stored the memory of this trip into our mental scrapbook.

The last night of our trip, we sat around the fire sharing our favorite pictures and moments of our trip. We had paddled for the better part of three days and seen some amazing things. I think our combined favorite was the manatees. We braved the chilly blue springs (with the alligator warning) and a few really cold nights. And we survived the single, one-stalled women’s bathroom. Best of all, we had a great time adventuring together. I heard the Adventure Girls are already planning another trip. Backpacking? I’m totally in.