Chassahowitzka.

That is where we went for Spring Break. My cousin Brenda and her family, from Georgia, came down and met us there. Brenda's mom and dad went with us, too. Hailey and Layna were in Tallahassee for the first part of the week but their Nana and Grandaddy brought them down on Wednesday, the day we got there.

Reese, Mason, Hailey, Denise and Nathan.

We went fishing, crabbing and the kids went swimming. The river is spring fed and most of the time is crystal clear. There are a lot of underwater caves for the brave of heart to swim through. To fish, we go out into the gulf and trout fish. To crab, we stay up in the river. Blue crabs are fairly abundant and we like to go crabbing at night when the big ones come out.

We have a 16 foot Jon boat. We have been there many times before, but this is the first time Nathan was big enough to grasp what all goes on. His daddy taught him how to drive the boat.
He already knew how to cast a rod and reel but this time he took over my rod and my spot at the front of the boat. And...
caught a fish. Unfortunately, it was a catfish which we don't bother with, but the point was that he caught a fish and I didn't. He also enjoyed catching pin fish with shrimp. His daddy taught him how to cut his bait and put it on the hook. One less thing Todd had to worry with.

For years I have read the "no wake" signs. This area is home to a lot of manatees but, I have never seen a manatee. This trip however, we saw a manatee feeding up in the spring. It was so slow moving and seemed like it would be very gentle. If you look closely you can see the marks of a boat propeller.
It was Nathan's first time seeing a manatee. He thought it was awesome, except for the "scratches" on its back. He thought they were kind of sad.

We love camping at the river and we call it Chaz for short.