Are we in the right place?

We finally made it to Ocala National Forest, one of our most anticipated destinations, based on videos we'd seen of transparent aquamarine pools and divers surrounded by docile manatees. We were particularly captivated by this video by RadReelFishing, where a pair of manatees look on inquisitively as catches blue crabs by dangling chicken wing on the end of a fishing line. 

We arrived at Salt Springs at 4pm, to the exact same boat ramp as RadReel. Or was it?

The water was not clear nor turquoise, but tea-colored and murky.

Maybe the water was clearer further up the creek? We motored about a mile upstream. It was pretty, waving marsh grasses on one side and a tangle of live oak on the other. A deserted riverboat gave Fitzcarraldo vibes. But the water remained opaque.  We half-heartedly dropped some crab traps, but netted only mud.

Later, I went back to our YouTube inspiration. I recognized the tunnel of moss-draped oak boughs we drove through to reach the boat launch, and the little blue-roofed marina, but the crystal blue lagoon appeared superimposed by CGI.

The murky water must not be a common issue, because I hardly found any information about it (or maybe it's a coverup by the Florida tourism establishment!). No bloggers advised to check conditions before visiting, and no resources exist for real-time data on water quality. There was some mention of water becoming clouded following rainfall events, such as we’d experienced a few days earlier, as well as the long-term impacts of nitrate pollution and heavy recreational use.

Disappointed, we decided to press on to the nearest Cracker Barrel in tJacksonville. The next morning we started the long haul up the east coast, stopping only to sleep and refuel. We drove backwards out of summer and into spring, the leaves shrinking back into tight red buds by the time we got back to New England, where my crocuses were just poking up through a crust of snow.