Summer Outings & Salt Springs

Salt Springs 1941

One of the things I think every kid remembers and loves are summer outings.  When I was a child in 1950’s Florida, one of the best summer outings you could take was to some place where you could swim and cool off.  For the Myers family it was most often to Lake Weir or to Salt Springs.  Without a doubt I must tell you that I think my very favorite of those two options was Salt Springs.

I realize that even today Salt Springs is a beautiful place for picnicking and swimming but in the early and mid 1950’s it was still a hidden paradise that had yet to be spoiled by the over abundance of tourist and year round residences.  At that time it was still a relatively unspoiled, crystal clear spring in the middle of a remote corner of the world that was still teaming with an abundance of wildlife.

Road to Salt Springs Unknown Date

In those days traveling to the springs was a major adventure and it could and did take several hours to reach the cooling waters of the springs.  The only way to the springs was by driving over some very long, deeply rutted, sandy roads.  I remember those roads for two very important reasons.  The first was that it was a very long and hot ride.  This was especially true for three boys ranging in age from 5 to 13 who were forever hot, thirsty, and full of energy.  And the other reason was because it was imperative that you remained on the hard packed ruts of the road.  To venture out of the ruts meant to risk getting stuck in deep sand and to bring about a very laborious time getting back up and in the ruts to continue your trip.  For our lucky family the later did occur more than once and it was, for young and old alike, a most unpleasant experience.

Earlier Houseboat (Not my grandfathers) On Salt Springs 1941

In the early 1940’s and 50’s Salt Springs was owned by the Ray family and my grandfather, George Woods was lucky enough to get permission to build a “houseboat” on Salt Springs.  Now you have to understand that this wasn’t exactly a house nor was it a boat but it was more of a camp but it did involve a structure that was built over the waters of Salt Springs.

Salt Springs was a wondrous place for us kids.  A sparkling cool oasis that flowed into Lake George and was surrounded by a huge grove of shady Live Oaks.  The springs themselves are a clustering of four “boils” with the deepest being about 36 feet.  When we were frequenting the springs they were filled not only with fish but and abundance of blue crab.  (One should note that the crab were one of the most important attractions for all of us.)  I remember my older brother Roger putting on his dive mask, swim fins, and snorkel and with a hand held fishnet diving down into the springs and bringing out baskets of blue crab.  He wasn’t the only one in the family to do this but he was our big brother so Jay and I always wanted to go with him.  Unfortunately neither Jay nor I were old enough nor good enough swimmers to go along.   But we were old enough and could swim well enough to play in the shallow waters of the springs and to walk along the rock ledges of the springs themselves and watch our brother dive deep down to bring out what would be a feast for us later. 

My grandmother Meme, my mother, and me Cir. 1953-4

We spent so many wonderful hours playing in Salt Springs and running through the oaks but it was indeed a wonderful family time for us all.  We often just picnicked but we also had crab boils.  It always amazed me to watch as my grandfather George (Pe Pere) and grandmother Raymonde (Meme) as they loaded dozens of crab into a large tub to cook them.  My grandmother was a wonderful cook and I’m not sure what spice’s she used but the crabs were always delicious.  She and my mother and any other friends or family that were along would prepare the rest of the meal and then cover the picnic tables with old newspaper.  We would each fill our plates with food and then we would all sit around one or two big tables eating crab until we couldn’t move while drinking sweet tea. After a day of swimming and a big meal of crab we would spend the afternoon laying on towels in the warm sun or sitting in the shade of the oaks and from time to time ease back into the spring waters to cool off again.

These wonderful days would end with the long drive back home.  Often as not we left a little early so as not to be driving home in the dark.  I remember my brothers and I would be so tired we could hardly sit up in the car and we were definitely quieter than on the trip out and I remember that I would often watch the sun set behind the oaks and pines as we drove down the bumpy sandy road westward on our way home.

These are wonderful memories to hold and on the rare occasion that I have to visit Salts Springs I must tell you that I can still hear the voices of my mother or my grandfather or grandmother.  They seem to be calling us to come out of the water or come and eat or just to behave.  But most of all they are still calling us even after all these years.