This episode of the Outside Podcast is brought to you by Visit Florida, one of the country's great adventure destinations and also the home of Olympic swimmer Brooke Bennett.

Hi, I'm Brooke Bennett, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, native of Florida and a mom of two boys.

Brooke was born and raised in Florida, and as a self-described water baby and lifelong athlete, she's never wanted to live anywhere else.

I can't ask for any better for what I want. You know, wearing a sweater is not my cup of tea.

I want to be in a swimsuit in my flip flops. I can be at the

beach within 10 minutes and in a workout in 15 minutes and you know run along the

inter-coastal with my kids in the stroller and run over the

bridges and things like that. Florida's famous beaches are the backdrop to Brooks

daily life but when she wants a totally different kind of adventure, she heads inland to explore

the state's unique freshwater playgrounds. This past summer, that meant traveling to the Rainbow

River for a competitive swimming event.

It's crystal clear. Rainbow River for competitive swimming event.

It's crystal clear, you're going to see turtles,

and I was completely amazed that this is where I was raised

and I was so unfamiliar with it.

Most people look at Florida as just our beaches.

And yeah, I live four miles from Clearwater Beach,

and it's ranked one of the top beaches in the country

and in the world, and it's beautiful,

but at the same time get to the inner parts of our state

and you have these beautiful rivers and these beautiful springs. My dad's lived in

Florida his whole life. My dad's a Floridian. They're going on canoeing

...