Family, Travel & Outdoor Lifestyle
What the heck? I stopped mid-step on the footpath and my daughter crashed into me from behind with an annoyed “Mom!”
In front of us a bleached skeleton stretch out over a moss covered log. “What animal is it?” I asked. ” Instinctively I looked to the stand of palmettoes on the hillside that ran alongside the trail, as if expecting a bear to come crashing out of the greenery. Our river hike at Florida’s O’Leno State Park had just taken an interesting new turn…
We left the sunny wetlands behind, as the current on the Ichetucknee river pushed us forward into a dark tunnel of cypress trees. They stretched upwards, so tall they seemed to join each other at their tips, blotting out the winter sky. Bright orange foliage poked between the bleached white trunks. Gnarled stumps jutted from the rich soil. Nature’s art, worn smooth from years of river flooding. Turtles perched on half-submerged logs, stretching their legs out in a ‘plank’ pose. And schools of fish dashed beneath our kayaks, their bodies silvery flashes over the pools of turquoise on the limestone riverbed. It was us and the river. The only sounds were the swish of our paddles stirring the water and the birds in the trees.
Take a dive beneath the water at Salt Springs, a unique swimming hole in the Ocala National Forest.
A huge black winged bird swooped across our path and landed neatly on the picnic table in front of us. The ebony reptilian rolls around the bird’s neck jiggled as the creature leaned forward and peered into the blue and white striped canvas sack standing on the table top. I watched with a mixture of horror and fascination as the animal I recognized to be a turkey vulture, stuck his glossy beak into the bag and pulled out a piece of bread.
“Mom, do something,” my son urged.
Where are you, Little Blue? Little Blue Springs, often over-shadowed by it’s bigger, more beautiful sister, Gilchrist Blue, was in a world-apart. Here’s a look at Florida’s lost swimming hole.
Swarming bees, snakes, gators and legendary lost pirate gold. We started our day headed to the beach, and one turn in the road led us on an accidental adventure into Florida’s wilder side.
With the Florida beaches already teeming with college students, what is a family in Florida left to do? Sure you can fight the Frisbee games for your spot of sand, or join the throngs at a theme park for a 3 minute ride, but it’s no secret that we would rather be doing than waiting in a line. With that in mind, we came up with a list of alternative ways to spend your spring break in Florida.
Ditch those busy Florida beach destinations and rediscover the real side of Florida, where life is slower, ice cream parlors on the main street are the hot-spots, flip-flops are the main footwear and fishing poles are trendy. Here are the best Florida coastal towns your whole family will love.
Step back through the garden gate and enter the 1930’s Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic Homestead near Gainesville, Florida. Pulitzer-prize winning author Majorie Kinnan Rawlings is best known for capturing the characters of depression-era rural Florida in her novels and short stories.
One by one, the 12-14 foot gators slid onto the beach in front of me, their feet thrusting their huge armored plated bodies forward across the surface of sand and crushed shells. A row of giant jaws parted in anticipation, revealing rows of gleaming sharp teeth…
