Tired of waiting for two hours in line for a ride that lasts for 5 minutes? Tired of paying $3.00 for a half-liter bottle of water? Tired of spending goodness knows how much for balloons, souvenir pens, and other trinkets that end up on the floor in your kid's closet? Then why don't you get in your rental car and go see some REAL FLORIDA!
Get Off the Interstate!
Grab a roadmap at Walgreens (there's one on every corner, how can you miss them?), find the "You Are Here" place (are you in Orlando, Tampa, Daytona Beach?) and start looking for state and county roads that will take you to places like Micanopy, Okahumpka, or Howey-in-the-Hills. What about Wilbur-by-the-Sea? Just getting off the interstate or turnpike, and driving for a couple of hours in any direction is likely to put you in some quaint community that speaks volumes about Florida's very rich heritage. There's usually something to see (the ruins of a pre-Civil War sugar mill, or a gigantic sink hole you can hike down into) and almost always some sandwich shop (or ice cream stand) to ease your hunger pangs.
Florida's State Parks
All of Florida's state parks are wildly, tropically beautiful and many include some type of water-related activities in either a freshwater natural spring, a river, the Atlantic Ocean, or the Gulf of Mexico. Whatever the water activity, you can almost always rent canoes or kayaks, snorkeling gear, or tubes (for floating along with the current).
Blue Spring State Park in Orange City (about an hour north of Orlando) will probably reward you with spotting a manatee or two. You can snorkel in the swimming area and see tons of fish living in the reeds and under the dock. Or you can head to the headwaters of the natural spring there and tube down to the swim area, floating in the flow of the spring that gushes out millions of gallons of water each day.
There are several parks in the Gainesville area. A favorite is "Devil's Millhopper" where you can walk all the way down into an ancient sinkhole. There is a good boardwalk and stairs that will take you all the way down. You can see all the "wild" of Florida in the lush, semi-tropical growth.
You can easily check the long list of Florida's State Parks, and their amenities, by logging onto http://www.floridastateparks.org/.
Mt. Dora
Spend an afternoon in Mt. Dora and shop the antique stores and have lunch in a quaint sidewalk cafe. Then you can ride the Doodlebug! It's an old railway that's been restored---it's a bouncy ride, but lots of fun---especially if you ride in the open-air car.
Solomon's Castle in Zolfo Springs
Here's a really eccentric, one-of-a-kind "castle" to visit, where the "king" (Solomon himself) will give you a tour. Check out http://www.solomonscastle.com/map.htm for more information and a map.
Cedar Key
Here is a bit of unknown Florida---Cedar Key, north of Tampa on the Gulf Coast, where the pencil company, Faber, established a manufacturing plant. Visit http://www.cedarkey.org/ to get a map and to learn about the great day you can plan on having there. If you are a Civil War buff, you'll delight in the rich history of this forgotten little place. And don't forget to get some great fresh seafood for lunch or dinner!
Go Exploring!
Close your eyes and point your finger to any place on the map of Florida and you are likely to be in close proximity to a state park, a town with a crazy name, a road that parallels a river, or some other "red dot of interest" that will spark your imagination (like Yulee Sugar Mill, http://www.floridastateparks.org/yuleesugarmill/default.asp or Gamble Plantation, http://www.floridastateparks.org/gambleplantation/default.asp).
Spend a day in the REAL FLORIDA---and you'll wonder why you bought that 4-day pass to the theme park.
Jan K., The Proofer is a freelance proofreader and copyeditor and has personally visited each of these sites---more than once! Visit Jan’s Portal (http://www.jansportal.com) for more information about Jan's free crafts, recipes, tutorials, other resource sites, and free content articles, as well as Jan’s business services. Be sure to visit Mom's Break (http://www.momsbreak.com/) for free printable crafts and projects. © Copyright 2005 to present. All rights reserved.