Beach Combing for Shark Teeth~
I don’t know where I’ve been, but I did not know you could easily find shark teeth ON the beach. They are really hard to see, but if you know what to look for, where to look and really train your eye, you will eventually find some too. This was really fun, though challenging at first. For those of you wondering why they are black and not white like we see in souvenir shops, it’s due to the fossilization and sediment buildup. This would be a fun activity for children and it’s free!
Devil’s Millhopper ~
I took Marco out here for the first time this month and he insisted it was a spring. It does look like a spring with it’s beautiful blue water, but it’s actually a sinkhole and it’s worth the long decent down the boardwalk. As you can see in the video, Marco wasn’t about the stairs. Poor kid, but as I said, it’s worth checking out!
The Florida Museum of Natural History ~
I really like this museum because it has all sorts of Florida artifacts, interactive exhibits and a butterfly rain forest. I always start with the butterflies and move onto the educational bits and then end in the children area. The butterflies are really something else. They are not at all shy, allow you to come up close to them and swirl around the air throughout the garden. It’s quite magical. Unfortunately, there was probably too much going on that day for Marco as we somehow ended up in the gift shop in a full-blown meltdown over me not allowing him to try every flavor of edible bugs they had in stock. Autism and decision making do not go together very well. I got him his chocolate bugs but we had to leave after that. It happens still sometimes! Crying over crickets. I couldn’t make it up.
Kelly Park / Rock Springs~
I had had the itch to visit Kelly Park for a few weeks and I finally made it, although not until noon. The best time to visit almost any spring to enjoy some solitude and get some great shots is on an early winter morning. By summer time springs like this fill up with families and the waters are filled with big floats. This is my favorite head spring for photos. It’s always my profile photo. The rock formations, palm trees and blue -green waters are so exotic. I always recommend this spring to anyone visiting or camping in central Florida as it has kayaking, a natural lazy river and a shallow beach entrance for the younger kiddos.
Ravine Gardens State Park ~
If you aren’t familiar with Girls Who Hike Florida they do have Instagram and Facebook accounts and host meet-ups. This was my first time making it out with some of the other ladies. We took the Azalea trail which was lined with huge blooming pink and purple azaleas. It’s an interesting woodsy trail with swinging bridges. Now would be a great time to go while the azaleas are blooming.
Spring Hopping~
This was the sweetest of adventures and my first try at making a video. I did not plan on swimming and didn’t bring anything to swim in but I couldn’t NOT swim at Royal Springs! I love Royal. Just look at her! Royal is an old favorite but I also saw some places I had never been to.
And that’s a wrap for February! I hope you enjoyed all your adventures and hearing about mine. Time to get ready for this weekend!