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Snowbirds in Paradise: Florida Adventures, January-April 2025
When we arrived in Florida in early January,many northern and central locales from Jacksonville to Gainesville were in the grip of record cold, with lows dipping into the 30s! You've never seen so many parkas, hats, and gloves in a semi-tropical place! So we bundled up and for weeks used the on-board heating system of our van at night.
Our travel plans were simple: tour from the Georgia state line down to the Everglades and back again, with an eye for sights we hadn't seen in previous trips to Florida. Get together with relatives who live on the Gulf. Enjoy the coast, as always, but give some extra love to the state's interior regions. Get a non-resident state park pass (the FL park system being awesome). Nature over population centers No theme parks. Visit the many natural springs bubbling up from the earth's recesses like so many fountains. See manatees, alligators, and migratory birds that congregate in the winter months. Camp at farms, ranches (who knew there were so many cattle ranches in FL?) and other out-of-the-way places through our Harvest Host membership service, but then "refresh" at state parks and commercial campgrounds that have more facilities. Seek out historical sites and anything that speaks to "Old Florida." Finally, don't get bitten by anything. Well, we succeeded on all counts!
The most amazing unplanned event of our trip was bringing a puppy onboard: the loving and spirited Sheldon! If you don't see the little guy in a photo below, it's because he was still with his momma and litter before he joined our crew.
Born in Florida in January 2025, Sheldon came aboard Morgan in April. He loves vanlife and eagerly settles into his seat when we start the engine!
Bundling up in Florida? Yep, it was crazy cold when we first arrived in January
Sea foam fun in a winter sea at Washington Oaks Garden State Park, Palm Coast, where coquina ledges can be seen in the sand at low tide (Jan. 2025)
Unseasonable cold meant greater congregations of wildlife in the warm waterways.
Michael joined us to explore Crystal River's National Wildlife Refuge, where manatee sightings are legendary. But when we arrived, there were no manatees in Three Sisters Spring (R). Where were the sea cows?
Found them! Manatees had floated through the spring's inlet to the adjacent Crystal River! Snorkelers are allowed to gather at this point.
High Springs north of Gainesville takes its place as the center of Florida's amazing network of natural springs. On the right, Ichetucknee Springs
At O'Leno State Park in High Springs, the Sante Fe River disappears underground at this spot, called the Sink, before reappearing three miles away at the so-called Rise. The 900 million gallons of water per day that flow through here become part of the Floridian aquifer system. Such sinkholes form part of the interconnected springs and submerged caves that lace the region.
Most of the freshwater springs "run wild." At Rock Spring Park in Apopka, which we visited with our new friends, Yvonne & Jin, water seeps from a tiny cavern (L) into a run that's great for tubing.
Michael and Mark look into the depths of a "tamed spring" at Wall Springs Park, Palm Harbor, which was once a favorite bathing spot.
Once an active phosphate mine, Rainbow Falls S.P., Dunnellon has a natural spring below and waterfalls made from old mineral tailings above.
In wintertime, alligators enter a state of dormancy known as brumation, when they can be seen lolling around near just about any body of water. And did we see the gators!
A word about gators in Everglades City, western gateway to Alligator Alley (U.S. 41--Tamiami Trail)
Close encounter with a bronze alligator, Nathaniel Reed Visitor Center, Big Cypress National Preserve, Ochopee, Alligator Alley
Alligator Alley's Oasis Visitor Center, Ochopee (L), and the H.P. Williams Roadside Park (C & R)
Alligators outnumber people on Shark Valley Loop Road, Everglades National Park, just off Alligator Alley. Best to stay in the van here, but maybe just one photo...
Never let your guard down: this big boy was sunning itself beside a farmer's pond in northern Florida (Dade City)
On a more genteel note, we were amazed by the countless birds that call Florida their winter home
History buffs stay busy here! Ruled by the Spanish for 300 years, then briefly controlled by Britain before becoming a U.S. territory in 1819, Florida joined the Union in 1845.
Founded by Spanish explorers in 1565, St. Augustine became the first permanent European settlement in what is now the continental U.S. Here the national monuments of Castillo de San Marcos (constructed 1672), and on the right, the coquina watchtower of Fort Matanzas, built on the St. John River south of the city to guard against attacks by sea.
From 1814 to 1837, during Florida's Spanish Colonial period, Zephaniah Kingsley and his wife Anna, a freed slave, owned a plantation on St. George Island (near today's Jacksonville), where under separate accounts each kept slaves who worked the land to produce cotton, citrus, sugar cane, corn, and indigo. This complex is now managed by the National Park Service.
Built in 1798, the Kingsley home is Florida's oldest standing plantation house. The original kitchen house, which also served as Anna's office, is in the background.
Constructed of tabby, a concrete made from shell-based lime, sand, and water, with whole and partial shells added to provide volume, the 25 original slave quarters still stand at the Kingsley Plantation, arranged in an arch configuration that recalls traditional West Africa villages. On the right, a reconstructed cabin, given a roof with mortared walls.
Hard to believe that just 100 years ago large swaths of Florida were untamed wilderness. No region was more inhospitable than the Everglades. On the tiny island of Chokoloskee on the Gulf side of this swampy frontier, merchant Ted Smallwood established a general store and post office in 1906 to serve intrepid locals. His descendants still own and operate the site--now more museum than store--which is on the National Register.
Mural of the trading post as it appeared in 1930, and the stilted store, which has survived the ravages of storm and modern development.
Smallwood Store, Chokoloskee: (L) Wax figure of Ted Smallwood; (C) The museum's resident greeter; (R) Actual goods sold through the store's history still line the shelves.
We learned about the Smallwood store from"Atlas Obscura,"an app that directs users to offbeat, unusual sites--just the kind of places that we seek out every day!
Atlas Oscura led us to this oddity: a 154-foot-long Space Shuttle Fuel Tank, abandoned on the side of the road in Green Cove Springs when the nearby museum that had hoped to display it went bust.
Just down the road from that fuel tank is the Old Clay County Jail, the 2nd oldest jail in Florida (built in 1894), now open to visitors.
Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park, Flagler Beach: In the antebelllum era Florida's central coast was rich in sugarcane production, the basis for sugar, molasses, and rum.
In 1928, city girl author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings acquired a homestead and orange grove in central Florida's lake wilderness. Enthralled with the landscape and its people, her writings, notably "Cross Creek" and "The Yearling," capture the essence of Cracker culture in the harsh Ocala scrub.
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic S.P., Cross Creek: Once a pejorative term, Cracker heritage is actually a reference to the customs and practices of Florida's pioneer era. The Rawlings house was built in the Cracker style: frame construction with metal roof; deep porch for shade; oversized windows at front and back for ventilation. To the right, the author's writing desk.
Lunch of alligator, catfish, and crawfish at The Yearling Restaurant, near Cross Creek
Cook-your-own pancakes right at the table in the restaurant tucked into the 100-year-old replica of an 1830s sugar mill, De Leon Springs State Park (just west of Daytona Beach)
More Old Florida! Coral Castle in Leisure City is the creation of eccentric Edward Leedskalnin, who "mysteriously" moved massive slabs of oolite limestone into place to create walls, sculptures, a 9-ton gate (center), and even a Polaris telescope (right).
For campsites, we interspersed stays at state & commercial campgrounds with overnights through the Harvest Hosts membership program. One of our favorites was Turkey Hollow Farm in Morriston, where we were serenaded each morning by the resident turkeys.
Camping at Indigo Ridge Farms, an Aberdeen Angus cattle ranch in Grand Island, we hung out with rancher, Paul, who took us along in his ATV to do the afternoon feed. His Karakachan hound, Honey, is a wonderful greeter.
Sure, Florida is chock full of fascinating sites, but the"people" part of traveling is important, too
Strolling through the sculptures and garden ornaments at Barberville Yard Art Emporium in Pierson, FL, we ran into this guy.
It was great cruising around Tampa Bay with Michael and Kim: (L) Downtown Safety Harbor; (C) Sand Key Park, Clearwater; Historic Hyde Park North, Tampa
A chance meeting at Fort Matanzas S.P. brought us together, and now Yvonne and Jin are dear friends. Here we are at Leu Gardens, Orlando (L); and meeting Sheldon for the first time at the Palm Harbor KOA (R)
We've been to Florida countless times over the years, but our 2025 Snowbird trip takes the cake. Our meanderings were epic, and we learned firsthand that the state, in fact, has seasons!
We didn't last long hiking in Everglades National Park as the "skeets" nearly carried us away!
Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, built in the 1920s for Marjorie Merriweather Post and now the primary residence of President Donald Trump: Facade facing S. Ocean Blvd and the Secret Service guard tower facing the inner channel.
Smallest operating post office in the U.S., Ochopee
The Ponce Inlet Lighthouse (built 1887) recalls the maritime past of the Atlantic
We camped at Summer Crush Vineyard in Ft. Pierce where a Johnny Cash cover band was playing
Our first official bingo game at the KOA, Starke
Curiosity is the single greatest impetus for travel
As seen on a backroad in Dade City
American White Ibis, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Naples
Another morning in paradise: time to make the bed!
Sunset at our campsite at Big Blu By U Blueberry Farm, Jacksonville
Our first Snowbird stint in Florida rocked!
Farewell for now Florida: Until we meet again!
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