Florida - January 2014 Part 3

I've got to stop procrastinating and write this final post for my Florida trip. In a previous post I mentioned that I have been making an effort to do more on trips as far as seeing things that may not be on the usual tourist agenda. A lot of this started when I visited my daughter in each of the new places she has lived over the past years. She and her husband are great at making sure there is always something to do in addition to just visiting. It is the fun of visiting while building memories.

On my last trip to Florida, Clarence and I started at the New Smyrna National Seashore and then stopped at every National Park, Monument, etc. between there and Athens, Georgia. Since I had visited them so recently I decided to look for different things to see and actually found two Florida State Parks to visit; one close to Daytona Beach where I was staying and one close to Sanford where I drove my last day there to watch my granddaughter compete.

The first that I visited was the Tomoka State Park near Ormond Beach. A pair of rivers, the Tomoka and the Halifax meet to form a peninsula. There is a nature trail as well as some historical information provided throughout the park. One of the best things about Florida State Parks is that their entry fees are so reasonable; unlike here in California. Here are some pictures from Tomoka State Park.

After visiting the park I drove to New Smyrna Beach to pick up my race number and shirt and I decided to take a brief side trip to visit the Ponce DeLeon Inlet Lighthouse. It is the second tallest lighthouse in the United States and was completed in 1887.

My last day in Daytona Beach was on Martin Luther King Jr Day and I had read that Jackie Robinson appeared in his first professional game at the park that is now named for him. I couldn't think of a more appropriate day to spend some time before leaving town. While the park wasn't open because of construction; I was still able to walk around and get a sense of the place. It is a small park but I could feel the history. It is located right near historic downtown Daytona and a beautiful river park area. Here are some pictures.

I also stopped at Port Orange Causeway Park to see Sea Bird Island before leaving town.

I left town and drove west to visit Blue Spring State Park, a winter sanctuary for manatee. It is advertised as "Florida's premiere manatee refuge" and I believe it. What a great place to visit to see aquatic life up close in the clear blue water. When Clarence and I were in Florida we even took a guided kayak tour hoping to see manatee with no luck so I was really excited to visit this place when I saw it in a tourist brochure at my hotel. I'm glad I didn't leave Daytona Beach later than I did because the park was packed when I got there and the cars lined up to get in when I left was insane. I forgot that it was a holiday. Here are some pictures that don't come close to doing the park justice but still show some of the beauty.

It can definitely be fun to take some time to get off the beaten path and see things that were not on the itinerary. Actually it's worth it to make some time. I am constantly reminded of how much there is to see and do in this great country.