Thursday March 24, 2022 - Today was going to be a rainy day, so we decided to drive the hour to Tallahassee and spend the morning at the Museum of Florida History. It was a really great spot to spend a few hours, and it was free. It started with the mastodon bones that were found in Wakulla Springs State Park and ended with WWII. We then drove to the Alfred B Maclay Gardens State Park, which is a 1000 acre park in Tallahassee known for it's beautiful gardens. The land was owned by Alfred Maclay who was a NYC financier. He retired at 35, traveled the world and bought the property in Tallahassee so the family could spend the winters there. He was very interested in gardening and put together a garden that flowered January to April, since that was when the family was there. The gardens are only open during this blooming time. The house was also open, and had all of the original furniture of the Maclay's. Since it was an overcast day we had the place to ourselves and it was a wonderful spot to wander around for the afternoon.
The Wakulla Springs Mastadon
Ann and Kev checking out a pretty cool 1923 Model T Ford truck tin can camper. The windshield windows opened over the motor and it became the "room" for the bed
picnic at Maclay's Garden
Kev taking time to stop and smell the roses
beautiful camillias that are found throughout the gardens
pavilion overlooking the lake
lots of spanish moss
Mrs Maclay always had fresh cut flowers by the front door to great guests and requested that this tradition continue after the property was donated to the state.
one of the entrances to the walled garden
inside the walled garden
the reflecting pool looking out to the lake
pond walk, the azaleas were a little beyond peak
Friday, March 25, 2022 - Our last day at Ochlockonee...so we decided to take the bikes to the St. Marks/Tallahassee trail and head north this time. We did a 13 mile round trip bike and then had a beer and some appetizers at the Riverside Cafe in St Marks. Tomorrow we pack up and head to Topsail Hill Preserve State Park near Destin.
a bike break
Another nice bike ride
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Riverside Cafe
One last beautiful Ochlockonee sunset walk
Saturday, March 26, 2022 - It was a 3 hour drive to Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, our last stop! We set up camp and rode our bikes down to the Topsail beach for the sunset.
Site 144
Sunday March 27, 2022 - Today we rode our bikes to Campbell lake and rented a tandem kayak, to try out the fishing. We took turns kayaking or keeping Ann company on the blanket. The fishing was GREAT, lots of bass (large and small mouth). We caught at least 12 fish between the 3 of us over 2 and a half hours. Maybe we need to fish again tomorrow!
lunch at the lake
hanging on the blanket
only pic of us fishing, we forgot to take the camera out with us
a beer at Kith and Kihn at the campstore
Daytime pic of Site 144
sunset walk
Monday March 28, 2022 - Erich, Kev and I spent the morning fishing while Ann did some work at the campsite. We tried to ride our bikes down the Timpoochee trail to a pizza place for lunch but Ann and Erich had a flat so we drove instead and found a bike shop so we could get a new tire.
bike ride to Campbell lake
the kayak crew
Erich's catch
perfect environment for fishing
the big fish of the day
we probably caught 2 dozen fish today, between the 3 of us over 3 hours!
fish after fish after fish
beautiful day!!
fish
fish
and more fish
kev had to remove A LOT of fish off the hook for me
best day fishing EVER
we didn't see any gators, but I guess if there is water in Florida, you have to assume there are gators
pizza for lunch at Pizza by the Sea
concert at Kith and Kin
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