Tallahassee Bound!

I'm researching Law Schools.... so the Husband and I decided to take a trip to FSU's School of Law and the State Capitol of Florida.  The town itself is unlike our home in Central Florida.  They actually have hills.  Being that Mike and I are use to walking on flat surface, trudging up a giant hill was brutal, but we survived.  We got lost several times in this town, and ended up going round and round in circles for what seemed like hours.  We did however get to visit some really neat places (for free), and try The Mellow Mushroom Pizza.

Our first stop was the historic Capitol.  Very cool, it had lots of neat exhibits about the history of Florida's government.  We toured the historic state senate and the original Florida Supreme Court (Which sent my legal heart a flutter).  We laughed at the exhibit on the 2000 election debacle which held special meaning to the two of us because it was the first election that we had both ever participated in.

Approaching the Historic Capitol

The Florida State Constitution

Historic Florida Supreme Court

My husband debating me in the Historic Florida Senate Chambers

After that, we set out to view the Museum of Florida History.  It was very cool and contains a mammoth skeleton, steamer ship, and a complete exhibit regarding war veterans.  We found the exhibit on the St. John's River very sweet, because it is the life blood of Central Florida.

Before we headed out of town, we drove by Gov. Rick Scott's mansion.  The way that is is situated and with all the guards, we decided to stay in the car and take pictures.  

I will say that Tallahassee is a very unique city, I don't think it is the town for us.  The panhandle is totally different from Central Florida!

A Trip to North Florida!- Fort Matanzas

 The husband and I got a weekend alone, so we decided to take a road trip to St. Augustine to indulge our love of history.  If you have never been to St. Augustine, go.  It is well worth it.  It is the first still standing city in the US.  Originally founded by the Spanish, it exchanged hands several times over the course of history and there are many wonderful tales of love, battle, disease, and a good ghost story or two.

The first stop we made was to Fort Matanzas National Monument located in Flagler County. We took to trip via A1A and got to see the beautiful natural beaches that make Flagler County a wonderful place to visit.  The fort is located off the beaten path,  so bring a lunch, otherwise it is quite a ride into the next town.  The fort itself is located on an inhabited island.  The only access to the fort is via boat.  If you have your own, great, if not, there is a free ferry over to the island.

When we arrived, we made our way to the gift shop to get our free tickets on the ferry.  We had to wait a bit, so we enjoyed ourselves on the nature trail that takes you through the woods and eventually leads you to the beach.  If you have a strong fear of spiders, I would avoid this trail.  There were A LOT of spiders and their webs.  The final view of the dunes was wonderful though!

 Soon, it was our turn for the ferry.  The park ranger and ferry captain were extremely friendly and knowledgeable.  They talked about the fort and the battle that prompted the construction of the fort oh so long ago.  The fort was important to the Spanish, since it guarded a major trade route into St. Augustine.

 The fort itself is rather small.  It is only meant to hold a rather small company of men for short periods of time.  The monument contains lots of props that would have been found in the fort during it's occupation and even includes several of the original cannons.

 We were informed by the park ranger that they do set off the cannon during events and holidays.  We unfortunately were not there during one of the firings.  Although, during a previous trip to St. Augustine's Castillo San Marco, we were able to witness a firing of the cannon.  I assure you, it is an experience that everyone should have once.

I decided to climb up to the top of the fort to take some pictures and admire the view.  The hole is very small, so be careful!  One tourist that was rather bulky in the arms and shoulders due to weightlifting did have trouble going through the hole.

But, as scary as the climb was, the view was totally worth it!!

We loved Fort Matanzas!  It is a wonderful National Treasure.  It is off the beaten path, and not visited much by other tourists.  There is not much for the younger set of children to do here, but school age children with an interest in history would enjoy it.  Because of the age of the structure, it is not handicap accessible.  The ferry and the trail are, but not the fort itself.  You can learn more about the fort and events at this website; http://www.nps.gov/foma/index.htm.

National Park Day 2010-St. Augustine, FL

Today was National Park Day!  One of my favorites, it is a free day at any National Park.  We look through the list and decided to go to St. Augustine since the husband had never been.  The Castillo San Marco is not expensive on a regular day, but we figured that today would be a good day to visit.  They had cannon firings planned, along with reenactments that we thought would be fun for the kids.

The Castillo is rather large and many parts (such as the gun deck) are not handicap and stroller accessible.  There are lots of little rooms to explore and peek into.  There is a map room which tells the story of the different flags that have flown over the Castillo through out history.  The fort was never taken by force, but it has withstood many battles.  There are several cannon ball impressions left in the rock wall from battles past.    This the oldest fort standing in the US, so it is rather unique in construction and layout.

The Fort is located on a bit of grassy hill.  It is a perfect spot to throw down a blanket for a nice picnic and watch the boats in the bay.  In the past there has been a historic ship in the harbor, although I was unable to see one on this trip.

We spent about an hour or two wandering through the fort, watching the reenactments and got to watch and hear a real cannon fire. We later took a leisurely stroll through the historic downtown and treated ourselves to some ice cream.

The four of us absolutely loved it and hope we can come back again for another wonderful trip.  For more information please visit their website at; http://www.nps.gov/casa/index.htm.