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It is very hard to think about math, science and history books after living these subjects in the exotic and beautiful Florida! We experienced marsh environments, coastal shores and estuaries. We saw forts, cracker shacks, sponge docks and lighthouses. We identified alligators (not too hard to do), ibises, cranes, tanagers, herons, anhingas and so much more! We calculated mileage, time for trips and hours left until home. We added up admission prices and made decisions NOT to spend our money sometimes! School was out, but we were still educating! Here is an overview of our trip.
Day 1: The drive down We knew this would be a long drive, so we planned out stops ahead of time. First stop was a rest area that was home to a letterbox! Great excuse to stop and let everyone stretch. Then we were back on the road. Our big lunch stop was Jekyll Island. We got to walk on the beach, ride bikes and letterbox, of course! The letterboxes here took us off the beaten path where we discovered a huge rope swing and a marsh full of Fiddler Crabs! After getting back into the car, we listened to “Call it Courage”. Very appropriate story for our upcoming adventures! We were on the road until my dad's house, near Tampa. Day 2: We rested and visited with my dad. Day3: Lowry Park Zoo We used our zoo pass, which cost $30 LESS than admission would've been!! We love this zoo. The kids fed lorikeets, petted stingrays and played in the fountains. Day 4: Weedon Island/Fort DeSoto On our way to the beach we stopped by the Weedon Island Nature preserve to find 2 letterboxes. We walked on a long boardwalk through mangrove swamps. It was great! Then we hit Fort De Soto. This is a beautiful beach and historic area. So we swam and walked nature trails. We skipped the fort because we were short on time and we had visited it last year. But we did read the brochure about it to my husband. We met another letterboxing family here that was from New Hampshire. It was fun for the kids to have somebody to play with that was their age. Funny thing: First thing my kids asked, “Are they homeschooled?” I said I didn't think so. After meeting them, my kids thought they probably were. It turns out, they homeschooled for years and are just now in the school system, so they still had that mindset. Wherever they went to school, they were wonderful kids! We found two letterboxes here that led us on great nature trails!! Day 5: USF Botanical Gardens There were letterboxes here and I had always wanted to visit, so I took a few of the kids with me, while everyone else stayed home and rested. The gardens were small, but nice. They had a faery garden, a butterfly garden, an orchid garden (Gorgeous!), carnivorous plant garden, cactii garden and a bonsai garden!! Day 6: Hillsborough River State Park This was the highlight of our trip! We canoed down the Hillsborough River in search of an extreme letterbox. The only access to this box was by river, through alligators. How adventurous!! We sighted 9 alligators and many other interesting plants and animals. The river was beautiful. After this we headed to another park to search for a letterbox that was hidden next to an old cabin in the woods. We saw three armadillos waddling around here and ate an orange off of a bitter orange tree (YUCK!). Being at this old cabin in the middle of Florida woods was almost haunting. You could imagine the settlers of long ago living here. Day 7: Tarpon Springs I am not big on touristy places, but this was a neat town. In the early 1900s, Greek folks came over to begin a profitable sponge harvesting business in the Gulf of Mexico. The town is mostly Greek; street names, restaurants, and people. We watched a video on the history and harvesting of sponges. We learned about the Epiphany they hold here, where 50 boys jump in the bay in Jan to see who can retrieve a little wooden cross first. The winner receives a blessing and a year of good luck from the priest. My favorite part of this side trip was actually the cuban restaurant! I grew up eating cuban food in the Keys, so the chance to have an authentic cuban sub, fried plantains and cuban beans and rice was unpassable! Day 8: Heading home For our trip home we had two planned stops. The first was an orange grove where we picked up some fruit to bring home and share. The second was St. Simon's Island. We stopped by the light house and then headed out to Christ Church to find another letterbox. This was one of those wonderful side trips we might not have taken if not for letterboxing. We visited the old church and cemetery. The ceiling inside the church was very interesting. The docent told us that shipbuilders built the church and said that you could flip it over and sail away to England in it! The stained glass windows were amazing. One of the kids favorite ones was of Jesus dividing the loaves and fishes. When we found the letterbox and opened it, the stamp was an image of loaves and fishes!! That was really neat. We saw the Celtic Cross memorial to John and Charles Wesley, who had preached on this island. Then we headed home, exhausted and happy!
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