What's the first thing that you think of when you think of Florida? Walt Disney World, right? Maybe you think of Florida's many beaches or maybe you think of America's oldest city, St. Augustine. I personally think that everyone, no matter how old you are, should visit Disney. We have some really beautiful beaches here in Florida (personally, the beaches out in the panhandle are the prettiest) and I love walking around Old St. Augustine. But there are so many other places to visit in Florida and they're CHEAP!
I had the day off from work today, so my sister and I headed down A1A for a trip to Washington Oaks Gardens State Park. Washington Oaks is located between Crescent Beach, FL and Palm Coast, Florida. The park is located along the Matanzas River. The property was originally owned by Owen and Louise Young. Owen Young helped to found RCA and Louise was a designer. They used the property as a summer retreat and Louise donated the property to the State of Florida in 1964 after the death of her husband.
This is my sister Debbie, sitting in the gazebo.
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Mask made from coquina along one of the paths.
It only cost $5.00 to get into the park. The visitor center is located in the Young's former home, and there are nature trails, beautiful gardens, and a picnic area. Visit http://www.floridastateparks.org/washingtonoaks for more information. What makes it even better is that the park is located right across the road from the Coquina Rocks of Washington Oaks Garden State Park. Coquina Rocks is included in the price of admission to Washington Oaks.
This place is awesome. I never knew that rocks could be found in Florida; I always thought of my state as pretty much of a giant sand pit. Anyways, I couldn't believe how beautiful it was.
Photos of the Coquina Rocks
We also ran into a native Floridian while we were there -
Florida Gopher Tortoise
Finally, just up the road is Fort Matanzas. Fort Matanzas is near the site where a group of French Huguenots were slaughtered by the Spanish in 1565. It's free to enter the park and you can take a free ferry ride over to the Fort. Visit http://www.nps.gov/foma/index.htm for more information.
What a great way to spend my day off!
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