More Free Fun in Florida

Like a lot of people, I had last Monday off.  So did my sister.  It's rare that my sister and I have the same days off; she usually works weekends and I work Monday through Friday.  One of the things that we enjoy doing is hiking.  The great thing is that there are so many places to hike in Florida and they're free and open to the public.  We generally try to find places to hike that we haven't been before.

So I told my sister on Sunday that we were going on an adventure.  I didn't tell her where we were going, only that she needed to dress comfortably and bring water.  Our destination was the Pumpkin Hill Preserve and Yellow Bluff Fort located on the northside of Jacksonville.  On our way, we discovered another park just north of Pumpkin Hill Preserve, Betz-Tiger Point Preserve.  Pumpkin Hill Preserve was one of the fifty things that I wanted to do for my birthday in September.

Betz-Tiger Point Preserve, http://www.coj.net/Departments/Recreation-and-Community-Services/Waterfront-Management-and-Programming/Preservation-Project/Betz-Tiger-Point-Preserve.aspx, is located at 12100 Pumpkin Hill Road.  It's a 548 acre park with 3 miles of hiking trails, surrounded by salt marshes.

When you're there, you can forget that you're in a metropolitan area, because it's so quiet and peaceful.

Pumpkin Hill Preserve, http://www.floridastateparks.org/pumpkinhill/default.cfm is one of the largest contiguous areas of coastal uplands in Duval County, encompassing 4,000 acres.  The park borders tidal marshlands.  There are five trails, ranging in length from 0.75 miles to 3.7 miles.

Yellow Bluff Fort, http://www.floridastateparks.org/yellowbluff/default.cfm, is located on New Berlin Road.  It was never actually a fort.  It was an earthen fortification built by the Confederacy in 1862 to prevent the Union gun boats from attacking Jacksonville.  The park is 1.3 acres. 

It was a beautiful day and we had a really great time, exploring and hiking.  I can't wait until the next time!  What's a favorite free activity that you enjoy?

A Shout Out to "Mustard's Last Stand"

Last weekend on my way to Miami, my sister and I stopped at a little restaurant in Melbourne, FL called "Mustard's Last Stand".  I'd driven past it a few times whenever I went to visit my daughter and vowed that one day I would stop and eat there.

Let me tell you, it was great.  We aren't just talking hot dogs here - we're talking hot dog creations, a melding of flavors that leaves you licking your lips and wishing for a bigger stomach!  Oh yeh!  I am not kidding; I can't wait to go back.

My sister and I ordered the cowboy, a hot dog and bacon wrapped in a flour tortilla, deep fried, and topped with chili and cheese.  In my wildest dreams I never could imagine a hot dog tasting that good.  Add to that an order of chili cheese fries and my sister and I were in heaven.

Seriously, if you're ever in Melbourne, you've got to stop and try one of their hot dogs.  They're located on US 1 and they're worth the visit.  Check out their website at http://www.mustardsinc.com/.  You're gonna thank me!

Frugal Florida

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.

C

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!