Category: travel
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SMALL TOWNS ROCK – MONTICELLO, FLORIDA

The centerpiece of Monticello, Florida, thirty miles east of Tallahassee, can be seen from all directions when approaching the downtown of the small town and county seat of Jefferson County. The two main highways into town converge at the Jefferson County Courthouse, which pays homage to our country’s third president. The Classical Revival structure with…
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WILD FOR FLORIDA WILDLIFE

“Why aren’t there any mosquitoes when I visit Florida?” I was once asked. “Where do you go in Florida?” I asked. “To Disney World, Sea World – all those theme parks around Orlando.” I wondered how to reply without bursting this man’s image of “natural” Florida that exists within the gates of “unnatural” worlds made…
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SOPCHOPPY – SMALL TOWN BIG IN NATURE

The Worm Gruntin’ Festival first drew my eye to the small town of Sopchoppy, Florida, located between Tallahassee and the Gulf of Mexico. I had no idea what it was, but it sounded weirdly fun. Worm Gruntin’ is an ancient technique to get earthworms up from the ground. A wooden stake—a “stob”—is pounded into the…
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SMALL TOWNS ROCK – PALATKA, FLORIDA

Any discussion about the Florida town of Palatka begins and ends with the St. Johns River, which helped create the community centuries ago. Back in its golden days, many called it the “Gem City of the St. Johns.” The St. Johns River flows for 310 miles northward, making it Florida’s longest river. It begins in…
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ICHETUCKNEE SPRINGS – A HISTORY AND CULTURE OF A FLORIDA SPRING – #FREE
A Project of the Heart Please download my new book, Ichetucknee Springs – A History and Culture of a Florida Spring. It’s #Free to download in any format that works for you. Click on the cover or here. Ichetucknee Springs – A History and Culture of a Florida Spring – my latest project offers a…
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SMALL TOWNS ROCK
Small towns form the backbone of our country where farming and culture met and flourished for the first centuries of our existence. Railroads and interstates nearly destroyed them, but with the resilience of strong foundations, they have begun the slow process of bringing us together once again. Revitalization efforts across the country are bringing back…
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The Lighthouses of the Forgotten Coast of Florida
Florida’s Forgotten Coast – I almost hate writing about this section of Florida along the Gulf of Mexico coastline at the eastern start of the Panhandle. It is remote, beautiful, rural, and filled with small fishing villages that once thrived in the early days of Florida’s history. Along the Highway 98, Florida’s coastal scenic road,…
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An Asheville (Mis)Adventure
I dreaded the three-week trip even as I planned. I worried too much. Lists filled a notebook: To Do, To Pack, The Morning of Departure, To Buy. I checked off items one by one until it was the morning of departure, and that list began to dwindle. Something happened the closer I came to deleting…