She squints at my driver’s license, leaning in to read the address. Sarasota County residents get $5 off admission to Warm Mineral Springs, a national treasure located in North Port, which just happens to be part of Sarasota County. Yep.…
Hogtown Creek Greenway walk in Gainesville
Chapter 5 in “10 Florida Great Walks Around Gainesville & Ocala” Hogtown Creek Greenway Quick Question: In the middle of what city can you find a dreamy forest pathway that follows creek beds? Answer: Gainesville, Florida. Honest! There is more…
Pensacola – Dig Into the Past or Soar with Angels
In the faded photograph, my dad leans his long frame against the airplane, one arm resting on the open cockpit. A long white silk scarf is wound once around his neck with the ends hanging down all the way to…
BOOK REVIEW: Paynes Prairie
LUCY’S BOOK REVIEW* Paynes Prairie: A History of the Great Savanna by Lars Andersen I’m convinced his mother qualified for sainthood. Seriously. Lillian Andersen used to drive her son Lars to Paynes Prairie so he could spend the day exploring,…
Great Florida Birding Trail attracts visitors
The photographer, wearing multiple cameras, walked towards me grinning. Cameras with long lenses worth more than the national debt of medium-sized third world countries hung from each shoulder. “Well how is it?” I asked, holding just one camera in one…
Gentle Manatees Swim in Florida Waters
Manatees were here before mastodons stomped down Florida grasses. Before Indians inhabited prime seaside real estate. Even before Ponce de Leon got himself killed wandering around Florida looking for the Fountain of Youth. Manatees pre-date Disney and interstates Yes, way…
Gainesville is Good to Go for All Seasons
Depending on the season Gainesville rearranges its face. The face during football season is painted orange and blue of course. GO GATORS. Every semester Gainesville changes its feel and look as the city ebbs and surges with the academic calendar…
50 Great Walks in Florida is now an e book!
BREAKING NEWS University Press of Florida has just announced that Lucy’s award-winning print book 50 Great Walks in Florida is now available as a Kindle e book on Amazon. Did you know that once you click the “Buy” button you…
Downtown historic Melbourne has food and fun
It is not my fault. Someone has to bite the calories, taste the Grimaldi handmade chocolates then report to you. That would be me. I bravely walk into their store on Waverly Place in Melbourne. The vats for making chocolate…
Rain Barrels are a win-win for the Environment
As I sit here looking out the studio window, big, billowing white clouds are scudding out of the west, moving fast heading east to the Atlantic Ocean. Yesterday bands of rain came through town. Every 30 minutes or so another…
Visit Sarasota if you want to be invigorated
Want to be invigorated? Then my advice is – visit Sarasota soon. Why? For starters, here are five why’s: Be stimulated = Sarasota boasts a playbill loaded with award-winning arts and culture venues. These events don’t take a breather for…
Be Languid at Warm Mineral Springs
Summer sizzles. Getting wet and cooling down sounds like a great plan. Your options: Float down the Rainbow River in an inner tube with your buns cooling off at a constant 72 degrees, dip into a lake, find a pool,…
Sea Turtles lay eggs in summer months
As she labored, stars sparkled like diamonds embedded in the midnight sky. The sea breeze carried exotic aromas – seaweed, fish and ocean salt overlaid with faint suggestions of faraway places. A female loggerhead turtle dropped white, golf ball-sized eggs…
Florida State Parks – Visit all of them!
When visiting faraway places ask yourself – what will I be unhappy about if I don’t get to see/experience it while I’m here? The same question works for being in Florida, even if you live here. What would I miss…
West Indian manatees – see them in Florida
“Mary Margaret Manatee lived in a river that ran to the sea.” Thus begins a children’s picture book for ages 4 through 10 that I’ve written. Naturally, I had to go hang out with manatees for research. Where to go?…
Garden Festivals in Florida – Rejoice!
Smell the air – fresh, invigorating with a hint of spring flowers and a touch of rain. Ah, in Florida it is the magic time of year, when new growth springs out of plants that looked dead over the winter.…
Watch the Sunset in Cedar Key with your Canine
“Is he friendly?” That is the question, even if the gender is she instead of he. We’re talking dogs, out for a stroll in a new place. Along comes another dog. Naturally both are leashed. Before contact is made one…
Walk Leaf-strewn Trails in a Florida Forest
My dogs like walking the Sand Hill Trail at Silver Springs State Park in Ocala. Often we’re the first ones walking the leaf-strewn path and that means our chances of seeing wildlife are pretty good. A fact of life –…
Peace River Seafood & More in Punta Gorda
Got crabs? The Peace River Seafood Market & Restaurant in Punta Gorda does. Lots of them. Stone crab claws in season along with whole blue crabs that turn from blue to an outrageous shade of orange when they’re steamed. Ah,…
Olde Englewood Village Plus Charlotte Harbor
Come to the second annual Authors Book Fair! Admission is free. Parking is free. Saturday, Oct. 15 from 11-3 at the Deltona Regional Library. It is an event so full of energy and creativity you will come away inspired and…
Fernandina Beach Sings a Beach Song
Are you fed up with summer simmer and showers? Ready to break out of the house? Well, buckle up. Have I got a super road trip just for you. Fernandina Beach, 23 miles north of Jacksonville, combines the gracefulness of…
Greek Cooking & More in Tarpon Springs
We ate our way through Tarpon Springs from one end of the Sponge Docks to the other. Seriously, how could we resist? After all when the Greeks are cooking, you know the drill – just show up and enjoy. A…
Florida Rivers & Lakes are Calling You
A perfect trifecta – The sun is shining, the water is clear and the fish are feeling suicidal. That’s how it was fishing on the Ocklawaha River last week. Twenty assorted brim ended up in the boat cooler and later…
Apalachicola is a Time Travel Trip
Time travel. It is out there somewhere – the ability to step through a door and, whoosh, go back in time. Time travel is possible in Florida. Seriously. It takes a bit of driving instead of a magic door but…
Florida Butterfly Gardening is Addictive
They flap. They glide. They flutter. What can it be? Butterflies. Their beauty makes us gasp. Here is another gasp – full immersion native butterfly gardening turns your yard into a butterfly world. Admission is free every day. Butterflies on…