Spring Into Saturday: Places to Go

One adventure day at Blowing Rocks Preserve

Normally I feature places that I've visited for my spring into Saturday posts, but this week I thought I would do something different by posting about the places in Florida that I want to visit, but haven't made it to yet in my 48 years of residency here.

1. The Venetian Pool in Coral Gables. Built in 1924 in a coral quarry this spring-fed now city pool is somewhere where I hope to take a dip.

2. The Coral Castle  Imagine 1100 lbs of coral shaped into a castle by one man for over almost 20 years.  This wonder is one on my FL2Go bucket-list just to witness the pure imagination and tenacity of the builder.

3.  The Edison Winter Estates  I love history. I love buildings. I love science.  All three of these converge here.  The bonus here is the gardens.

4. Cedar Key  I have been here, but not as a tourist.  I refereed volleyball at the high school many a moons ago so I didn't seem much but the musty four walls of the gym.  I do want to check out the National Wildlife Refuge here as well as the town which has been described as old Florida since development has been limited.

5. Three Sisters Spring  Although you can visit the spring by land, you can actually access it by boat and swim in it too.  But by boat through the Crystal River Wildlife Refuge, you have access to a few more springs and manatees.

6. Ten Thousand Islands Camping, hiking, and kayaking are all welcome activities at this 35,000 acre mangrove wildlife refuge.  The allure of manatees and springs are treasures here too.

7.  The Dry Tortugas  I've visited in my mind by reading Nevada Barr's Flashback.    You take a ferry to get here.  The attraction is a 19th century fort and snorkeling. You can camp here too.  Note: If you like mysteries and haven't read any of Barr's works, I highly recommend her writing since each novel is set at a National Park. She captures each park distinct features and the mysteries are fun too.

8. Devil's Den  I've actually been here too, but almost 20 years ago.  I want to bring my daughter and husband here to experience the snorkeling in the cave. You can also camp here.

9.  Florida Bioluminescence Kayak  This is best done in the heat of summer on a moonless night. I would recommend a tour.  I've kayaked on my own during the day in this area and it is easy to get lost.

10. Panhandle State Parks I grew up on the east coast of Florida and now reside in central Florida. I want to explore the northwest coastal state parks since they are vastly different and beautiful from the east side.

What's on your Florida to-go bucket list?