HOME AWAY FROM HOME: FLORIDA #3

I have been putting this off for forever, partly because this is the third and final instalment of my Florida trip (read parts one & two), and partly because it makes me really miss it when I talk about it, to the point that I have an extra tab open searching for flights, whoops! It's been six or so weeks since I came home, and my holiday blues still won't leave me alone, ha! 

So here are some little bits and bobs from my trip that are worth a mention. First up is Wekiwa Springs which is one of Florida's State Parks. From what I remember it was free, but they advise you get there before midday because there's limited parking and the spots fill up, especially on the super sunny days which Florida tend to get a lot. You can camp there overnight, or you can just grab a spot and start up your BBQ there and then. They had plenty of open and sheltered spots for eating, and we opted to eat our picnic under a sheltered area because of all the bugs, but more so the wasps - I'm horribly afraid of them. It was nice and quiet despite the actual "park" itself being packed full of people, plus they have clean outdoor toilets which is always a bonus!

When we made our way over to the spring itself, we left all of our belongings underneath a tree on the hill and I was surprised that nothing was stolen to be completely honest. In England you can't leave anything anywhere, because people just snatch it, so that was refreshing to see. When we made it down to the welcoming looking water, it turned out that because Springs are natural it means that they're also absolutely freezing. I was not prepared for the shock to my system and spent the first twenty minutes clinging to the side with a dozen other people. We then swam around the whole of the Spring and generally just relaxed and enjoyed ourselves as the sun continued to shine. It's a really nice place to spend the day, plus there's a lot of walks you can go on too, from super short ones that take about twenty minutes to actual hikes, so it has something for everyone.

It also feels wrong not to mention that one of America's national holidays, 4th of July, happened to take place while I was in the States. I was really excited to celebrate it because I had heard so much about the crazy parties that I wanted to witness it for myself. Witness it myself is exactly what I did, and it's safe to say I've never been so sick from alcohol in my entire life, I had a bump on my forehead and bruises on the backs of my knees for weeks afterwards. America, y'all know how to party.

The last thing I really wanted to mention was the fact that I went to play glow in the dark mini-golf. Now for starters I didn't even know that this existed, but also I'm a sucker for anything that's glow in the dark (I don't know where this obsession comes from). It was amazing, not only is the whole course glow in the dark, but so are the putters and the golf balls themselves. Plus, there's actually a lot of though and effort gone into designing the mini-golf that we went too because each hole and a little theme and it was absolutely adorable, it made the experience of playing that much more fun. What I did learn though, is that I'm not actually very good and mini-golf.

All in all I just fall more in love with Florida each time I go, and I feel like there's so many things to do there that I wouldn't even know where to start. I'm happy with how much I managed to cram into three weeks, and if you're interested I made a video about my trip which you can watch here. I am getting ready to plan a five week trip across the USA which will take place next year, but hopefully I'll get to go to Paris first. 

Did you go on holiday this Summer?

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