Abandoned towns, crumbling ruins, and overlooked history—these are the places Florida left behind, but we remember.
There are two kinds of road trips. The ones where you stick to the itinerary… …and the ones where a random historical marker sends you down a rabbit hole you never expected. This was definitely the second kind. I was on my way to visit Bulow Plantation Ruins when I spotted a historical marker along … Read more
Some of the most fascinating places aren’t hidden deep in the woods. Sometimes they’re sitting right beside the road, looking so well cared for that you drive right past them. That’s exactly what happened to me when I set out to visit the Thomas R. Ayer House in Oklawaha, Florida. I had discovered the home … Read more
Some places tell you exactly what they are the moment you arrive. Others whisper. Fort King, tucked away beneath the pines of Ocala, is one of those places. At first glance, it’s a peaceful historical park. Families wander through the reconstructed fort. Visitors browse museum exhibits. Birds sing overhead as the Florida breeze drifts through … Read more
There are places that feel preserved. And then there are places that feel rescued. The road into Barberville Pioneer Settlement narrows beneath sprawling live oaks draped in Spanish moss, the kind of old Florida canopy that makes the world feel quieter before you even arrive. The modern world slowly slips into the rearview mirror. Traffic … Read more
There are some places you plan carefully for. And then there are the places that seem determined to make you work for them. Fort Matanzas fell firmly into the second category. A few months before this visit, my son and I were heading north on our Washington D.C. road trip. Fort Matanzas was supposed to … Read more
Some road trips begin with a carefully crafted itinerary. Others begin with free orange juice and a complete collapse of self-control. Our first dedicated trip to Milledgeville, Georgia, was supposed to be simple: leave Florida, make minimal stops, and get straight to the historic town that had been quietly calling us back ever since our … Read more
Florida doesn’t always reveal its history easily. Sometimes it hides it beneath pine needles, roadside traffic, and stretches of land that seem too quiet to have witnessed anything terrible at all. The road near Dade Battlefield Historic State Park looks ordinary now—just another patch of rural Florida where palmettos sway beneath the morning sun and … Read more
Some roadside relics make perfect sense the moment you see them. Old gas stations. Weathered motels. Faded fruit stands slowly disappearing beside forgotten highways. And then there are the places that stop you mid-drive and leave your brain scrambling to catch up with what your eyes just witnessed. The Brooksville Brontosaurus is one of those … Read more
There are places you plan to visit… And then there are places that find you. I wasn’t looking for a cemetery that day. I was just trying to get my truck aligned—prepping for an upcoming road trip, mind already miles down the road. But while I waited, something across the street caught my attention. A … Read more
A Place Most People Would Never Choose Most people look at a Florida swamp and see something to avoid. A place of mud and still water.Of mosquitoes and shadows.Of things that move when you’re not looking. But once… this wasn’t a place people fled from. It was a place they disappeared into. And not just … Read more