Some places become part of your story before you ever learn theirs. For me, Lake Eola has always been one of those places. Long before I knew anything about sinkholes, cattle barons, mysterious names, or iconic fountains, I simply knew it as somewhere my mom liked to take me. We’d walk laps around the lake … 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
Some places don’t announce themselves — they just sit quietly in the woods, waiting for someone curious enough to look twice. Jeep Cave is one of those places. A small limestone hideout tucked deep in the Withlacoochee Forest, it feels less like a destination and more like a secret you stumble into on a wandering … Read more
Some places whisper their stories. These caves?They echo them. Deep in the Withlacoochee Forest, two sinkholes carved into Florida’s limestone belly — Dames Cave and Peace Cave — wait like open mouths in the earth. Their edges are framed in ferns, roots dangle like veins, and the ground drops away without warning. These are some … Read more