The Nature Coast Family

A Day in Brooksville

April 6, 2019April 6, 2019 Adrienne Vallejo - Nature Coast MomLeave a comment

If you live in or around Tampa, when you hear Brooksville you don’t necessarily think “oh, I would like to go there”. In comparison to all the busy activities in Tampa, Brooksville is definitely a much slower pace. If your looking for a nice little day away from the crowds, Brooksville has a few nice family friendly activities to offer.

To start if your coming from Tampa, you can drive straight up the Veterans Express Way, US HWY 41, or take 75 to State Road 50. Your in for about an hour drive. It’s actually a very pretty ride, lots of land and trees. If your like us, we throw on Lady Gaga Essentials on iTunes and sing all the way there :).

The first stop of the day is Boyett Grove Citrus Attraction. This zoo/mini golf/gift shop/all things strange, is quite the experience. The first time we went we had no idea what we were walking into, but it actually turned out to be a pretty fun place. It’s a zoo for rescue animals and for an extra $5.00 you get a huge bag of food to feed them. There are zebras, birds, lama’s, ponies, and even a camel. The animals are great and they offer a lot of laughs. Charlotte gets a kick out of feeding them.

After your spent playing mini golf, petting a camel, and checking out everything behind all the mysteries doors (yes, there are numbered doors that take you to different areas of the attraction) you will be ready for lunch.

Our favorite place to eat is the historic Coney Island Drive Inn. It’s a hot dog joint and so yummy! It’s a super inexpensive treat for the whole family offering footlong corndogs, chili dogs, and if your not a hot dog fan they have burgers. The atmosphere feels like you stepped back in time when it first opened in 1960. Fun fact – Elvis ate there in 1961! They have a corner of the restaurant dedicated to him. If you sit outside, there is a nice area in the back to play cornhole while you wait for your order.

If your looking to throw in a little history for the little ones, visit Brooksville 1885 Railroad Depot Museum. It is literally around the corner from Coney Island. The museum provides a 45 minute guided tour for $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for children. There is even an old train car on the side of the building and a vintage fire truck.

If your in for a bike ride, right next to the museum is the Good Neighbor bike trial which is 10 miles long. We didn’t get a chance to ride on our visit because Charlotte had a melt down about riding her bike without training wheels….such is life!

Downtown Brooksville leaves a little to be desired right now but they are slowly working on revamping the city to a cool new destination. We are actually pretty excited about the plans for the city. They have already added a few events on the 2nd Friday of each month and 4th Saturday. It’s worth the walk around though, there are a few cute little coffee shops, shopping spots and historic buildings to check out.

So, there you have it…a fun little day away that’s not too far from Tampa and makes you feel like you stepped into a different time. We really do love Brooksville and the slow and quite setting if offers. Let us know if you make the trip and how you liked it!

Thanks for joining us on our adventures!

March 21, 2019March 24, 2019 Adrienne Vallejo - Nature Coast MomLeave a comment

Thanks for joining us on our adventures! We are so excited to share a little about who we are and the fun weekend trips we take through out Florida.

To start, let me introduce us! We are the Vallejo’s, a family of three (Mom- Adrienne, Dad – Joe, and our little girl – Charlotte) who lives on the Nature Coast in Florida. Our weeks are typical and normally center around meetings, homework, packing lunches, running to dance, and picking up more eggs and cat food at Publix. Both Joe and I have stressful jobs and really look forward to getting through the week so we can start our weekend all over again. Charlotte being an energetic second grader goes to bed each Friday night and ask, “what are we doing tomorrow”.

We are forever on the go and that’s how we like it! It’s hard for us to stay at home on the weekends and find so much joy going on little adventures together and discovering new places close to home and in nature.

We created this blog to share our weekend adventures, but also to hopefully inspire you to get out and #explore with your family. There is so much to see and do in Florida, especially on the Nature Coast in Florida – which is Pasco, Hernando, Citrus, Levy, Dixie, Taylor, Jefferson, and Wakulla counties. Because we are in such a great spot, we can get to central and north Florida pretty quickly making for a fun little daily getaway.

So….our blog will be a highlight of our weekend trips but also a review of places we go to, what to do when you get there, how much things cost, and tips to plan your trip. Follow us on Instagram @TheNatureCoastFamily

We hope you enjoy exploring with us! Stay tuned for our first post – Silver Springs State Park.

Thanks!

Joe, Adrienne and Charlotte

#explore#familytravel#weekendgetaways#floridatravel#naturecoast#pureflorida#travelblog

“The family is one of natures greatest masterpieces” — George Santayana

Silver Springs State Park

March 24, 2019March 24, 2019 Adrienne Vallejo - Nature Coast MomLeave a comment

Since moving out to Spring Hill, we really took the opportunity to enjoy the many local springs by renting kayaks. After a few adventures we talked about purchasing our own. Finally, after two years we got around to purchasing them. We immediately wanted to head out go to a spring and test out our new toys. With it being spring break, we could head out for a longer day trip than normal, so we decided to head up to Silver Springs in Ocala.

Driving over to Ocala from Spring Hill is a breeze and only took us about an hour and 10 minutes to arrive. The weather on Monday was chilly and absolutely beautiful, so we knew it was going to be a great day on the water. If you don’t have your own kayaks, you can rent them right in the park through Discover Kayak Tours. Check their website for rental fee’s and information. However, since we have our own the fee to drop your own in the water is $4.00 a boat.

**Quick Tip** you might get a college student who doesn’t explain the river all the way so we had the learn the hard way**
If you have your own kayak, pay the extra ten dollars at the entrance for one person in your group to take a ride on the kayak rental shuttle service. The current on the river is very strong, and there is no way to paddle back up stream – unless you have arms of steal and paddle like an Olympic gold medalist.

Once we got on the water, it was absolutely stunning. As soon as you get on the river you can go one of two ways, to the right of the bridge or under. Under will take you into the large spring in the state park. There you can see the glass bottom boats and the main spring. To the right, your in for a 4 1/2 hour journey down stream. We went for the long route. Going this was was a great decision! The river is covered with beautiful cypress trees and in the morning to sun is slightly shining though. It’s so peaceful hearing the wind blow between the trees and listening to the birds chirp. Along this way, we also got to see old camping grounds that look like villages.

The covered river will open up to a large river where the current gets a bit stronger and where you can really see the Florida wildlife. On our journey we saw a ton of turtles, birds and of course fish. The most surprising was the three large alligators right along the bank, a little bundle of baby gators and the monkeys. Along our way we also paddled right next to a manatee which is always an awesome experience.

About half way through the river, we pulled off and docked to take a quick break, eat lunch and use the bathroom. Here your option is a port-a-potty or a tree. (Choose the tree, trust me). Once your ready to get going you have another 4 miles and about an hour and a half down the river (you have now gone 10 miles) to end your journey. There you can paddle in and end at Ray Wayside Park. Remember, my tip above? That is where one person from your group can catch the shuttle back and then drive their car over to the park to pick up your kayaks. Charlotte and I waited while Joe took the shuttle back. You can go a little further for a 16 mile trip, but we were spent at that point.

We drove back to Silver Springs state park since we wanted to check out the amusement park and glass bottom boats. It doesn’t cost anything extra to get into the park if you paid to kayak, so we walked right it. If you want to ride the boats it’s $11.00 a person. So, we opted to walk around and go on a few trails instead. The park is really nice, lots of scenic area’s for lovely pictures and sitting and being in nature. We were there about an hour before calling it a day.

After a long day of kayaking and exploring we were starving! Our last stop on the way home and only three miles from the entrance of the park is Fat Boys BBQ. Do yourself a favor and plan to make a stop. Joe was in heaven with all you can eat pork. I kid you not, that was some of the BEST BBQ we have had in a while.

So….that was our little day trip adventure! We will for sure go back to Silver Springs. We would love to camp and spend the weekend there….but we will save that for when we get our camper :)…..