Tallahassee

River Boat Ride

Wakulla River

On River Ride

Ibis

Alligator

Limpkin - Rarely Seen

Feb. 13

Tallahassee, the state capitol, was our destination today. We thought we would check out the state capitol building but it turned out to be an ugly 22 story 1950’s tower and we drove on by. We were much more impressed with the city of Pensacola. Also in our plans was to visit the Alfred B. Maclay Gardens. At one time the land was a small African-American community of farmers. By the early 1900’s a hunting lodge had been built. Alfred Maclay, a wealthy banker from New York, bought the land in 1923 with plans to begin a garden that would eventually encompass 28 acres. He had a passion for camellias and azaleas. Both were in bloom now but the last two cold nights were really hard on the blooms. The family would spend the months from January to April in the small unassuming home each year. The family gave the home and gardens to the state and today the home is now part of a 1,200 acre state park and open to the public only those months. The camellias fared better than the azaleas with the cold and were beautiful. We drove down to a good sized lake with boat rentals and a swimming area; must be very popular for the locals in the summer.

Maclay House

Reflection Pool

With time left to explore we took a look in the AAA book and decided to visit Wakulla Springs Lodge and State Park. What a wonderful surprise it turned out to be. We got there just in time to take a fabulous 40 minute boat ride on the Wakulla River. The ranger was full of information and we saw a remarkable variety of wildlife! The 14 mile river is the last remaining pristine river in Florida and in fed by a spring that maintains the temperature at 70° . It flows into the gulf. The spring is the largest and deepest spring in the U.S. They have a dive tower that I am sure the boys in our family would have loved. The underwater caves go back for hundreds of feet and are taller and wider than an 8 story building. We were amazed at the number of birds we saw up close: Ibis, Great White Egret, Osprey, Hooded Merganser, Bald Eagle, Wood Ducks, Great blue Heron, Double Crested Cormorants, and Anhinga with their wings spread out. Everywhere we looked was a beautiful bird. We saw ate least a dozen alligators from babies to the largest at 12 feet, several manatees including a calf and Suwannee Cooters (turtles) basking in the sun. It was truly one of the most amazing collections of wildlife we have ever seen in a natural setting! It seemed like a Disneyland "E" ticket ride! It was a nice trade off with the unattractive capitol building that we had decided not to see! Ed Ball owned the spring after 1934 and established a wildlife sanctuary closed to recreational boaters. The lodge he built is lovely. He designed boats to be used for excursions and had them built on the property keeping the design a secret. The boats are still used today.