DAYTONA, FL — Florida’s tallest nightlight has aided sailors for more than a century. These days, the 175-foot lighthouse and museum at Ponce de Leon Inlet, just south of Daytona, put the spotlight on Florida’s rich maritime history. After you’ve visited the lighthouse, it’s only a stone’s throw to the delightful beach at Lighthouse Point […]
Florida’s Tallest Waterfall Is a Geological Oddity
FALLING WATERS STATE PARK — For a state with as little elevation as Florida, a 70-foot waterfall is truly unique. In fact, it’s more than 10 times higher than the average elevation of the state. What’s more strange, it originates at ground level. It begins as a small, rather ordinary stream that winds through a forest […]
DeLeon Springs: Pancake Breakfast at the Fountain of Youth
Not sure if this is how it worked for Ponce De Leon, but here’s another refreshing and youthful way to enjoy a hot summer day in central Florida: Start off the morning with hot pancakes at the Old Spanish Sugar Mill at DeLeon Springs State Park in Deland, Florida. The kids (and the kid in […]
Palm Coast: The FloridaTraveler Review
PALM COAST, FL — When the perfect vacation consists merely of a book and a beach, the ideal location is necessarily defined by way of negation. Such a place would not have crowds, noise or congestion; it would not have nearby attractions that demand inordinate time and attention; it would not require unusual effort in […]
Blue Spring State Park: A Winter Haven for Manatees
The earliest review of Blue Spring gave the place an 18th-century version of thumbs down. Naturalist John Bartram visited Blue Spring in January of 1766, and found a “surprising fountain … the colour of the sea, [that] smelled like bilge water, tasting sweetish and loathsome.” Fortunately for modern travelers, the chemistry of the spring has changed […]
Koreshan State Historic Site: ‘The Ghosts of Florida’s New Jerusalem’
If the dream of Dr. Cyrus Teed had come true, the capital of the world would be located just south of Fort Myers, Florida. A century later, the fascinating remains of Teed’s failed utopia are preserved at the Koreshan State Historic Site. The story began in 1869 when Teed, a 30-year-old Chicago physician, had a revelation that he was the Messiah. He changed his name to Koresh (the Hebrew form of ‘Cyrus’), and in 1894 he led his wealthy followers into the muggy wilderness of Estero, where they founded a commune called the Koreshan Unity.