We left Charleston around 5am to travel down the coast.
It feels incredibly weird to be in Florida in the summer! It feels nice to be warm and away from all the wind of the Atlantic Ocean.
Florida Caverns State Park, Marianna, Florida
“Florida Caverns State Park is one of the few state parks with dry (air filled) caves and is the only Florida state park to offer cave tours to the public. The cave has dazzling formations of limestone stalactites, stalagmites, soda straws, flowstones, and draperies.”
Isla’s Review of the cave tour: it was really cool. My favourite section was the section with the Christmas trees. I liked the tiny bat. It was really funny when the tour guide accidentally hit a stalagmite with his flashlight. I liked that they had a “sacrificial column” that everyone was allowed to touch (you aren’t allowed to touch anything inside the cave normally because the oils from your hands kill the stalagmites because the minerals can’t stick anymore.
Caleb’s Review of the cave tour: I thought it was really fun. The tour guide was funny. It was cooler than expected because of all the stalagmites and stalactites.
Joel’s Review of the cave tour: I enjoyed the personality of the tour guide. I really like the museum building – it was made out of stone and square timbers.
Tracy’s Review of the cave tour: It was shocking to me how many stalactites and stalagmites there were! It was gorgeous and magical in the cave. Everyone enjoyed having to wiggle through the tighter areas. It is interesting that the water in the cave is coming from the aquifer rising and the surface water filtering down. It was clear that it is a Florida State run park and not a National park as it wasn’t to the same educational and passion level as the National Parks. It’s shocking to me that the cave was only discovered by accident in 1937 when a severe storm uprooted a tree, exposing a hole in the limestone. There isn’t a long history of various using of the cave because it was already state land when it was discovered. I really loved the cave.
Falling Waters State Park, Chipley, Florida
Home to Florida’s tallest waterfall.
Henderson Beach State Park Campground, Destin, Florida
We found this gem of a campground along the Florida panhandle. It’s got a gorgeous beach and private campsites right close to everything. It’s loud with helicopters and planes (coastline tours) but that’s kinda fun too.
We spent the evening swimming in the ocean – it maybe the warmest Ocean water I’ve ever been in. The beach is just a short walk from our campsite.
