Estimated to be between 300 and 400 years old, the majestic Fairchild Oak is located at Bulow Creek State Park in Ormond Beach. The southern trailhead for the 6.8-mile Bulow Woods Hiking Trail also can be found here. The scenic hiking trail ends at Bulow Plantation Ruins State Park, another must-see destination.
The other day I hiked Lake Louisa State Park for the first time. I decided to hike a 2-mile loop around Bear Lake because it sounded pretty cool. Although I didn’t run into any bears, I did see three deer and a gopher tortoise. I also viewed Lake Louisa, Big Creek and Wilderness Point (a primitive camping area). I will definitely be back soon to check out some of the other hiking trails at this huge state park in Clermont.
It had been well over a year since I visited Trout Nature Center in Eustis and I spent a couple of hours wandering around the short hiking trails here looking for wildlife. I did spot a Florida box turtle sauntering along, so that was definitely a highlight of my visit. The impressive oak tree near the entrance is another not-to-be-missed site at Trout Nature Center, as well as a stroll along the scenic boardwalk to the lake itself. Highly recommended!
I did a nice hike at Hidden Waters Preserve in Eustis the other day and actually wandered along the hidden waters that give the preserve its name. It was another scorching summer day, of course, but Hidden Waters Preserve is well shaded, except for a couple of some grueling stretches along the perimeter. I only saw one gopher tortoise this time, but there are plenty of them out there to view if you visit at just the right time when they are foraging around. I’ll be back soon!
For obvious safety reasons, swimming and tubing are not currently allowed at Rock Springs. However, this means that hikers and wildlife viewers have a great opportunity to check out Kelly Park without the throngs of people that usually descend upon Rock Springs throughout the entire summer. In fact, once you head out a little ways on the scenic 1.5-mile Kelly Loop Trail, you will pretty much have the whole trail to yourself. The last two times we’ve visited, we were lucky enough to view some deer, including the fawn pictured above.
A visit to Lake Lotus Park in Altamonte Springs can be tricky, but it’s definitely worth the effort! For example, it’s only open Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On weekends, you will have to park at the offsite parking lot and take the tram over to the park. Highlights of Lake Lotus Park include 120 acres of woods and wetlands, one mile of raised boardwalk, playground, education center, picnic pavilions, barbecue grills and a fishing pier.
If you have guests visiting Central Florida, the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive is the ideal spot to take them to get a taste of Florida wildlife, including Florida alligators, Florida softshell turtles and an incredible diversity of bird species. In fact, more than 360 bird species have been spotted here. Operated by the St. Johns River Water Management District, the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive is a 11-mile, one-way drive with a speed limit of 10 miles per hour (so budget about 2 hours of your time and get there early to avoid the crowds). By the way, Lake Apopka is the fourth-largest lake in Florida. The Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive is open 7 AM to 3 PM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Don’t miss it!
The perfect spot for a little extreme social distancing, Spring Hammock Preserve is located off-the-beaten path in Longwood, Florida. On this visit, I took the main trail up to the scenic Question Pond. I also explored an area of the Preserve that I had never seen before by heading up the Cross Seminole Trail and taking a little dirt path on the left just before I got to the first little bridge. It opened up to a very scenic area that I hope to explore next visit when I have more time. Don’t miss it!
“You could always find him at the Tropicana Motel. Hollywood, upstairs from Duke’s Coffee Shop. A room (actually, a suite) around a greasy pool; or a room (actually, a hole in the wall) overlooking the parking lot. Heads and tails. It summed up where he most felt at home, except for a dimly-lit bar on South Main St. in L.A. proper, down near the bus station. ‘Everybody was rushing off toward the farthest palm,’ Jack Kerouac wrote of Hollywood, ‘and beyond that was the desert and nothingness.’ Tom Waits went to the frayed and faded bar because he’d used up all his choices, rolled his dice, and whathell … He soaked himself in the after-hours milieu, a late-forties bohemian hep-cat whose jive-talking, finger-snappin’, be-bop voot-a-roonie rasp came from too many Old Golds and a lifetime’s share of busted love affairs. He was born in a moving taxi on Pearl Harbor Day, 1949, in Pomona, California. Twenty years later, he found himself as a doorman at the Heritage nightclub in L.A. In a sense, he never left that gig. Beginning with the appearance of his first album, Closing Time, in 1973, Tom would usher you into an underworld of clinking glasses and smokey conversation, peopled with Skid Row regulars and irregulars … Set up another round, bartender, and pour it like you don’t own it …” – liner notes, Anthology of Tom Waits (1985)
SIDE ONE
Ol’ 55
Diamonds on My Windshield
(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night
I Hope That I Don’t Fall in Love With You
Martha
Tom Traubert’s Blues
The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)
SIDE TWO
I Never Talk to Strangers
Somewhere (from “West Side Story”)
Burma Shave
Jersey Girl
San Diego Serenade
A Sight for Sore Eyes
Wandering Florida 