Desiree ☀️🌈 | Travel & Eats

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If you’re looking for the ✨REAL Florida✨, put Silver Springs State Park on your list because this place is basically Florida showing off. 😂🌴 💰 Cost: $8 per vehicle for 2–8 people 📍 Location: Silver Springs, just outside Ocala ⏰ Hours: 8 AM to sunset, 365 days a year And the best part? You have SO many ways to explore it. 🚤 Glass-bottom boat rides let you see straight into the crystal-clear spring and spot fish, turtles, plants and other wildlife beneath you. There are 30-minute and 90-minute tours, and tickets can sell out, so getting there early is a good idea. 🛶 You can also kayak, canoe or paddleboard down the Silver River, or take one of the park’s trails through pine forests, oak hammocks and Florida swamp. 🌿 And if hiking isn't really your thing, don't worry. There are paved paths along the river, gardens, picnic areas, benches and plenty of places to just sit around and enjoy the scenery. Now let's talk about the wildlife because THIS is where Florida gets fun. 👀 🐊 GATORS: Yes, alligators live in the Silver River. They’re cold-blooded reptiles, which means you’ll often see them soaking up the Florida sunshine to warm themselves up. They can also hold their breath underwater for quite a while, so if one disappears… don't assume it went very far. 😂 🐋 MANATEES: You can sometimes spot manatees in the Silver River, especially when they're looking for warmer water. These gentle giants are mammals, not fish, so they have to come to the surface to breathe air. And despite looking like they should be terrible swimmers, they can actually move surprisingly quickly when they want to! 🦃 And Florida has SO much more: Silver Springs is home to turtles, deer, wild turkeys, armadillos, foxes, gopher tortoises, Sherman’s fox squirrels, limpkin and tons of other birds. If you're REALLY lucky, you might even spot a bobcat, coyote or Florida black bear. 🐻🌿 Basically, you can show up expecting a pretty spring and leave having seen half of Florida's wildlife department. 😂 🎟️ Glass-bottom boat prices: $17 adults for 30 minutes, $35 adults for 90 minutes. Kids and seniors get reduced prices. There’s also a restaurant, playground, restrooms, camping, cabins and picnic areas, so this is an easy one for a family day, a chill nature day or a “I want to see Florida wildlife but I don't feel like hiking 12 miles” day. 😂 Save this one for your Florida bucket list because Silver Springs is absolutely worth seeing. 🌴💦🐊 #SilverSprings #FloridaStateParks #FloridaWildlife #FloridaTravel #ThingsToDoInFlorida

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Florida is the best place to see wildlife in the US and if you disagree, you can argue with your mama 😂🌴 If you’re around Gainesville, Ocala, or Orlando and want to see Florida wildlife WITHOUT going to a zoo, save this list 👇 🐊 Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, Gainesville One of the best places around Gainesville for wildlife. You can see alligators, wild horses, bison, deer and an insane variety of birds. And yes, sometimes you can literally see bison just hanging out in Florida like this is completely normal. 🐊 La Chua Trail, Gainesville If you want ALLIGATORS, put this one high on your list. The wetlands around the trail are also great for spotting birds and other wildlife. 🦅 Sweetwater Wetlands Park, Gainesville An easy wildlife viewing spot with wetlands, boardwalks and plenty of opportunities to see alligators and birds. It's one of those places where you can go for a quick walk and somehow spend two hours looking at animals. 🐢 San Felasco Hammock Preserve, Gainesville More forest than wetlands, so you're looking for a different kind of Florida wildlife here. Deer, wild turkeys, birds and, if you're lucky, some of the harder-to-spot mammals. 🐊 Silver Springs State Park, Silver Springs This place is WILD. Alligators, turtles, fish, manatees, deer, wild turkeys, fox squirrels, gopher tortoises and an incredible number of birds. You can also take a glass-bottom boat to see the wildlife living beneath that ridiculously clear water. 🐘 Blue Spring State Park, Orange City Come here during manatee season and you could see hundreds of manatees gathered in the warm spring water. The park has a boardwalk specifically designed for viewing them without disturbing them. 🥹 🦌 Wekiwa Springs State Park, near Orlando Yes, go for the beautiful spring, but keep your eyes open on the trails and around the river too. This is another great place to experience Florida's natural habitats right outside Orlando. 🦅 Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas If you're into birds, bring your binoculars. This massive restored wetland is a great place to look for wading birds, raptors and other wetland wildlife. 🐊 Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive One of my favorite types of Florida adventure because you can explore by car while looking for alligators, birds and other wildlife along the way. 🌿 And that's the thing I LOVE about Florida... You don't have to go to a zoo to see incredible animals. You can literally drive 20 minutes, walk down a trail and suddenly you're standing there watching an alligator, a manatee, a wild horse or a bald eagle living its completely normal Florida life. Save this for your Central Florida wildlife bucket list! 🐊🦅🐢 ##FloridaWildlife##FloridaNature##FloridaVacation ##OrlandoFlorida##FloridaTravel

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✨ ACTUALLY FREE THINGS TO DO IN ST. AUGUSTINE ✨ Okay, technically you CAN spend money here… but you don’t have to 😂 The St. Augustine Festival of Life is FREE to attend, which already gets my attention! It’s the number one place to see beautiful Christmas lights🎄 Here’s my little money-saving tip: instead of paying to park right in the middle of everything, park across the way and walk over the bridge into St. Augustine. It’s a little extra walking, but if your goal is to make this a REALLY free day, this is the move. 👏 Once you’re there, you can walk around, check out all the vendors, enjoy the food, browse local art and vintage finds, grab coffee or a hot chocolate, and soak up all the festive St. Augustine vibes. ☕️🎄 There aren’t a ton of traditional “souvenirs” in the way you might expect, but there’s plenty of stuff that will tempt you to take something home anyway. Think vintage goodies, artwork, handmade finds, food and all the little things you suddenly convince yourself you absolutely need. 😂 And if you want to see more of the city without walking everywhere, you can also check out the golf cart tours or take a boat tour and see St. Augustine from the water. 🚤✨ Now, a VERY important warning: if crowds make you want to immediately turn around and go home… this might not be your event. 😂 It can get BUSY, especially during the popular times, so plan accordingly and give yourself plenty of time. My advice? Plan your trip NOW, pick a day, check the event schedule, figure out your parking plan, wear comfortable shoes and bring your appetite. 😂 Free admission + historic St. Augustine + food + art + vintage finds + coffee + hot cocoa = honestly, a pretty good excuse for a day trip. Save this for your St. Augustine trip and send it to the person you’re dragging with you! ❤️ #StAugustineFlorida #StAugustine #FloridaTravel #FestivalofLights #FloridaVacation