Fall in officially here which means Christmas is right around the corner. The weather is finally cool enough to do outside activities without dying.
I am a huge fan of packing up and hitting the road but along with the cooler temps comes tons of activities that eat up whatever spare time we may have had before. If long road trips aren’t a possibility how about schedule a day trip to get out and enjoy the sites as well as make some memories that will last.
When I tell people that I live in Florida they immediately think “Wow, I bet you are at the beach all the time" or "I bet you have been to Disney a hundred times." The beach is great, I love sitting and relaxing to the steady waves of the ocean or hanging out in the happiest place on earth but Florida has so much more to offer than just beaches and Disney.
There are several state parks in the north Florida area and some of them offer camp sites or cabins to rent. This is an amazing way to take a day or two and reconnect with your family.
One of my family's favorite camping sites is Gold Head State Park.
I will be honest it is our favorite because unlike the rest of my family I am not a big fan of hiking and bugs and being hot. Gold Head has wonderful air conditioned cabins with huge screen porches so for me to relax and enjoy nature from afar while the rest of my family hikes to their heart's content.
Gold head has several streams and lakes and even a large ravine you can take a stairwell down into.
It is a peaceful place to get away from the busyness and just reconnect.
The fees are minimal and it is less than an hour outside of town. The beauty of the park will show you that Florida has so much more to offer than just the beaches.
If you can’t get away for a couple of days, consider taking a special day trip. Some upcoming special events around town are –
The St. Augustine Night of Lights begin on November 20th – January 1st
You can drive in your car to see the lights. Add some hot cocoa and Christmas music and I guarantee you will be making memories that will last long past whatever the must-have gift will be this year. If you don’t want to drive you can take a train ride with Old Trolley’s nights of the light tour.
There is a festival called Winter Fest at Adventure Landing. The festival has everything from light displays, Santa, and daily snowfall. Living in Florida snowfall is a definite memory maker. Check out Jaxwinterfest.com for all the details.
As we get closer to Christmas there are also several large displays of lights that you can drive through while listening to Christmas music being played over the radio. The new always posts where the most amazing displays are in town.
A housing development about a mile from our house all gathered together to create an over the top display they had an electrician that lived there create these light balls that seem to float in the air. The neighborhood reminded me of a scene from the movie Tangled. We must have driven through it a dozen times. Each time it was just as special.
Another great way to make memories that will last is to make the holiday magical for someone else. There are so many people who are hurting during the holidays too wrapped up in what they are missing to enjoy what they have left. I was one of those people and to have someone take the time just to make sure we were ok helped me to start healing.
The holidays are magical. Take the time to go somewhere or do something so you can capture some of that magic for you and your family. If you get the chance pass on a little magic to someone else, you won't be sorry.
