I first went to my friend, Rachel's, house. I had wanted to see her little girl, but she was at her dad's house. Rachel and I reminisced about going to Saint Marks the week of my graduation from FSU. She was my neighbor at Hidden Villas then. My Mom and Dad had both come down to see my graduation. Martha, Rachel, my Mom, and I had all gone to Saint Marks. My Dad was flying in later so Perry picked him up from the airport and brought him out to meet us at Saint Marks. Once we were all there we ate dinner at Ootz's Too. As Rachel and I drove by Ootz's we laughed about the drive back on the dirt road that led to Natural Bridge.
Perry, Vincent, and I when we lived in Tallahassee would always go down to the lighthouse and then go to the right to walk out to a rock jetty. Because of several hurricanes the grassy walkway is still there separating the fresh water from the gulf but the rock jetty that we could climb out on during low tide has been swept away. Since the jetty wasn't there Rachel and I headed out to the left of the lighthouse, breaking from tradition but allowing me to see several beaches that I don't think I ever realized were there.
Spring was defiantly in the air. Flowers were blooming and grass was growing everywhere. Looking back from the gulf towards the wildlife refuge I kept thinking that if I didn't know better the grassy areas could be mistaken for the Savannah grasslands of Africa. I even joked that I could imagine seeing a long neck of a giraffe in the clumps of pine trees growing here and there.
Flowers in Tallahassee and especially along the beach don't seem to be as showy but they are still pretty. I found these tiny little pink buds growing in the sand. If you look closely at the picture you can see the holes from crabs peeping out from the sand. The purple flowers below were also along the beach but a little further from the water. They were growing on a low lying shrub. They seemed to be everywhere.
Rachel and I walked along several different paths until the water bottles we had drank during the drive down caught up with us. Hearing the water from the tide coming in didn't seem to help matters.
Here is a better picture of Rachel. It was warm and windy, but after this past February it was a welcomed change.
I tried to catch the sea foam that was along the edge of the water. You can also see some of the grass growing along the beach.
Here I was trying to be Samson! The palm trees were so close together I couldn't help myself. You can tell I was having fun, enjoying the break, and catching up with Rachel.
Tallahassee had a lot of rain before Perry and I got down there. It even rained pretty heavy one night while I was there. When Rachel and I were leaving Saint Marks and driving back towards the visitors center we noticed lots of high water along the road.
There were signs along the way saying they were preparing for prescribed burns but I'm sure all the water was keeping them from doing it when they had planned.
While Rachel went into the visitors center I walked a little of the trail around the pond outside the visitors center. The shade felt good but also seeing all the plants and nature was very calming. The whole time Rachel and I were there the only time we really saw people was down at the lighthouse and a few horse back riders along the road.
Riding a horse or bike along some of the trails at Saint Marks would be fun but it could get pretty buggy. This was probably early enough in the year that it wasn't too bad for some people. We did notice that the horseback riders were actually walking the horses (probably because of the heat) on our way out of the park.
Sometimes getting to see all of the nature around Tallahassee reminds me that I don't get out and see the nature in Louisville as much as I should, just as when I lived in Tallahassee I didn't get out to see nature as much. I guess sometimes you have to pretend to be a tourist in your own city to actually appreciate some of the things that are there. Or, better yet...I could invite lots of friends and family to come visit us in Louisville so I can show them around...and get to be the tour guide for them!
---Stephanie
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