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We visited Castillo de San Marcos during the Nights of Lights festival, the day after Fort Matanzas and Washington Oaks Gardens, and spent about 2 hours here. We toured the fort, watched them fire the cannon, and ate Publix subs on the seawall for lunch. This guide covers what it costs, when the cannon demonstrations…
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We visited Washington Oaks Gardens after Fort Matanzas National Monument and spent about 2 hours here. We walked the Gardens Trail, hiked the Jungle Road and Timucuan loop, and browsed Second Saturday plant sale, where we bought a stick cactus. We ate lunch at the food trucks set up for the sale. This guide covers…
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We visited Fort Matanzas National Monument in the morning and spent around 2 hours here. We took the free ferry to the fort, toured it, climbed the ladder to the roof, and walked the Nature Trail near the Visitor Center. This guide covers how the boarding passes work, what the fort is like inside, and…
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We stopped at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park while driving through Atlanta on the return trip from Ellijay. We hiked to the summit and back in 51 minutes, saw Stone Mountain in the distance from the top, and got back on the road. This guide covers what changed in 2026 (you can no longer drive…
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We stopped at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park in early September on the drive up to north Georgia and spent about an hour and 45 minutes here. We watched the film, walked through the museum, stepped inside an Earth Lodge with a 1,000-year-old floor, climbed the Great Temple Mound, and finished with a lunch downtown…
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Quick Facts Overview Gemini Springs Park is a 210-acre Volusia County park built around two spring-fed pools that once served as a popular local swimming hole before closing to swimmers years ago. What’s left is a pleasant, quiet park for walking, biking, and picnicking. The park contains oak hammock trails and the historic remnants of…
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Is Black Rock Mountain State Park Worth Visiting? Yes, especially if you are already visiting Rabun County or Clayton in North Georgia. As Georgia’s highest state park at 3,640 feet, Black Rock Mountain delivers big mountain views without requiring an all-day hike. We hiked in on an early September evening after a morning of trout…
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Silver Springs is the largest spring formation in Florida, and its 30+ springs discharge as much as 500 million gallons of water a day. It was Florida’s first tourist attraction, dating back to the 1870s, and you can still feel the old-Florida charm: glass-bottom boats, an old-school milkshake bar, and wild monkeys swinging through the…
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Quick Facts Overview Alexander Springs is one of only 27 first-magnitude springs in Florida, and it is one of the most family-friendly near Orlando. The pool is very large at around 300 feet across, with a naturally gentle slope instead of the steep drop-offs you find at springs like Troy Spring. The water stays a…
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A return-to-office changes more than your calendar. If you’ve built your rig around boat ramps, forest roads, and weekend hunting trips, a return-to-office job offer changes more than just your calendar. It changes what your vehicle needs are and puts a price on the flexibility you’ve been taking for granted. Many people make the decision…
Castillo de San Marcos: Fees, Cannon & Visitor Guide
