Nature Break
Take a break from life by enjoying the serene nature that Florida and Georgia offer. Taking a week off from work and school can help not only with physical health, but also mental health. It’s a well-known tradition that a lot of students participate in Spring Break by traveling somewhere warm for the week.
Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia Aquarium
Visiting the Georgia Aquarium for the first time is amazing. You will want to be able to participate in everything they have to offer. Interacting with dolphins, sea lions, sea otters, penguins, seals, and belugas. Personally, it was calming to just sit in the small auditorium style area, and just watch the panorama view of the fish just swimming by, as well as seeing the even larger auditorium, most likely used for shows or specific viewings, just to sit and watch all the different fish swim by, including getting excited every time I saw the sea turtle that kept swimming by.
The gift shop has a lot of offer, especially for someone who likes to get souvenirs. Clothing, jewelry, stuffed animals, some eco-friendly items, like reusable straws, or mugs and cups. The thing I liked best about the gift shops, is that they don’t have plastic bags. They either give you a chance to buy a reusable bag, which is made from recycled items, or you just carry your items out, after they give you a sticker that says you paid.
Stone Mountain Park
Not that far outside of Atlanta, Georgia, is Stone Mountain Park. For someone who recently wasn’t into going out for day hikes, it was fun. To see everyone who comes out normally for their daily exercise, was also fun, after finding out that people like to hike to the top and then have a picnic there before venturing back down. There is also another way to get up and down Stone Mountain, a gondola. In the park there are also 5 other trails that you can make your way along. The park doesn’t only have trails and the mountain, it also has other places of interest, there is a carving on the side of the mountain, and a large golf course. As well as places to eat and other exhibits, including an inn, resort, and campground. There’s also a historical and education center in the park.
Tallahassee, Florida
Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park
My friend that I visited while over spring break really wanted to show me this park. Being from the Midwest, it’s hard to imagine that flowers continue to grow. The gardens sit on a lake and is better to walk through and take your time, while the other section of the park is more for hiking, biking, swimming, canoeing, and other related things. The garden has different areas to walk through, with different types of plants in those areas. Like woodland area, magnolias, azaleas, camellias. Including also having a reflection pool, basically a secret garden, because it’s surrounded by walls. Time can be spent just admiring the beauty of the areas and soaking in the calmness of it all. After seeing the gardens in the spring, really got my motivation started to have my own garden started back home after the cold turns to heat.
St. George Island
Being just a few hours from Tallahassee, this island was my first view of the Gulf of Mexico. The beach was so calming, even being unprepared. There is an education center/ gift shop just off the beach. It wasn’t open when I visited, but I would’ve loved to visit if they were. They have a very large souvenir shop, with jewelry, name tags, shells, items made from shells, clothing, beach clothing, water items. Making it a keepsake shop, as well as having items for those who came unprepared. The beach is so peaceful, even being unprepared to dip my toes in, I could’ve spent hours at the beach, and gotten even more sunburnt than I already had gotten.
Wakulla Springs
Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park
This park is also around an hour or so away from Tallahassee, making it easy to be able to visit easily if staying in the area. The park has a boat tour, which sells out quickly early in the day. If wanting to participate it’s better to know before hand that you want to go, and then go early in the day to get a spot on the boat. The tour isn’t that expensive, which probably makes it easier for it to sell out. The area is known for alligators, and other aquatic life like manatees. Which I didn’t get to see on my visit but was cool to know that I could’ve been close to the wildlife. Even without seeing the aquatic wildlife, I still got to see the birds, around the area. There is a swimming area with a high jump off area which doubles as a higher lookout point. It’s easy to spend a long while up there just taking in the fresh air, listening to the sound of nature, and hoping to see some of the aquatic wildlife.
Indialantic Beach
Being just off a busy town, this beach was a lot busier. People lying in the sun, playing in the water, fishing just off the beach. This was a first view of what it’s like to live near a beach, everyone wants to be near or on it. Also being the first time I’ve seen the Atlantic Ocean, that I can and will remember for a very long time. I was prepared this time, not being clad in normal beach wear, because of a sunburn that would’ve gotten much worse if not. The calming nature of the beach, as you walk up and down it isn’t easily matched by walking up a mountain. It was so amazing to see, as well as also extremely scary if you think about it too long. Especially being a first time that has yet to come, swimming in the ocean instead of just standing in the waves.
Melbourne, Florida
Brevard Zoo
Although being a smaller zoo, this zoo was amazing. They have so many exhibits, as well as different shows, and interactive extras. Being able to feed the giraffes was breathtaking. Although I was hoping to be able to get my whole hand licked, it was still incredibly amazing to be able to feed the tall animals. When I was there, lots of others were there too. Someone just walked by the giraffes after I finished feeding her, and she went to get a drink of water, then looked up and sprayed the people walking by! I just had to laugh, and over hearing that she had gotten it on video, even if she ended up wet. The other encounter that was amazing was being able to go into a bird enclosure and feed the lorikeets. I haven’t been around birds that can be pets before and having them sit on my hand, arm, and shoulder was so cool. I just wanted to go back and get more food so they could continue to use me as a perch while eating. The last interactive thing I got to be a part of was the train ride through the middle of some of the exhibits. The fun thing about this ride was it happened to derail while we were on it. The guide was doing exactly what she normally would’ve been doing, but this time it happened to derail. It lengthened the ride, by us sitting in the cars, while other zoo employees had to bring in the heavy equipment to be able to lift of the engine and put it back on the tracks. Things that go wrong will always be in your memory, especially if you visit the place again, or a similar place in the future. But the nice thing about it, was that we got to sit and watch some of the wildlife in the area, while waiting for the train to be put back on the rails.
Emily Baugh is a travel writer and explorer, who isn’t afraid to try different things, even if for the first time. She lives in Minnesota with her dog Blaze, who is an energetic husky, who has a heart as large as he is. She dedicates her free time to pursuing her various hobbies of reading, writing, yarn crafts, and learning all she can about living sustainably.
The Wandering Luxx 