Recently we went on a little get away for a couple of days, to visit Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park in Florida, and we also explored the Tallahassee Florida area including The State Capital Building and The Grove Museum.....
(Photos taken April 29 & 30th 2025)
On our first day of exploring we went to Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park. This is a photo of the backside of the Lodge, it is so unique....the whole place was beautiful and the ceilings were especially beautiful....they were artistically hand painted....from the minute you walk into the lodge, it feels like you are stepping back in time...
Inside the Lodge there is a gift shop, with an old fashioned vintage soda fountain bar that had stools to sit at, and they sold all kinds of snacks...coke floats, ice cream, and hot dogs. On the other side of the Lodge there is a very nice sit down restaurant that had white tablecloths and a great selection of menu items at affordable prices. The lobby was full of charm with leather sofas to sit in and watch the black and white movie they had playing, which was Creature From The Black Lagoon....of course it's an actual Lodge, so there are rooms for lodging there as well....
Just beyond the windows of the Lodge are the crystal clear waters of Wakulla Springs and the swimming area....
The grounds of the park are so pretty and well kept....
I didn't get a close up of the swimming area because it was busy with swimmers, but the water is very clear and pretty, and a lot of people were enjoyed the cool water....you might can see it just beyond the fence....
Some old movies have been filmed here to include Tarzan's Secret Treasure and Creature From The Black Lagoon.....
My husband booked us a reservation in advance the day before, so we could take the scenic boat ride, which lasted about 45 minutes....the scenery was so pretty and we saw some alligators, birds, turtles and a deer....
These little model boats in miniature size were inside one of the cases that were inside the Waterfront Visitor Center,.....I think they are so cute! There were a lot of interesting things to look at inside the Visitor Center, as we waited for it to be time for our boat ride, it was fun looking at all the things....
On the grounds of the park were some storyboards that were interesting too....
There are nature trails at the State Park as well. We took a walk on one of them...they are wooded with native old growth trees, so nice, shady and peaceful....
This is the entrance to the Lodge near the parking area. We enjoyed our time spent here at Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park!
Day 2 We explored a little bit of Tallahassee Florida, and the downtown area, we went to the Historic State Capital Building first, and then we went to the New State Capital Building that's behind it, to see city views from the 23rd floor, (the observation floor), and the views were great of the city....
Here we are standing behind the Victorian Era life size cut-out people inside the Historic Capital Building...
Here's the rotunda with it's pretty stained glass....there were a lot of storyboards to read and we spent a lot of time there.
After exploring downtown, we went to The Grove Museum....The historic mansion and grounds are beautiful....it's a hidden oasis inside the city limits of Tallahassee, you wouldn't even know it was there.... it's location was very surprising....
I took photos of a couple of the rooms inside....there were many storyboards to read about the history here, a guided tour was available as well, but we didn't get there in time to do that tour. After we got here, we actually wished we had spent less time at the Capital Buildings, and more time here, because it was so peaceful and relaxing here. So anyway, we just took the self guided tour, because we didn't allow for enough time to do all we wanted to do. This place has a rich and interesting history and the old mansion is truly a work of art.
This is a special place.....while standing underneath the big old trees....I wanted to stay longer and longer...and just let my imagination carry me away to another place in time....that's what places like this do, and I think that's why I love visiting them every chance I can. We were in awe and amazed by the size of these massive old trees....and love the southern charm of the moss draping them! We will definitely visit here again if we are in the area again, and next time we'll bring a picnic...they have several picnic tables. (By the way the parking and entry fee is free).
It was a fun few days of exploring things we had never seen before!
Thanks for coming along with us!
To find out more about The Grove Museum you can visit their official website
HERETo find out more about Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park you can visit their official website
HERE
If you are looking for more things to see and do in the Tallahassee Florida area, be sure to check out my post on Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park
HERE
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