Museum Day 2010 | Ringling Museum

I am kicking myself (literally, if I were that flexible) for not being aware of Museum Day until this year. After all, I love museums, and I love free stuff! Which makes a combo of the two absolutely the most delicious thing ever.

What is Museum Day?

It's an annual event sponsored by the kind institution called the Smithsonian where a multitude of museums around the country offer free admission for one day. It's usually at the end of Summer, and on a Saturday.

This first year in which we took part, we decided to descend upon the John & Mable Ringling Museum.

Christmas!

How far away is Christmas?

Isn’t that at the top of every child's mind all year long?

You may think that it is only three months away and it'll be here in the blink of an eye, but for those of you who live in the Central Florida area it's always only a mere 30-40 minutes away.

Cassadaga

"Intriguing" would probably be the best word to describe Cassadaga, FL.

And "creepy".

My understanding of Cassadaga prior to our visit was one that sounded like, "Miss Cleo lives there!" Or something. As in, it's where you would go if you ever need your fortune told. Or if you ever want to communicate with a loved one that had passed on.

Blue Springs and the Manatees

Blue Springs State Park, the largest spring on the St. John’s River, provides a safe haven for manatees from November to March. We were able to witness this breathtaking environment this past February.

When the cooler weather and water temperatures occur in the St. John’s River, the manatees seek the warmer waters of the spring, which stays at a constant 73F. On our visit to Blue Springs, there were over one hundred manatees and their calves swimming in the shallow water.

Bok Tower Gardens

On Iron Mountain, one of the highest points in peninsular Florida (a whopping 295 feet above sea level!), sits a gorgeous Singing Tower in an area called Bok Tower Gardens. The tower is named so because of the 60 carillon bells that ring beautifully every hour, and also at 1 and 3pm for a special concert.

Sunken Gardens, The Pier, and Pass-a-Grille

May 30, 2010 we set out for a birthday adventure in St. Petersburg, FL. "St. Pete" as locals refer to it by is located on a peninsula between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

Sunken Gardens

Our first destination of the day was to a botanical garden that is midst the center of the city. The Sunken Gardens are 4 acres of some of the oldest tropical plants in the area. The garden began in 1903 by avid gardener George Turner (no relation) who purchased the land below sea level that included a shallow lake. He drained the lake to create the “sunken” garden.

Ponce de Leon Inlet Light Station

Once upon a time (April 4th, 2010) in a land far, far away (Ponce Inlet, about an hour away from Orlando), there stood (still standing) a tall, tall (it actually is pretty tall; tallest in Florida, in fact) lighthouse.

We Were Here

The bad thing about living in Florida is ... well, the bad things about living in Florida are the humidity, the heat, the lack of variety in the terrain, the nasty bugs, the lack of decent hiking trails, and the lack of a big city life.

BUT, the good things about living in Florida are the many, many, many days that we have available to us that are absolutely gorgeous, the ever-interesting tropical wildlife and vegetation, the beaches, the beautiful sunsets, the equally-beautiful sunrises, and the wonderful friends.