Sundialer: Journey of Joy - Florida chapter one

I started out this Friday morning reading blogs. Caught up on the San Francisco travels of our daughter, Jamie extrajamplease.blogspot.com Then moved over to read posts from her second cousin, Gill Hunt, writing from her semester abroad in Rouen, France allonsy13.blogspot.com This preamble is only a way for me to declare, "I can't believe how quickly March has flown!" My friend and fellow road tripper, Lynn Grady and I have been in Florida since March 3rd. Despite unseasonably cool weather up and down the coast (we're still waiting for our first 80-degree beach day), we're enjoying sun, sand, sights and sounds of the surf right outside our door.

So far we've visited Jacksonville, Sarasota, Boca Raton, and now we're wrapping up a week in Vero Beach before working our way back to North Carolina next week. Here are some highlights from our first week in the Sunshine State:

Tallulah Falls State Park, Georgia

We stopped on our drive south, only 30 miles from Lynn's house, to explore this natural wonder. The views are well-earned, with a steep walk down and back up the 600+ steps. With thousands of annual visitors, it's well designed, with ten lookouts and a sturdy platform at the bottom of the gorge for surround-sound of the falls.

Breathtaking views at every turn

630 steep steps round trip - not for the faint of heart

200' long suspension bridge - don't look down!

White waterfalls and deep green water at the floor of the gorge

View across the gorge

Jacksonville - Neptune Beach, the Kinglsey Plantation and Fernandino

We spent three fun days with Lynn's brother, Patrick and his partner, Todd. They recently moved into an amazing condo on the Intracoastal Waterway on the north end of the city. Three miles to Neptune Beach, and a six-minute ferry ride to Amelia Island, Little Talbot State Park, Kingsley Plantation and the artsy beach town on Fernandino.