florida

Somewhere Across the South to Tampa, Florida

December 12, 2021 by Michael Huntley

Last Updated August 1, 2026

After years of traveling in our Newmar Dutch Star motorhome with the Willys Jeep in tow, Sandy and I made a big change. We sold both and bought a Ford F-150 hybrid 4×4 truck, then set our sights on Tampa, Florida to pick up a 27-foot Airstream travel trailer. It was a new chapter, and it meant driving across the country before we even had our new home-on-wheels. Somewhere is frequently a rest stop. We’ve grown to appreciate rest stops, sometimes for the view or history, but usually to pee and change drivers. Many states do an amazing job at creating a little highway oasis. We rarely drive more than a few hours to get from one place to another as we look for something interesting along the way. If it isn’t rest stops it’s gas stations with food like Flying J’s, Pilots or Loves truck stops. When we were kids, it was Stuckey’s. Even though we pass Stuckey’s along the way, we won’t stop at one, worrying it will change a fond childhood memory of pecan rolls, key chains, geodes, and scorpions embedded in resin.

A huge colorful Sculpture of a Roadrunner, Somewhere at a roadside rest stop, New Mexico

Pensacola Beach & Destin, Florida

March 22, 2020 by Michael Huntley

Last Updated: July 6, 2026

Pensacola Beach sits on Santa Rosa Island, a long barrier island that forms part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore — one of the most striking stretches of protected coastline on the Gulf of Mexico. The sand here is composed of sparkling white quartz, ground fine by millennia of wave action, and it looks almost like snow from a distance. We had camped at the National Park campground at Gulf Islands a few years earlier and loved the quiet, unspoiled character of the area. This return visit was a chance to explore further — Fort Pickens, the local restaurants, and the very different atmosphere of Destin just down the coast. A note on timing: our posts tend to run about a month behind due to editing, travel, and spotty internet. When we were here, the coronavirus pandemic had not yet begun affecting daily life.

The long fishing pier stretching into the Gulf of Mexico under dramatic dark skies at Pensacola Beach, Florida

Apalachicola Oysters & Carabelle Gulf Views

March 14, 2020 by Michael Huntley

Last Updated: July 6, 2026

Apalachicola is one of those Florida towns that operates on an entirely different frequency from the rest of the state. Located in the panhandle east of Destin, it sits where the Apalachicola Bay meets the Apalachicola River — a quiet, historic port community where life revolves around the water, the tides, and the extraordinary oysters that have made this bay famous across the country. There are fewer crowds here than on the sugar-white beaches to the west, fewer chain restaurants, and far more of the real Florida that drew people here in the first place. We had been to this area before and couldn’t wait to return.

Jake the dog exploring a foggy morning low tide on the calm shores of St. George Sound, Carabelle, Florida

St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Florida

March 6, 2020 by Michael Huntley

Last Updated: July 6, 2026

St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1931 to protect the wintering grounds for migratory birds — making it one of the oldest national wildlife refuges in the United States. Encompassing over 68,000 acres of coastal marshes, tidal flats, pine flatwoods, and open Gulf waters along the Apalachee Bay, St. Marks is one of the finest wildlife destinations in the entire southeastern United States. From Manatee Springs, it was an easy three-hour drive north to Crawfordville, Florida — and worth every mile.

Historic St. Marks Lighthouse at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Apalachee Bay, Florida, built in 1842

Chiefland, Florida Manatee Springs & Cedar Key

February 29, 2020 by Michael Huntley

Last Updated: July 6, 2026

Chiefland sits on Florida’s Nature Coast in Levy County, north of Tarpon Springs and well off the typical tourist path. The local economy runs on agriculture — peanuts, watermelons, cattle ranching, and timber — and the surrounding landscape reflects that: open fields, longleaf pine flatwoods, and the wide, slow-moving Suwannee River winding through it all. We came specifically to visit Manatee Springs State Park and to revisit Cedar Key, a tiny island community we had loved on a previous trip. Both exceeded expectations in very different ways.

White-tailed deer browsing near the campground at Manatee Springs State Park, Chiefland, Florida

Manatees at Blue Spring State Park, Florida

February 23, 2020 by Michael Huntley

Last Updated: July 6, 2026

Manatees are among our favorite animals to observe — slow, serene, and utterly unbothered by the world around them. We had encountered them several times around Florida, but always in murky, brackish coastal waters where you caught only fleeting glimpses of grey shapes drifting beneath the surface. Seeing them in the crystal-clear water of a Florida freshwater spring was something else entirely. From Lady Lake, it was a short drive northeast to Blue Spring State Park in Orange City — and it turned out to be one of the most memorable wildlife experiences of our entire journey across Florida.

Three West Indian Manatees gliding through crystal clear spring water at Blue Spring State Park, Orange City, Florida