Finally Fall has Arrived!!!!!

Anyone who lives in High Springs or has visited High Springs in the Fall season will tell you how great it is. Fall around here means beautiful weather and fall festivals. The weather is absolutely gorgeous. I've traveled the country quite a bit and High Springs in fall is unbeatable weather-wise. You will experience more perfect days that anywhere else. 70s with clear skies is mostly what you will discover during the day. Grab a light jacket for night since it will dip into the 40s, but is still beautiful. Light breezes and leaves turning amber, magenta, and yellow is more of what you'll find. High Springs is where you'll want to be in the Fall.

The Fall festivals around here are unmatched. It's family fun all the way around. From corn mazes to harvest festivals, to halloween themed fun. Listed here is a calendar of events for the High Springs Area:

Calendar of Events

United Downtown
Gainesville, FL SE 1st Street
Sept 16, 30; Nov 18, 25
5:30-10pm
Sponsored by United Way of NCF is a series of street festivals offering family fun, kiddie korner, and face painting, bounce house, arts and crafts, and other children's activities. Get more info at www.unitedwayncfl.org

Literacy Day
High Springs, FL O'Leno State Park
Sept 17
10a-12p
Celebrating Literacy Day with Magic and Gentle Carousel Therapy Horses, local authors, guest readers, nature arts and crafts and games for young readers.

Thornebrook Art Festival
Gainesville, FL Thornebrook Village, 2441 NW 43rd St
Sept 24-25
10a-5p
140 artists and craftsmen around Florida with concentration on the immediate area, musical groups, kids activities. More info, go to thornebrookart.org

Hart Springs Nature Festival
Bell, FL 4240 SW 86th Ave
Sept 24
9a-5p
Enjoy the natural beauty of Florida's springs. Bird watching tour, native plant and tree tour, exhibits, food, nursery, music, vendors, children entertainment. Entry fee is $2. More info at: www.hartsprings.com

Inagural Florida Monarch Festival
Earleton, FL Greathouse Butterfly Farm, 20329 NE SR 26
Sept 24
10a-3p
Monarch butterfly tagging and release, educational program from experts, arts and crafts, t-shirt contest, games, bungee jump, bounce house, children's program, face painting, live music, local food.

Harvest Hoedown
Gainesville, FL 7204 SE CR 234 (In Paynes Prarie)
Sept 25
5p
Knee-slapping hoedown to support Organic Growers, non-profit group promoting organic agriculture and healthy food. Music, food, silent auction. Price is $45. More info go to: www.foginfo.org

Quilt Show
Newberry, FL (@ Dudley Farms)
Oct 1
10a-3p
All types of quilts bring your quilt view some quilts. Enjoy traditional music and quilting discussion on Historic Dudley Farm. More info: www.friendsofdudleyfarm.org

City Wide Yard Sale
High Springs, FL James Paul Park (around the sink hole)
8a-12p
More info: www.highsprings.com

Alligator Fest
High Springs, FL O'Leno State Park
Oct 14, 15, 16
9a-5p
Native American gathering with dancers, artisans, traders, living history. Reenactment of 11 Sept 1836 (Seminole Battle of San Felasco hammock). Fun for entire family. Park admission: $4 per car

MY FAVORITE!!!!!
Coon Hollo Corn Maze
Micanopy, FL 22480 N. Hwy 441
Sept 30-Oct 30
Hay rides, farmyard playground, obstacle course, and "Fort Coon Hollo". There is so much that this farm has. The hay rides bring you up a hill where you can feed cows and spot a gator. There's derby cart races, barrel roller coaster. My kids personal favorite, the "corn jacuzzi", big feeding trows filled with dried corn. Cheap food and tons of fun. We went last year and didn't want to leave. A Blast!!!! More info: www.coonhollocornmaze.com

Newberry Fall Market Festival
Newberry, FL South Seaboard Rd
Oct 15, 16
Times TBA
BBQ Cook-off
More info: www.newberrymainstreet.org

Red, White, and Blue 4 You BBQ
Alachua, FL Women's Club 14656 S. Main St.
Oct 20
6:30p-10p
Dinner Silent Auction, door prizes. $50 admission benefiting the Military Support Group of Alachua County. Let me tell you about this group. I am personally involved and have volunteered with them over the past two years. They are exceptional people doing selfless acts to help others. Every month they send out over 100+ care packages to soldiers deployed overseas, my husband and my brother-in-law included. Come on out and help their efforts!

Butterfly Fest
Gainesville, FL Florida Museum of Natural History
Oct 22,23
10a-5p
Explore bees, bats, birds, and butterflies. In butterfly dome. The museum is also very cool too. Kids will love it. More info: www.flmnh.ufl.edu

Gainesville Pride Parade and Festival
Gainesville, FL Bo Diddley Community Plaza (Downtown)
Oct 22
1p-9p
Pride parade 1pm up University Ave. Local music, vendors, "Kid's space". Free event!

Shop, Dine, Stroll
Alachua, FL Main Street
Oct 28, Nov 18, Dec 9, Dec 16
6p-9p
Scare Crow Row (Really Cool!), Carriage rides, shopping, and music in Theater Park on historic Alachua's Main St.

Fall Festival and Car Show
High Springs, FL James Paul Park (around sink hole)
Oct 29
8a-5p
Vintage Cars, Family activities.

Trick-or-Treat on Main Street
Alachua, FL Main St.
Bring the kids to Main Street in beautiful downtown Alachua, shop owners hand out candy. Wear your costumes.

Boo at the Zoo
Gainesville, FL Santa Fe Community College Teaching Zoo.
Oct 31
3p-7p
Get there early and see the animals. Wear your costume and get candy for the kids.

Black & White Party
High Springs, FL Art Co-op 115 N. Main St
Food, Music, refreshments, black and white themed party. Each co-op member will have an exhibit of two pieces of black and white art. Drawings throughout the night. Art walk.

Harvest Festival
Alachua, FL Main St.
Nov 6
11a-5p
Food, live music, arts and crafts, kids activities, rides, games, and more.

Gator Mud Run
Newberry, FL
Nov 6
10a
5K Mud Run in Alachua County with obstacle course. Cash prizes, music, free t-shirts. Kid's course. need to register at gatormudrun@gmail.com

Downtown Festival and Art Show
Gainesville, FL Downtown
Nov 12, 13
10a-5p
This festival is huge! Over 250 of the nation's best artists. 3 stages of entertainment. Blues concert and free hands-on art activities for the kids.

Open House and Tree Lighting
High Springs, FL Downtown
Nov 18
5p-8p
Tree lighting at dark. Shops stay open late.

There are so many more happenings. I will update this list as they come up. Make sure you take part in at least one of these great events that the High Springs area has to offer. And remember, It's always sunny in High Springs.

"Great Outdoors Restaurant"

Great Outdoors Restaurant is in my opinion the greatest restaurant in the area. It's located in the historic Opera House right on Main Street in the heart of downtown High Springs. The Opera House was built in 1895. The resturant that it boasts today was purchased in 2005 and the owners have stayed true to the original style of the building and it's historic charm while installing a state of the art kitchen that serves some of the best food around.

This award winning restaurant offers steaks, seafood, salads, great appetizers, dessert, and a full liqour bar. The restaurant is broken up in four different sections. When you first walk in you are engulfed in the beautiful and charming dining room. Then next to that is the Spring House Tavern, which is the bar side where they offer 1/2 off wine nights on Thursdays and $1 drafts on Sundays. Then you have the patio. It's an art in and of itself. If you weren't blown away by the sophication and attention to detail of the main dining room and tavern, the patio is exceptional. It's really neat in it's own right.  The food is Heaven. I could eat their food on a broken picnic table and it would be just as glorious. Which by the way, they do take-out! The fourth part of the restaurant is the Opera House (upstairs) where you can reserve a date to hold private events, but we'll get to that later.

I've had their steaks, salads, seafood, and dessert; and I've never complained about a darn thing. Some of the food is the best I've ever eaten. This is coming from someone who can cook up some mean food and has tasted some of the best food the world has to offer. Which I believe is saying a lot. The prices aren't cheap, but they also won't break the bank. Dinner menu prices range from about $13-$30 depending on what you fancy.


They have an extensive wine list, but I'm more of a beer person. Who am I kidding? I'm a wine person too. They have many to choose from and they also have three private label beers: Tail-Gator Pilsner, Naked Ed Pale Ale, and Three Merry Widows. Tail-gator Pilsner is our favorite! Super Yum!

They feature live music on the patio several nights a week. We love to go and order a few drinks and appetizers and hang out on the patio listening to the local music scene. Check out their Events Calendar. A great way to spend the night!

They also hold private events in the second story opera house. I believe it can hold about 125 people. Great for business or elegant affairs.

Overall, Great Outdoors Restaurant is perfection! From the design, to the food, to the atmosphere, and the people. With every surface being a feast for the eyes, I like to think of it as "sophisticated nature".

O'Leno State Park: Great Camp Sites

O'Leno State Park has so much to offer. We knew this when we booked
four campsites and came from all parts of the state to have a good time. There were around twenty of us. Each family had their own tent and we converted the center campsite into the cook station/hang out station for the weekend, complete with a fifty foot tarp and camp fire ring.

O'Leno State Park was one of the first Florida State Parks. The old suspension bridge built in the 1930s is still there. The park is off US 441, about 6 miles north of High Springs, FL.

Unfortunately, the river at the park was too low and stagnant. This is the part of the river that sinks. It goes under ground for about three miles and resurfaces in the River Rise Preserve State Park a little ways down 441. When the river is flowing more furiously, you can hike a little ways from the swimming area to the river sink. It's really cool and almost looks like a whirlpool. The water gets sucked down and filtered through the lime rock for about three miles and rises straight out from underground to continue the Santa Fe River. It's really neat to see. The sink part is a little more interesting than the river rise. We've gone to the River Rise State Preserve before and it just looks like water coming out of the ground, almost like a shoreline, nothing special to look at, but at the same time, really interesting to see. It's amazing that the river can float underground for miles and resurface and go for miles and miles more above ground before it meets up with the Swannee River.

We set up camp and had a great time. The campsites we had were centered right around the playground which was perfect for all the kids we had with us. The bathrooms were clean and only a few steps from the campsite. The campsites were fully equipped with water and electric. RVs are welcomed and they also offer cabins and primitive campsites.

The next morning my husband and son took a walk down to the river and went across the suspension bridge onto the other side where they spotted a doe and a few babies feeding on the vegetation less than twenty feet from them. My son loved watching them. The park is also known for gopher tortioses. They even have gopher tortiose crossing signs throughout the park. We even saw one crawling down the main road. So cute!

Down by the river they even have a bigger playground and pavilions. This is where they rent kayaks and canoes. There's even some historic builings in the park.

Rum Island

Since the river was closed to swimming, we all headed out on our second day to Rum Island. It has a spring, which is perfect for kids, since it's swallow most of the way out. The kids love playing there, plus it's one of the only free springs in the area. The water is so refreshing. The park is named for the island across from the spring. Since the water in the river that separates the spring from the island was so shallow, a few people from our group were able to walk right across to the island, where a bunch of people were hanging out. Rum Island is a favorite of the locals and tourists alike, yet it remains a local secret.

We camped out another night and packed up and headed home the next day. It was a blast and we can't wait to do it again. Since the campsites are only around $20 each, it's totally affordable, family fun!

Pavilions

Suspension bridge over river

Swimming Area with Bridge

River at Night

Hugs & Kisses Consignment - 25 N. Main St High Springs, FL 32643

There are many great and unique shops in downtown High Springs. One of the best is definitely Hugs & Kisses Consignment. They used to be located in Downtown Alachua on Main St. Yet a couple months ago, have relocated to sunny High Springs. I've been told that their business has boomed ever since. There aren't many places to buy clothes in High Springs. The only places to actually buy retail would be Bealls Outlet, Family Dollar, and Dollar General. Hugs & Kisses might be considered a consignment store but their items are retail quality at consignment prices.

They are always having a sale, so you'll be sure to snag a great deal. Check them out on Facebook for upcoming sales. You'll be certain to find something you like. I never bring enough money when I go. They have a huge selection of clothing for the whole family, baby items, purses, shoes, jewelry, accessories, home decor, furniture, and much more.

I am also a consignor with them. About twice a year, I make an appointment with them and they dig through my stuff for items they think will sell. It's a great way to make extra money. Just make sure to call to make an appointment. They won't take walk-ins.

Come check out all Hugs & Kisses Consignment and downtown High Springs has to offer.

"Come here for the springs...stay here for the people."

Find me on Facebook at It's Always Sunny in High Springs

Don't forget to check out my other blogs at:

Adventures of Life and Literature for book lovers!

Army Reserves Wife for Military members or Moms

Thanks for visiting!

Camping at "Ellie Ray's River Landing"

Ellie Ray's River Landing is pretty cool. There's 99 campsites in total: RV and tent camping. The staff keeps the grounds and the restrooms immaculate. There's a dock off of the Santa Fe River, a fresh water spring for swimming, a roped off swimming area in the river (if the spring is too cold for you at a cool 72 degrees), a package/lounge, and lots of fun activities.

The first time I experienced Ellie Ray's, we were floating down the Suwanee River in my dad's boat and decided for a change of scenery. We took a turn onto the Santa Fe river and within minutes we came upon Ellie Ray's. There was so much activity. People launching their boats into the river, folks hanging out on their docked pontoon's. Kids swimming in the spring they have that flows into the river and others bathing in the river. It looked like such a hotbed of acitivity for a place in the middle of nowhere.

It's off HWY 129 in Branford, FL. It's only about 15-20 minutes from High Springs. We took US 27/41 North to 340 (Poe Springs Rd), made a left, when we got to Hwy 129, we made a right and the turn comes shortly after. There's a sign out on the main highway that's clearly visible. We made a left into the campground.

My parents bought an RV not long ago and have been picking up us (their kids) and traveling to different campsites. This past weekend, we decided to hit Ellie Ray's, since it looked so cool from the website and looked like everyone was having a good time when we saw it from our boat months before. In the RV, it was me, my 2 kids, my mom, and my dad. Hubby had to work.

The staff was so friendly. We got a prime campground near the river and next to the playground, which was awesome considering I had my two kids with me that weekend. We learned that most of the staff members live on the grounds and when we found out that the campsites didn't contain grills, a staff member generously lent us his personal grill for the weekend.  We also didn't see fire rings, which they advertised on their website, but we soon found out after asking that they don't keep them on the campgrounds, but will deliver them to your site along with firewood for free.

There were tons of RV's there. We didn't see many tents up, but maybe we didn't locate the tent sites. We parked the RV and hooked up to electric, water, and sewer and were ready to camp. We were used to camping at sites that had cable, but we soon found out there's no cable company in the area, hence all the satellite dishes we encountered. We quickly suited up for swimming in the spring and river, only to find out that we were the only ones using it. We were wondering where everyone was. The campsite was packed with RVs of all shapes and sizes, but no one in sight.

The spring was pretty and very clear. We could see straight down to the bottom. The only problem was, it was deep. No walk-in like a beach or anything, just a swimming hole. That was a problem because my kiddos can't swim. If you can swim, it's not a problem. They still had fun in the river playing with their sand toys. It was shallow enough for a ways out. My poor son lost his favorite sailboat. It drifted out into the river and under the floating docks. We thought he lost it forever. There were lounge chairs set up by the river and we hung out for a while, then it started to drizzle and we headed back to the camper (it kind of contradicts my blog heading "It's Always Sunny in High Springs", but hey, it wasn't exactly High Springs, it was Branford). We grilled up some hotdogs and got bombarded by flies. We still were wondering where in the world everyone was.We regretted not bringing my parents' boat. It would have been nice to be out on the river. Maybe that's where everyone was?

The wheather worsened and it left us nothing to do, so we didn't want to grill again for dinner and get bombarded with flies, so we decided to take a ride into Lake City for dinner. We hit Cracker Barrel, Emiliano's for coffee, and Walmart to buy my little boy a birthday gift.

 We got back to the campsite around 6pm and found it was jumping! People were everywhere. Riding golf charts, playing corn hole, socializing. The campground had suddenly come to life. We took a stroll down to the river and noticed where everyone had been. They were out on the river all day. There were boats parked everywhere.

The evening air cooled and we hung out by the campfire and toasted up some marshallows for s'mores. We found out that my mom had never actually had a s'more before. I called her "un-American". That's blasphemy to be American and never have even tasted a s'more. She had her first bite and decided it was too sweet for her. Which we all found as a shock! But hey, at least she gave it a try.

(Me, enjoying a marshmallow)

My husband ended up showing up with beer and hung out around the fire with us for a while. We put the kids to bed and walked down by the river and sat on the dock. We heard some live music being played and saw it was coming from the package/lounge. It sounded pretty good and the place was packed. We would have joined in on the festivities in the bar if my hubby didn't have to work early the next morning. But, it's definitely a place we have to check out.

The next day, my dad and my son set out to go fishing. They didn't catch anything except my son's sailboat. Thank goodness! Various staff members thanked us for our visit and said they are looking forward to the next time we come camping there. Of course, the day we were leaving the weather was PERFECT! We unhooked and went home.

All in all, Ellie Ray's is a great place to go camping if you own a boat. I heard they rent canoes too. If the weather was nicer, we would have rented one. A golf cart would be a great thing to bring. I was wasn't joking as I compared to my family that everyone circling the campground in their pimped-out golf carts blaring music to a Saturday night on the Fort Lauiderdale strip. It was similiar in a backwoods country sort of way.

That's it for now. Come and visit us in High Springs!

Check Out My Other Blogs.....

Adventures of Life and Literature

and

Army Reserves Wife

"A Day on the Santa Fe"

Living in High Springs, the Santa Fe is a place for fun in the sun. You can boat, canoe, tube, dive, swim, fish, or anything else your heart desires. The Santa Fe river is 75 miles long and flows into the great Suwanee River. The coolest thing about the river is that it sinks and flows underground for about 3 miles and then surfaces again.

One afternoon, my husband and I were lucky enough to snag a babysitter. We didn't have much money to go out to dinner and a movie or hit a local bar, but with $20 we were able to spend a day on the Santa Fe river. We bought a 12 pack of budget beer at the local S&S station and borrowed our neighbor's john boat. We put $12 worth of gas in it and headed out to the Santa Fe River.

We launched the boat off of the boat ramp on US 27. It was a beautiful day. The sun shining and a perfect breeze on the water made for an excellent day to spend outdoors. After loading ourselves (the dog included) and the beer we headed out. Around the first bend we were enchanted with a piece of yesteryear, an old train trestle bridge. The train tracks don't run along it anymore, but the pillars are still erect and rising from the water.

The river was quite shallow that day and we realized just how shallow it was when our boat stopped moving and the dog went flying over the hull of the boat into the river itself. No one was hurt, but it turned out to be pretty funny. We lifted the boat over the shallow spot and kept cruising. There's not much along the Santa Fe, just nature, homes, and a few fresh water springs along the way. The homes range from single-wides on stilts to magnificent mansions along the river. They are all so interesting to look at while cruising down the river. Once we hit another shallow spot we decided to turn around.

We later found out that we should have launched the boat a little further down the river at Rum Island's boat ramp. It's a much more deep part of the river. It's right before you hit Blue Springs and Ginnie Springs. After we turned around we headed the opposite way from the boat ramp. On approaching O'Leno State Park territory, we noticed a family fishing and then noticed another shallow spot. We were deadlocked, but that was no problem. The kids were in good hands and we just wanted some relaxing time together. So we cut the engine and just drifted along. Suddenly, we see our dog perk to attention. We glance in the general vicinity that he's staring and spot a deer in midday crossing the river in the shallow spot, from one side to the other. It stopped right in the middle to take a sip of water. It's always so majestic to see wildlife so undisturbed and natural in its habitat. We just sat back and watched as it joined its family of about 5 other deer on the opposite side of the river.

After floating a while and admiring the sights, we took our paddle and turned the boat around. Still drifting, we spotted a snake bird dive down from the tallest branch of one of the trees and submerge into the watery depths. We kept watching seeing when he was going to poke his head up. It took quite a while and we were wondering if he ever will come back up. He eventually did, but just his head did to where it really looked like a snake. Our dog, Blue, seemed to enjoy watching it.

It was so quiet on the river. We were just enjoying our peaceful quiet, kid-free day. We didn't say much to each other, just pointing out something here or there, but I know we were feeling the same thing, complete relaxation and contentment. We would have stayed all day in that deadlocked part of the river, just admiring the sights and sounds of the beautiful Santa Fe river, but it was time to head back to reality, but we will never forget our Day on the Santa Fe, and can't wait until we can do it again.

For more information on some of the places listed in this blog, go to:

O'Leno State Park

Ginnie Springs

Blue Springs Park

Also check out my other blogs at:

Adventures of Life and Literature

Army Reserves Wife

"Places to Stay"

The most ideal place to stay in High Springs is with Nature. Outdoors. Camping. But, if you prefer to stay indoors I've listed a few hotels/inns to fit your fancy along with great campsites.

Hotels/Inns in the High Springs Area:

Top Picks:

*Grady House Bed & Breakfast

*Quality Inn, Alachua

Other Great Hotels/Inns:

* Rustic Inn
*High Springs Country Inn
*Econo Lodge, Alachua
*Americas Best Value Inn, Alachua
*Royal Inn: 16305 NW 163rd Ln
                   Alachua, FL 32615-5278

                   (386) 518-3026

Hotels/Inns To Stay AWAY From:

*Cadillac Motel
*Alamo Motel

I hate to be negative about those last two, but I want completely honest information on this blog. So its users will have an experience filled with integrity. To give those last two motels credit, they are relatively cheap, but if you have other choices, go with them.

Camping in High Springs:

There are numerous campgrounds in High Springs. Probably too many to name. Here are a few worth mentioning. The list consists of both tent sites and RV camping. Some have springs, some along the river, and some without water. Here they are:

*Ginnie Springs Outdoors
*O'Leno State Park
*Blue Springs Park
*High Springs Campground
*Camp Kulaqua
*Ellie Ray's River Landing

Follow these links to all the respective website for more information.

"A Nice Place To Be Since 1883"

 The historic charm of High Springs, FL always warms my heart. Seven years ago, I was at the University of Florida attending as a student. I needed to take a science lab for my degree. I luckily stumbled across the most awesome lab ever. It was a geology lab that was once a week. The awesome thing about it was that all the class was was a series of field trips to local geological sites. I thought graduating grade school would cure me of school field trips, but nope. I loved going on field trips even as a sophomore in college.

High Springs happened to be one of the places we visited while enjoying these field trips. From the very second our caravan of college students drove through downtown High Springs...I was hooked. The charming downtown called to me. The people browsing shops and dining in the one of a kind restaurants. The country feel to the outskirts and of course the natural wonders that sprawl throughout the city. A city that spans three counties. The population is between 4,000 and 5,000 residents, but people come from all around to enjoy swimming, diving, tubing, boating, canoeing, hiking, and camping in the natural wonder of High Springs.

When my husband returned from Iraq after his first deployment, we were eligible for the VA loan. Since I was nearly done with my degree and our lease was almost up on our apartment, we decided to search for a home to buy. We both grew up in the Fort Lauderdale area of south Florida, so we were used to the city. After seeing what home prices were in the Gainesville area, we knew all we could afford was a small condo.

So, we figured to look just outside the city of Gainesville. I kept thinking about those field trips I took with my geology lab over two years prior and couldn't stop thinking about High Springs. We found tons of listings in High Springs for single family homes. From historic homes to new homes. We found an adorable starter home and bought it. We never looked back and love that we made the decision to make High Springs our home. A dog and two children later, we are still enjoying our starter home and loving every minute of it.

More pics of the beauty of High Springs: