Ocala National Forest

After checking out of our room at Daytona Beach, we drove inland to De Leon Springs State Park.  This park was a popular vacation site in the 1950s and 60s.  The main attraction of the park is a spring that puts out a huge volume of water that forms a small pond flowing into a river.  Today the spring is popular with SCUBA classes and locals wanting to cool off in the water.  However, 50 years ago there were a number of attractions there including a water skiing elephant!  It would be difficult to imagine an elephant on skis in the small pond but we saw the pictures at the small visitor center.  Another popular attraction is the old sugar mill where sugar cane was converted to sugar back in the early 1800s.  Today, the mill houses a popular restaurant where guests can make their own pancakes all day. 

Many locals come there for breakfast throughout the day.  Since we had just eaten breakfast of cold cereal back at the motel, we didn’t stay for breakfast.  We did chat with some divers who were there for a certification class.  The main part of the spring is very funnel shaped and not large at all.  However, the spring has a cave at the bottom where divers can go nearly 200 feet back along the underground stream.  There were also a few nature trails where we walked through wetland areas and saw cypress swamps and forested areas.

We headed out from there toward Ocala National Forest.  This forest is a huge expanse of land that includes prairie, pine forest, wetland, scrub and lakes.  We drove out many of the smooth sand roads to several trailheads and walked around some of the short trails.  There were a number of places where camping is permitted and many people came and put their canoes and kayaks in the river.  It was a very pretty area. 

We came back toward Orange City were we have a room at the Days Inn.  This is an older style roadside motel with three sections of one story rooms arranged in a U shape with parking in the center.  We were pleasantly surprised that the rooms had been recently updated and were very large.  We have a bedroom with a king sized bed and a small dining area with a refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker and table.  Perhaps the best part of our room is that it was free.  We had a number of points through Wyndham Rewards and used some to get the room tonight for free.

After resting for a bit, we drove to Gemini Springs Park, a small Volusia County park that offers canoe and kayak rental, soccer fields, and hiking paths.  People where there picnicking, flying radio controlled airplanes, bicycling, and playing.  We found a few geocaches in the park as we walked around and stayed until the park was closing at 5:30. 

On the recommendation of the motel desk clerk, we drove to Brian’s Bar-B-Q.  Turns out that it was an excellent choice.  Mary ordered the brisket and I had the smoked turkey.  We both ordered cheesy bacon grits and cole slaw on the side.  We swapped half of our meats with each other.  Although the brisket was outstanding, we both agreed that the smoked turkey was among the best we had ever eaten.  Our meal was around $20 and we left unable to eat another bite.
We were surprised to learn that John Stetson, maker of the famous Stetson Hats, lived much of his life in DeLand, Florida.  Since he donated generously to DeLand University, the school was renamed John B, Stetson University in 1889.  Stetson University was the first law school in the state of Florida. 

Since our flight isn’t until 4 pm on Sunday, we will have a little more time here.  We hope to drive over to Blue Springs State Park in the morning to see manatees.  We will come back to the motel afterward to pack up and prepare for our return home.

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