Tag: state parks

Camping & Visiting Flagler Beach

April 11, 2023

Flagler Beach, Florida has become one of our favorite places to visit. In the last year, we have camped there 3 times, and have day tripped there many times before.

We love the old beach town feel of the place. They have been very strict about keeping buildings from growing too tall, they don’t allow building on the beach side, and have many small businesses in the downtown area. The Flagler Beach Historical Museum is right downtown and a great spot to learn the history about the area and people.

As you drive along A1A, you can see the dunes and the Atlantic clearly. They have many pedestrian crosswalks and stairs to the beach, as well as street parking. As you drive, be sure to watch for these.

We have tried a few seafood places, local breweries, coffee shops, and sandwich shops and all have been delicious. My only place I continue to return to is Sally’s Ice Cream Shop on the north end of town–they have so many choices, but the chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick is amazing, and definitely worth a longer walk on the beach.

There are several parks and trails in the area, other than just walking on the beach, and you can see all the different ecosystems that thrive along the coast, and the work to preserve them.

Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park is also there and you can see and learn about an old sugar plantation destroyed during the second Seminole War. There are also many other state and national parks along A1A as you travel north towards St. Augustine. Marineland isn’t too far, if you want a more touristy attraction.

We love camping at Bulow RV Resort, as much for the location as for it being a part of our Thousand Trails membership as an Encore park. While it isn’t fancy, the sites are mostly level and spacious (they are grass sites), and have electric and water, with many also having sewer, but there is a dumpt station at the front entrance. Traffic on the road in can be bad since they share an entrance with a village next to it, and there are no sidewalks, but we haven’t had close calls with our daily runs or walks along it, or just staying within the park. They have a community building that has gatherings, and beverages at night, and the pool and laundry room up front aren’t spectacular, but are well maintained and get the job done.

If you are in the area,

Like or comment below, and share with others to support the blog. I post weekly about teaching, traveling and family. Until next time, you can find me on TikTok & Instagram @barnesonmove2 or follow our adventures at BarnesOnMove.com, Facebook & TikTok at @BarnesOnMove

FL State Parks Tag is taking off!

A couple years ago the state of Florida put out a new vehicle tag. This tag featured a kayak in the mangroves, along with some of our favorite animals in the area.

This tag cost $35 to put one on your car. $25 of that goes directly to the state parks.

Our family loves using the state parks and with the lifestyle we were taking up, we pre-ordered our tag when the option opened up. About a year ago, we were finally able to pick up our new tag at the tag agency near our home town. It looked GREAT on our truck!

March of 2023, the social media for the Florida State Parks posted this on Facebook.

Our choice in getting this tag has helped place over 800 bottle filling stations in the state parks. This will help reduce trash in both the parks and landfills.

You can order your plate from the Florida State Parks Foundation.

Our Must Do’s While Traveling

December 7, 2022

Travelers have different approaches to how they plan what they will do on their excursions, however long or short they may be. I used to be a “squeeze it all in” kind of traveler, but found myself both exhausted and broke.

When we set out into the RV life, we heard one of the biggest mistakes was living like you were on vacation and doing the same thing long term, often ending the journey early. We decided we weren’t going to be those people.

We usually try to plan only one or two major things, and we only plan one thing a day. This allows us time to explore and not feel rushed.

But, more importantly, we have a set checklist for every place we go for what we plan to do. Our go-to activities for every stop are:

  • a geocache
  • a local brewery
  • a local restaurant
  • a nature trail, gardens, zoo, or state or national park

With this list in mind, we research online, talk to locals we know in advance or meet on site about what they like to do or recommend. This also saves us money since many of these things can be free or inexpensive with a little research.

We have Zoo passes that get us access to AZA zoos across the country.

In Florida, we have a Bok Tower Gardens membership that has reciprocity with many others as well.

We are working on geocaching in every state. If you don’t know what geocaching is, check it out at geocaching.com and get in on the fun!

We also collect stickers or bar coasters for our wall at every brewery and get to taste so many local flavors. Plus they make a great display on our wall (we do have to put the place and date on them since we are starting to forget where they all were).

We are working on visiting every state park in our home state of Florida, and all the National Parks in the US, although they will take us awhile! We have met some amazing people along the way and discovered things we would never have known about.

What are your go-to’s when traveling? I’d love to hear. Comment below or find me on social media!

Like or comment below, and share with others to support the blog. I post weekly about teaching, traveling and family. Until next time, you can find me on Tiktok @sonya.BOMSquadleader , on Instagram at sonya_barnes_a2t , or our adventures at BarnesOnMove.com, Facebook & TikTok at @BarnesOnMove

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