Devil’s Den
Road Trip Time! My friend wanted to take a dip in Devil’s Den for her birthday, so of course I was interested in experiencing this natural underground spring! We planned to stay the night at the location to wake up bright and early to explore the springs and dry cave before continuing the road trip.
The cabins in Cedar Lakes Woods and Gardens Preserve are beautiful! The surrounding land is exquisite with tons of plant life and wildlife to see. We rented two separated cabins for the night and awoke for our morning dive. If you don’t stay on the grounds, be sure to arrive early, it gets pretty crowded during the summer months. Also, the water is pretty chilly, so brace yourself! It’s quite the experience. It’s dim lighting and clear waters is a unique dive, and more experienced divers can also opt out of the snorkeling session and scuba dive instead to explore further.
Camping near Ocala, FL
After a wild morning swim, it was time to head back on the road. While the majority of my friends decided to skip the camping experience, a few of us drove to Ocala to spend the night camping in Clearwater Recreational Park. The folks there were some of the sweetest people I’ve ever met! Some of them camp out there for months on end, they offered to help us inflate our air-mattresses since we did not have a pump and they even gave us some other goodies to use for the night.
The boys built a bonfire where we spent the night talking and taking pictures near the lake. Caution: Bugs! The tree above our tent space was covered in roaches, but we managed. Bring warm clothing, even though it was a hot day, at night the temperature dropped and it got pretty chilly. Beautiful experience though! I’m not much of a camping gal (maybe glamping is better for me), but it was a wonderful night under the stars.
Early the next morning, we drove to two separate parks, Rainbow Springs and Alexander Springs. Rainbow Springs was an absolute delight. We explored the area by foot and grabbed a snack before heading over to Alexander Springs to go on a tubing adventure! Unfortunately, the weather was terrible and we did not want to risk it with so much lightning in the area, so we were unable to go tubing, but that was another adventure in-itself. I’ll be back soon to experience the tubing fun one day.
Daytona Beach, FL
Last stop was Daytona beach, we drove to the East Coast to enjoy an evening by the water. First time in Daytona, and it’s a beauty! Large sandy beach, boardwalk, and blue skies. After sunbathing, we showered and headed over to the board walk for some dinner and to experience the firework showcase near the water. That was the end of our mini Florida road trip!
Love your blog! xoxo