Written by:

David Hosea

Last updated: November 2, 2023

Heather and I left Gulf Shores, Abalama for Tampa and we stopped in Tallahassee for a few days because we have business there later this year and wanted to check out one of the RV parks on the way through.

We had a reservation at the Big Oak RV Park which was clearly named after the trees in the area.  The trees were beautiful.  They were huge, old oak trees and the beards of Spanish moss hanging from them brought back fond memories of traveling through Florida as a kid.

We wanted to spend more time exploring Tampa, so we didn’t plan on staying in Tallahassee over the weekend.  Our opportunities for exploring the capital city would have to happen between our arrival on Sunday and our departure the following Saturday.

That limited our Tallahassee explorations to weekdays after work and we found that at the end of the day, none of the available activities drew us out of the park.  Places we may have visited on the weekend were closed after regular business hours during the week so that left state park visits and dining as the best options.  None of the options had a strong draw for us.

So, Heather and I took walks through the park after work, although they were short ones because the park itself isn’t very large.  The oaks and some of the amenities were nice to look at. 

We also spent some time outside of the Airstream sitting in the shade and playing on our devices.  Every now and then while relaxing in our camp chairs or checking the outside of the rig, we would see a mature Tussock Moth Caterpillar.  The colorful caterpillar is one of several “stinging” caterpillars in northern Florida and has barbed, hollow hairs with a fluid that can cause a rash or welts. 

By the end of the week, we felt like we should get out to explore Tallahassee, even if for just a little bit, so we went for a drive to see the state capitol.  After driving past the capitol, we planned to go to Wakulla Springs State Park, a park that boasts the “world’s largest and deepest freshwater spring [that] is rimmed by an ancient cypress swamp.”

It was farther out than we expected and just as we were approaching the area, we realized that the visitor center was closed.  No matter, we still drove through the park and saw lots of trees but didn’t find the spring.

This Tallahassee stop was our first of two during this circuit around the state.  After we take delivery of our new Airstream Classic, we are coming back to get a specialized ceramic coating applied to the trailer’s shell.  The process will take five days and it will take another seven days for the coating to fully cure.  So, we’ll be in Tallahassee for a couple of weeks, and because we will have time to get out more, we will eat at local diners such as The Bada Bean and visit sites like St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park, and make a return trip to Wakulla Springs to actually see the spring.

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