Day 2 in Tallahassee

Tallahassee Museum

Last night we ended our day with a nice buffet dinner at Wakulla Springs. By the time we got back to the hotel, it was after ten o'clock. The adults mentioned hitting the bar, but I don't think anyone actually made it there. Darcy's head hit the pillow and she was out in one minute. I joined her not long after.

The next day we had breakfast in the hotel and drove to the Tallahassee Museum, about ten minutes away from our hotel on the shores of Lake Bradford. The museum is a taste of native Florida. There are 52 acres of scenic woodlands and a zoo in the woods that you explore by walking through.

We started off with a tour guide who took the children down into the woods by the lake. There she educated them in wildlife and then gave them nets. They got to wade through the lake into the muck, catching interesting tidbits in their nets and viewing them under microscopes. After cleaning up we were given the choice of staying and exploring or heading back to the school. Our group stayed.

We spent about an hour walking the trail and learning about the different Florida animals that were housed in the wooded zoo. We told our group that a quiz would follow and a prize would be awarded at the end so they paid close attention and listened to our parent guide.

We saw turkey vultures, Florida panthers, river otters, an American alligator, a white squirrel, bobcats, a black bear, grey foxes, wild turkeys, grey foxes, a bald eagle, an owl, and more. The view of the cypress trees in the lake was amazing. Everything was quiet and serene. The children were

interested and took lots of pictures and asked a lot of questions. The hike ended back at the center where the kids, of course, hit the gift shop. We held our little quiz and each child received a postcard of one of the animals we had just visited.

We loaded up our two cars and headed back to our hotel where we ate lunch. After that, we said our good-byes to Tallahassee and headed back south. We arrived back at the school at 8:30 PM. Most of the other parents had arrived an hour earlier so all was quiet. We called the parents of our extra children and waited until they were carefully placed back into the arms of their parents. Then we headed back to our home.

Darcy got ready for bed, filled her father and sister in on her trip, distributed the gifts she had purchased, and immediately fell asleep on the floor of her bedroom, her luggage taking up space on her bed.

Many people stated throughout the trip that Tallahassee was not a place they would have thought about visiting on their own. All of us agreed that we were glad we had been forced to tour it. It is an interesting and educational city with lots to explore and learn. And it is a city that should be visited whether on your own or forced to by a group of school children.