Grace Manor Bed and Breakfast, in Historic Greenville, Florida

    Before I extol the beauty and comfort of Grace Manor B&B, a few words about Greenville.  Located between Monticello and Madison on US90, Greenville was an early rail hub for a booming forest products industry.  In fact, it was at one time a larger town than either Monticello or Madison, the Madison County …

Natural North Florida Springs–Cool in Summer, Warm in Winter

Our Natural North Florida counties (Alachua, Gilchrist, Levy, Dixie, Taylor, Madison, Jefferson, Union, Lafayette and Wakulla) have the largest concentration of natural freshwater springs in the world.  And, when the weather gets hot, they’re the perfect place to cool off.  However, visitors and residents flock to the springs, and their contant 72-degree water temperatures, when …

“Customer Fish”: Catch Fish–And Let Someone Else Cook Them!

Yes, you’ll still have to clean your catch, but in many coastal settlements and towns along our Natural North Florida coast, there are restaurants with “customer fish” on the menu.  There’s nothing quite like fish, fresh from the Gulf, served in the comfort of a restaurant, and usually accompanied by side dishes like grits, butter …

Former Harlem Globetrotters To Hit Hoops at Madison, FL Down Home Days, April 17 & 18, 2015

Leaps, dunks and hilarious basketball tricks are in the making for the 2015 Down Home Days for a two-night Celebrity Basketball Game and Mad Ball Tournament with three former Harlem Globetrotters, Melvin Adams, Michael St. Julien and Alex Sanders, suiting up nightly on April 17 and 18 at 7 p.m. at Madison County Central School …

Get Lost in the Labyrinth at O’Toole’s Herb Farm

Full disclosure: Unless you’re a field mouse, you can’t literally get lost in this labyrinth. It’s not the kind of labyrinth with tall hedges that form a maze. It’s the contemplative, meditation-style variety, where you walk along a narrow path, nearing the center of the maze. Why? For one, it’s gorgeous. Set amid the fields …

Cabin Camping at Madison’s Jellystone Park

We cooked breakfast in a full kitchen, then ate at a dining room table that seated six. Wait a minute. This is a campground? At Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort in Madison, roughing it doesn’t have to be rough at all. Sure, you can tent or RV camp, but you can also enjoy the resort …

June 2011 Travel Writers Press Trip, Day 2, Madison and Jefferson Counties, FL

Day 2 of the Natural North Florida Writers Press Trip began early, with Doc feeling low from an overdose of Makers’ Mark.  However, he was rejuvenated by the time we reached Tuten’s U-Pick farms in southern Madison County.  There, we saw huge fields of peas, watermelons, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant ready for the picking by …

June 2011 Travel Writers Press Trip, Day 1, Madison County FL

Our first day started in Gainesville.  Bloggers Tommy Thompson and Susannah Watson loaded up the Visit Natural North Florida van and headed to Gilchrist County with Bryan Thomas, VNNF Director.  In Trenton, we picked up Donna Creamer, Chair of The Original Florida Tourism Task Force. We arrived in Madison just in time to meet up …

For a Mix of Relaxed and Action-Packed, Think Jellystone

We had them at “waterslide.” My son and his best friend are squarely in the tween set now, as they’re starting middle school in the fall. Suddenly, it’s not that cool to play on playgrounds, watch cartoons or do the kind of kid stuff I happily enjoyed until I was at least 13. Or 16. …