Cheryl's View // Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens

Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens is such a pretty and peaceful place.  It's hard to believe that it sits so close to town.  Once you cross the first bridge onto the trails its like you step into another world. 

My daughter and I arrived just as they opened on a bright and sunny morning.  We were greeted by volunteer staff that were pretty amazing, they were very friendly and helpful.  They gave us our visitors guide and pointed us in the right direction.  There is so much to see and enjoy.  I could have walked around for hours.  The trails are shaded and the flowers trees  are beautiful.  There are 25 specific areas in the garden and the visitors guide gives a brief description of each area.  You will get to stroll through a bamboo grove, view several rock gardens, see several small waterfalls and you can even have your picture taken with Buddha.

Cheryl's View // Gumbo Limbo Nature Center - Boca Raton, Florida

Gumbo Limbo Nature Center is located in Boca Raton, Florida and gets its name from one of the tree species that is located within the park, the Gumbo Limbo Tree (Bursera simaruba), otherwise known as the "tourist tree" because of its red peeling bark. The center was founded in 1984, sits on 20 acres, and is committed to protecting and rehabilitation of sea turtles. 


There were two large fish tanks in the lobby when we entered. One contained tiger fish, and the other one had pretty, bright and colorful saltwater fish. They also had a tank display that gave information on some of the animals that you may see while at the center, such as the Golden Orb Spider and snakes.

The ladies at the front desk in the lobby were very friendly and helpful.  They gave us our map of the facility and brief description of where everything was. They told us how to follow the painted animals on the sidewalks,which is really cute and kid-friendly.  When you follow the blue fish, you find two large marine aquariums. These aquariums had sting rays, puffer fish, sharks, and several other native fish. There are two large aquariums just to the right of the marine aquariums that have sea turtles who are in the process of rehabilitation. There were several turtles in the tank that were being treated for “Bubblebutt Syndrome". We were told that these turtles were struck by a boat, which causes air to get trapped under their shell and that they would have to spend the rest of their lives in captivity. The treatment for Bubblebutt Syndrome is having weights attached to their shells, which allows them to dive for their food.

Gumbo Limbo has a few rehabilitation tanks and a hatchling area. We were able to see some of the rehabilitation process for three turtles while we were there, and we were able to see several hatchlings. 

While there, we followed the black and yellow butterflies painted on the walk way to the butterfly garden and walked through Ashley's Trail.  The butterfly garden has several different types of butterflies and lots and lots of the Golden Orb Spider.  I don't think that I have seen that many of them in one place.  They were everywhere! I am thankful that most of them were high enough in the trees that we didn't have to walk through them.  Ashley's Trail ends at the Intercoastal Waterway, where they have an authentic Seminole Chiki, which is used as an outdoor classroom for the schools and Gumbo Limbo Programs. There is also a boardwalk at the center but unfortunately it was closed when we were there. 

Would you like to help with Gumbo Limbo care for these turtles? There are several ways you can help.  You can adopt a sea turtle or a hatchling or you could volunteer at the center.

Jess' Journeys // Hershey, Pennsylvania

How do you resist the lure of a town whose streetlights are shaped like Hershey's kisses? The answer, of course, is that you don't. I've driven through Hershey, PA four times, and I've managed not to stop exactly once.

While the town of Hershey has a lot to offer in general, the main draw is its tourist attractions. While the rumor that the entire town smells like chocolate isn't true, the tourist attractions definitely do.

My absolute favorite part is Hershey's Chocolate World, more specifically the Hershey's Chocolate Tour. It's this absolutely cheesy ride that takes you through the process of how Hershey's chocolate is made. There's even a theme song that almost rivals Disney World's "It's a Small World" song...almost. Plus, this ride is totally free! As an added bonus, you get a free fun-sized candy bar on your way out of the ride.

The first time I ever stopped through Hershey, PA, I was driving to be a camp counselor at a summer camp. I had about an hour and no money at all. Thank goodness for the chocolate tour ride! It was so cool that the next time I drove through Pennsylvania, I specifically mapped my route to go through Hershey again.

My second trip was much more fun. I got to spend an entire day exploring. My mom & I drove into town late at night, and when the doors to the hotel opened, the lobby smelled like chocolate! It was the perfect way to start a visit. The next morning, we got up bright & early for our visit to Chocolate World. This time, not only did I get to ride the chocolate tour ride again, but I got to do the chocolate tasting adventure. With the chocolate tasting adventure, you go into a room setup like a classroom with little paper placemats in front of everyone. On your little placemat, there are samples of different types of chocolate that Hershey's makes. The "instructor" walks you through the history of chocolate and the proper way to taste each one. It was really fascinating. I would definitely recommend doing this.

After shopping in the huge gift shop, we were off to visit The Hershey Story museum. This museum about Milton Hershey, the Hershey's company, and the city of Hershey is really interesting. The museum has lottos interactive exhibits and is really informative overall. My favorite part was the flight of different samples of chocolate from around the world. Imagine those flights of different beers that breweries sell. It's like that but for chocolate. They were delicious. I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed the flavors of the bitter ones even since I don't like dark chocolate generally. The paper placemat that the samples are presented on tells about each type of chocolate, which is really nice so that you can pick out the subtle flavors in each one. Honestly, if I could have convinced my mom to do it again, I would have stayed to drink liquid chocolate for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, we were out of time.

On my way out of town, I finally figured out how to make my house smell like chocolate just like our hotel did. Inside the museum gift shop, they sold cubes for wax warmers that are chocolate-scented! I was skeptical because chocolate-scented things usually smell really gross to me. This was amazing though!

My third time driving through Hershey, PA, I skipped the tourist attractions. Instead, we went on a tour through the outskirts of the area where the cows live who produce the milk that goes into Hershey's chocolate.

If you happen to find yourself going through this region of Pennsylvania, I highly recommend taking the time out to spend a day in Hershey. You won't regret it!

Cheryl's View // Desoto Falls Recreation Area - Cleveland, Georgia

For the first time in ages, I camped out. I actually agreed to the whole tent, cooler and camp fire experience. I can't remember the last time I went camping. I'm sure it was when my children were very young. I was really expecting this to be an unpleasant experience at best but I had a blast!

We arrived just before dark and started setting things up and all I have to say is thank heavens for instant tents. They are a marvelous invention, we had the camp site completely set up in less than 20 minutes. I remember it taking much longer years ago.

Desoto Falls Recreational Area was very easy to locate. You turn off of Hwy 129 into the campground. There is a parking area at the very front of the campground where hikers park to hike the trails to the waterfalls located within the area. There are fees to enter the campground. We paid $3.00 per day for our vehicle and $12.00 per night for our camp site. There are 24 camp sites in the campground. They are first come first serve, so you can't make reservations.

They have what they call an upper loop which is close to the road and has a great deal of road noise and a lower loop we which is very close to the Frogtown Creek. They have bathrooms with shower stalls at the entrance to the loops and they have what they refer to as chemical facilities at the back of the loop. The campground was very clean and they have a host family that stays in the campground and makes several trips around the park daily to ensure that things are running smoothly. They have also a dumpster located at the front beside the parking area as you come in.We stayed on the upper loop (camp site #6) which was close to the entrance and backed up to the road. It was noisy, very noisy, but it didn't really bother us to much because we live in an area where we hear road noise daily. The camp sites are all similar. They all have a marked camp site area, a picnic table, lamp post, and camp fire ring with attached grill. The camp sites where clean and there was plenty of room to set up anything you may have needed.

The only negative thing to say? YELLOW JACKETS....but hey, we are in the woods in Georgia. They are going to be there along with other creepy crawly things. The only bad thing is....They like me much better than I like them! Don't forget your bug spray!

We visited two waterfalls in the area while we were there. We went to upper falls first, which is about 3/4 mile hike. The hiking trail runs beside the Frogtown Creek and there are a few benches along the way for you to sit and rest if you need to. It is a fairly easy hike but you could easily get winded at this elevation.

Upper Falls is the larger of the two waterfalls. We were told that there is usually more water flowing than what we had the pleasure of seeing that weekend. We hiked to Lower Falls after completing our hike to Upper Falls. The hike to lower falls was a bit more steep but a good bit shorter at only 1/4 mile. Lower Falls had very little water while we were there, but we were told that they hadn't had very much rain. I believe it was still worth the hike.

We saw this big guy sunbathing in Frogtown Creek. I guess even a copperhead wanted to get a tan.

We saw several of these signs throughout the park.  We were told that there was an active bear in the park the night before we arrived and the first night that we stayed. He must have been hungry because he hijacked a cooler.

Our Visit to Spectre - Jackson Lake Island

There's a little-known film-maker named Tim Burton. I'm sure you've never seen any of his movies like The Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice, or Edward Scissorhands. One of his totally unpopular movies, Big Fish, was filmed in various locations across the state of Alabama. In the spring, we took a trip to visit one of the filming locations.

During Big Fish, the main character, Edward Bloom, leaves his hometown in search of something new. He finds his way to an idyllic little town called Spectre. This picture-perfect town was filled with friendly characters. Since there was no road in or out, the townspeople walked around barefoot on the grass through the middle of town. When new people came to town, the townspeople threw the new person's shoes over a tall clothesline that ran across the main square since they wouldn't need the shoes anymore.

Bloom eventually leaves Spectre and continues on his adventures, which you'll need to watch the movie to see. When he returns again years later, the whole town has changed. They blame it on a road being built through town.

The film crew built the entire town of Spectre on an island for filming. Then once they filmed the bright, happy scenes for Bloom's first visit to to town, they aged it. They made a paved road into the middle of the set town and painted the prop buildings to make them look old and worn down.

You're probably sitting there wondering why on earth Alabama was the chosen location for filming a Tim Burton movie. Well it's because Daniel Wallace, the writer of the book the movie is based on, is from Alabama. When you're filming a movie set in Alabama by a man from Alabama, there's really no other choice but to film it in Alabama. I'm still confused as to why they didn't film the scene that's supposedly set in Auburn actually in Auburn since it was just up the road, but that's a conversation for another time.

One Saturday, we decided to take a little trip down the road to Millbrook, AL, to see Spectre for ourselves. The movie town of Spectre is actually located on a private island called Jackson Lake Island. The entire island is worth a visit. They have space for kayaking, fishing, camping, gorgeous photo shoots, and just generally relaxing. We were here with a single goal in mind, but we will definitely be back to visit the island for all of its recreation potential.

The first thing you will come to is a gate with instructions for entry. We called the number, got our gate code, put our money in the envelope ($3/person for the day, slightly more if you stay overnight), dropped the envelope in the box, and onward we went. You are on the honor system here, so don't be a jerk. These people are opening up their island to you, a few bucks isn't much to ask.

The day we went, it hadn't rained recently, so the dirt road from the gate to the island was pretty good. I suspect if it had rained soon before our visit, the Prius would've had a much harder time getting to the island, so definitely keep that in mind. Once on the island itself, we just kept following the dirt road until we saw a little wooden sign with an arrow pointing left and the word "Spectre" painted on it. We knew we were headed the right way!

The movie town has definitely seen better days, but I'm not sure what more you could honestly expect from a town that was made to last for a couple of months of filming. If you visit, please use your common sense. Looking closely at the plywood buildings showed how much detail goes into movie props. The "bricks" on the buildings are all painted onto pieces of plaster. A lot of the windows had curtains, which really added to the look.  On the doors, you can see where doorknobs used to be, but all of the keyholes are painted on.

Go watch Big Fish. Then as soon as you turn the movie off, head over to Jackson Lake Island to visit Spectre for yourself.

Oh, and don't forget to bring an old pair of shoes (with laces) to throw over the line!

This is the room where they filmed the scene in which the characters are eating pie & Ed's shoes get stolen by the little girl. It's the only house in the little prop town that is actually finished on the inside.

An example of the painting technique that set designers used to make the buildings look aged

This is the inside of the church. The entire thing is made of plywood and wooden beams that are held together using  wires and a few support beams. In this picture, you can also see some of the numbering system. All of the different walls have numbers on them. From what I can gather, the numbers would have been used to keep up with what piece goes where.

Jess' Journeys // A Day on Jekyll Island

Just off of the mainland on the coast of Georgia, there's a little island that used to be a hunting club for the richest of the rich. Now it's a beautiful little beach island called Jekyll Island. On my trip through the Georgia coast, I stopped onto this island to check it out. It was a relaxing visit. The island was well-kept, and I never once felt unsafe or uncomfortable.

The first thing you need to know about Jekyll Island is that when you read online that your GPS won't work, it's 100% true. From the second I turned onto the causeway from the mainland, both my Garmin GPS and the Google Maps app on my phone told me to take a u-turn. I had to call the woman at the Jekyll Island Museum and admit to her that I was lost. She was incredibly nice & helpful, giving me perfect directions.

There's a toll booth on the way onto the island where you pay $6 for the day to park. I'm not sure if there's a discount for longer/overnight trips or for guests of the hotels on the island.
In the middle of the historic district on Jekyll Island, you'll see the Jekyll Island Club hotel. This hotel is in the building that used to be the clubhouse for the original Jekyll Island Club. You should definitely take the time to look up the Jekyll Island Club. It's a pretty neat history.

I had originally booked a tour of the island through Lighthouse Trolly Tours, but since I was the only person that signed up, they called me that morning to let me know the tour was cancelled and ask if I'd like to re-schedule or get a refund. Since I was only there for the day, I had them give me a refund, which still hasn't hit my account two months later. After that, I called the visitor center and reserved a spot on the "Passport to the Century" historic district tour hosted by the Jekyll Island Museum. This tour actually ended up being cheaper than the original tour I booked, and it was really neat. I learned a lot about the Jekyll Island Club, which I knew nothing about before visiting the island.

After my tour, I visited the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, just across the street from the museum. The main building for the turtle center was really cute. When you buy your ticket ($7 for adults), they give you a card that helps guide you through the exhibits by pretending you're a baby sea turtle, walking you through the life stages and all of the potential issues that sea turtles face. In that same main exhibit room, you can see a little sea turtle named Belle and a window looking in on the medic room where they check the growth of the sea turtles and perform procedures on any injured turtles. After looking through the main building, you can go through the back door, up a ramp, and into the building where they keep the sea turtles that they're rehabilitating. The binder in front of each turtle's pool tells a little bit about that turtle's reason for being at the center and about sea turtles in general. This was the best part of the whole center in my opinion. I even got to see some of the turtles being fed.

After a quick stop in the gift shop, I was off to find the infamous driftwood beach. This is where the majority of pictures you see of Jekyll Island are taken. Since my GPS wasn't working, I looked online to see if I could figure out how to get there, and off I went. I decided just to drive toward the north end of the island since that's all of the information I could find online.

On the way, I happened across Horton House on Riverview Drive. This is a really neat example of how well tabby structures can survive over time. Tabby is a type of concrete that a lot of old houses along the Georgia coast were built. It's made by combining crushed, burned oyster shells with water & whole oyster shells. It is amazingly strong. After a quick look at Horton House and the du Bignon cemetery, I was back on my mission of finding driftwood beach.


I really could not tell you how to find driftwood beach if I tried. After a phone call to my mother who was also looking at Google maps online, we determined that it was probably just north of Villas by the Sea Resort and Conference Center. I pulled off of Beachview Drive into a tiny, sand parking lot, parked my car, and went exploring. The little sand lot was the perfect spot! I followed a tiny, sandy trail to the beach, figuring that I'd have to walk along the beach for a while to find the "driftwood beach" part. I was wrong. I turned left onto the beach, and I was at the beginning of driftwood beach, which seemed to stretch on forever. There were so many more driftwood trees than I had imagined. It's a sight that I can't explain other than saying that you've got to see it for yourself. The trees were all over the place, roots and all.

Once I got back to my car, it was off the island I went, back to the hotel I was staying in on St. Simon's Island. On the way off of the island, I noticed the visitor center. It's the perfect place to stop for clean bathrooms, brochures about the area, and gifts. I wish I had noticed it on the way in.


I really think I could get used to this relaxing island life.

Cheryl's View // Toccoa River Swinging Bridge - Blue Ridge, Georgia

In June of this year my husband and I made arrangements to meet a few family members in North Georgia. The Toccoa River Swinging Bridge was our first stop.

 The road sign leading to the bridge is fairly easy to see from the highway.  The road leading down to the bridge is a very long and very bumpy gravel road but is quite scenic. There were several potholes and pretty good size rocks in the road. I wouldn't recommend driving down this road if your vehicle has very little ground clearance. There isn't really a specific parking area, you just park in any open spaces under the trees.
 
We arrived early in the morning. The sun had just begun to peek through the trees, so it was very quiet and peaceful.
Once you park you will have a short hike (about .25 mile) to the bridge.  I would say that it is a short easy hike with very few steep areas.  You will be able to hear and  see the river before you spot the bridge.  The bridge may look a bit intimidating at 270 feet long, but it is pretty impressive when you realize that it was built in 1977. It's suspended from cables that are attached to A-frame anchors at each end. There are wooden rails on each side that are about waist high and there is what looks like fencing wire attached to the rails. I felt completely comfortable and safe (once I got used to the bouncing and movement). The bridge bounces with each step, which is pretty cool and when several people are on the bridge at the same time it moves a good bit.  The view from the bridge was beautiful.  We crossed the bridge and walked down beside the river bank and walked out onto the rocks beside the river bank.  The river appeared to be fairly low but pretty swift. Visiting this bridge was the highlight of our trip and I can hardly wait to go back.





 The Toccoa River Swinging Bridge!