2018 Florida Road Trip Part 9

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 9 Saturday 10/27/2018

This morning I headed southeast on U.S.-231 & I-10, to see if I could find the Whippoorwill Sportsman’s Lodge located on Lake Talquin in Quincy.  I’m not sure how I ended up on U.S.-90, but I saw a Historical Marker and stopped to see what it was all about.  As it turned out, this was at the entrance to the Blue Springs Recreational Park (closed because of hurricane damage).  The historical marker indicated that this park was, at one time, the site of the “Sylvania Plantation” built by John Milton in 1845.  The plantation was actually a small family community, consisting of the large manor house, barns, a family chapel, a school, a blacksmith shop, and living quarters for his 50 slaves.   John Milton later served as Florida’s Governor during the Civil War.

Instead of getting back on I-10, I continued east on U.S.-90 thru more hurricane devastation, and finally found the Whippoorwill Sportsman’s Lodge located in Quincy.  This turned out to be nothing like what I was expecting. If there was a lodge or club house, there in the trailer park, I didn’t see it.  So I just took a photo and was on my way.

Now I heading east on I-10, by-passing Tallahassee this time, to visit the Old Monticello Jail Museum located in Monticello.  This museum is located in the original 1893 Jefferson County jail that was in use until 1984. In addition to being a modern jail (for its time), the Sheriff’s office and his home were both designed to be part of the building.  I discovered the Old Jail is currently under restoration, so I took a photo and headed for the next museum.

Traveling east on I-10 again, my next stop was to visit the Treasures of Madison County Museum located in Madison. This museum is housed in the restored original 1890 W. T. Davis building, and displays artifacts, exhibits, and all kinds of memorabilia, related to the early history and development of Madison County, Florida.  The original W.T. Davis building has also served as an opera house and theater over the years.

Now I headed east on SR-6, thru the Twin Rivers Wildlife Management Area to visit the Old Jail Museum located in Jasper.  This museum is housed in the original 1893 red brick jailhouse.  The museum was built to house the sheriff and his family on the first floor, which now contains artifacts and memorabilia related to the history of the jail in the late 1800s.  Originally prisoners were housed on the second floor, and the central tower was use for hangings, the last taking place in 1916,

Taking U.S.-41 southeast several miles, I was planning to visit the Steven Foster Museum located adjacent to the Suwannee River in White Springs.  As it turned out, the museum is part of the Steven Foster Folk Culture Center State Park, which looked to me more or less like a Day Park where a family would plan an all day event.  I didn’t want to pay admission to the park and then have to take the time to find the museum.   So I took a photo and was on my way to the next museum.

Heading southeast out of White Springs on U.S.-41, I passed the Adams Country Store and just had to stop for a photo.  The store was closed, but their website Informs me that this building was built in 1865 and was restored in around 2011 using mostly building materials from other old buildings in the area  (where possible).  The “Store” is filled with every conceivable thing that you might find in a general store during the mid-1800s time period, including antique gas pumps and gas station signs.

Continuing southeast on U.S.-41, next I visited the Keystone Heights Airport in Starke to see what might be on the ramp and in the hangers.  As luck would have it, the entire airport was deserted.  So I took a couple of photos and was on my way northeast toward Jacksonville.

I gave Greta (my Garmin) the motel address for tonight, and headed northeast on U.S.-41 & I-10.  I skirted downtown Jacksonville, by taking I-295 north to find my motel, located in the Pecan Park area, near the Jacksonville International Airport. After I got checked in, I heated up my Mexican food dinner and enjoyed that delicious meal again.  Yummmm!

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 61 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

Tags: Florida #RoadTrip