If you guys follow me on Instagram you know that we’re currently stationed in a small town in Southern Alabama and there really isn’t too much to do here. We’ve been trying to find weekend adventures to make our time here a bit more enjoyable. Obviously with coronavirus this has proven to be a bit challenging as we can currently only travel up to 100 miles and need to avoid the crowded spots.

This past weekend we headed to Ponce De Leon Springs in Northern Florida and then continued south to Seaside for lunch.

Ponce De Leon Springs

These springs are really beautiful and were actually once rumored to be the Fountain of Youth by early Spanish explorers. While I’m not sure about the healing properties, the water was definitely stunning (and freezing!). I’m not sure why, but I definitely envisioned it be larger, but it’s about the size of a large swimming pool, so I would definitely recommend getting there early to get a good spot. There are plenty of picnic tables and a few pavilions with barbecue grills that are all first come, first serve. The main spring is pretty deep and a lot of people that arrived after us brought tubes and floaties to float around on, so I feel like that would definitely make it seem extra crowded in peak hours. If you have young children, there is also a spilloff creek area that is extremely shallow where most of the families were.

A few notes:

-There is a $4 entrance fee to the park (per vehicle). Due to coronavirus, you’ll need to have exact change or use a card to pay.

-There is currently a limit to the amount of people who can enter the park; once the parking lot is full, the park is closed and will not allow people to walk in.

-Amenities are currently limited; there are restrooms on site to use, however the showers, water fountains, etc are currently off.

-The springs are right next to a river creek that is known to have alligators. The gators typically avoid the cold spring water, but still be aware of your surroundings and don’t swim in the nearby river (there are signs to remind you where they are)

-There is no alcohol allowed in the park.

Seaside

Seaside is definitely one of my favorite beachside towns in Northern Florida. It looks picturesque, with all of the buildings being white or light watercolors, cute beach cruiser bikes, beachside food shacks, and perfect turquoise water. I really wish we were able to stay and explore more, but we only had time to grab lunch and a froze’ for a few hours.

For lunch, we went to the Shrimp Shack to try a lobster roll for the first time. The roll was good, with fresh, tasty lobster. However, I definitely expected more for the price. We paid just over $20 for each lobster roll, and it was literally just a small roll with lettuce, lobster, and butter. There were no sides included, so we bought a cup of seafood gumbo to split, and honestly that was SO good. If we go back, I would definitely choose the gumbo bread bowl over the lobster roll. The restaurant is pretty tiny and has a small indoor dining room in the back, but there’s also a nice outdoor pavilion along the beach where they’ll bring your food out to you. There’s also tons of nearby restaurants that serve tacos, pizza, sandwiches, and pretty much anything you can think of.

Across the street from the beach, along Seaside Square, there’s a few cute airstream food trucks. We grabbed a Froze’ (frozen rose’) from the Crepes Du Soleil truck and it was super good and refreshing. It will cost you $11 for one, but it’s a pretty good size.

The beach was super beautiful, but was unfortunately too crowded when we went so we didn’t get to enjoy the water. There are several areas that are private beaches and marked off from the public, but you can find some public entrances near Seaside Square and right by the public parking lot. There are chairs and umbrellas for rent on the beach, but we didn’t venture down to see how much they were.

A few notes:

-Parking is horrendous. There’s free street parking along the main 30A road and Seaside Square, but if you don’t arrive early in the morning, the chances of you finding a spot are slim. The side neighborhood streets are permit only parking and it is strictly enforced. The streets are also super narrow, so it’s not the ideal place to take a big truck. We managed to find a free public lot off of Western Lake Dr and HWY 30A and then walked 5-10min down the road to the square.