Every fall, the Sweet Greens family hits the road for a fall family trip. We usually spend a week in North Carolina, it is a great place to see the leaves change from green to the bright hues of Autumn. It is also perfect for pumpkin patches, winery’s, corn mazes, caramel apples, woolly worms, antique shopping, hiking, hot tubing and breathing in the cool smell of fall – and it isn’t too far away from our home.
Last year, we spent our fall family trip with our best friends in Bozeman, Montana. This was another amazing trip full of ghost tours, hot springs, Elk bugles, Yellowstone, candy stores, hot springs, amazing waterfall hiking, and zip-lining. Sharing fall with friends who are like family is the best!
This year, we want to incorporate camping into our fall family trip. Also, we want to stick closer to home, since Eben doesn’t want to miss a lot of school (he started a new one this year!) However, we also want to get a little of the things that we love about fall. Living in South Florida makes that tough! We don’t get the quintessential fall – we get a not-as-hot-as-summer fall. So our plans were to find somewhere North to camp – possibly St. Augustine again, however we decided to move that trip to December since they have amazing holiday lights and festivities.
Then, while lounging at the beach last weekend reading Florida Travel + Life magazine I came across an article on Gainesville. Gainesville is only a few hours drive from our front door, and is suppose to have a vibrant cultured, outdoorsy and creative community. It’s a college town (which we know we already love – remember we lived in Fort Collins, Colorado!) Here is the deal maker though, Gainesville has four seasons – a rarity in Florida, with brilliant foliage in late fall. And they even get frost from December to February – and sometimes snow too! What? I am super excited – the mister is busy finding the perfect spot to camp, and I am already daydreaming of our fall family trip!
Does your family take a fall trip? Do you have a go-to spot that you have to visit? Have you been to Gainesville – I would love to hear about your experiences, please leave your comments below!
