Tallahassee, Florida

As you know, Tallahassee is the capital of Florida. As you’ve probably figured out if you have been reading this journal for very long, one of the things on our “to do” list is to visit all the state capitals.

Tallahassee became the capital in 1824 when legislative delegates from Saint Augustine and Pensacola wanted a location about halfway between these two regions.  The original capitol building, a simple log structure, was replaced in 1845 by the Greek Revival structure we toured today.  Now, this building is referred to as the “old capitol” and a new high-rise building constructed in the 1970s currently houses the Florida state government.  We would have also toured the new capitol, but there was an event in honor of MLK Day which prevented us from getting to the front door.  We may try to get back there tomorrow.

The New Capitol

Near the old capitol is Union Bank, the oldest bank building in the state.  The historical plaque out front indicated the bank failed because of “unsound business practices”.  Where have I heard that before?  The building has been many things over the years.  Currently, it is the Black Archives.  There were several displays and quite a lot of Martin Luther King memorabilia.

The Old Capitol

We plan to return to the downtown area tomorrow to visit the Florida History Museum and a local Mission.

Now, about our campground.  This is a fairly large campground and appears to be laid out in a rough semi-circle.  The interior roads were paved many years ago, but have deteriorated badly.  There are a large number of RVs parked here, but most seem to be long term residents.  Most of the rigs are relatively new, however, not old and run down.

The Big Oak Campground is aptly named for the huge live oaks that adorn the property.    It is a Good Sam park, but with the discount, we still think it is a little pricey even with the cable and WiFi.  Even though it is a couple miles from the interstate, because it is located on a major thoroughfare, there is constant street noise. I may notice it more since we just left the secluded area of Rainbow Planation.   This is perfectly adequate for a short stay and conveniently located to what we want to see in Tallahassee.

That’s it for today.  Enjoy the warmer weather.