It's a beautiful time of year when there seems to be a thousand shades of green all bursting forth at once after a winter's nap. I love springtime along the Suwannee River. It's a great time of year to take a drive and enjoy the bucolic, natural flora and fauna of our native homeland. If you are looking for a cost-effective way to spend some time with your family, our area offers a number of wonderful opportunities. Drive over to Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park in my hometown of White Springs and enjoy a picnic lunch. Walk on trails along the historic Suwannee River and down to the site of Florida's original tourist destination, the White Sulphur Springs springhouse replica reminiscent of the original springhouse that welcomed notable Americans such as Juliette Gordon Lowe, founder of Girl Scouts of America, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Henry Flagler, United States Senator George Smathers and American Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt during its heyday. Walk along the scenic Suwannee River at Big Shoals Street Park and spend some time cooling in mist-filled air near Florida's only White water rapids at the Big Shoals. Stop in White Springs on Bridge Street and visit Suwannee Hardware, housed in the Adams Brothers Store, built in 1893 and established in 1865 by Captain Robert Watkins Adams and his wife, Sophia Jane Broward Adams. Hungry? Make a stop by Fat Bellys Restaurant on US Highway 41 or the deli at the Marathon Store just south of the old South Hamilton School. There's lots to do in and around the small town of White Springs, which is smaller in size but huge in history and rich traditions. If I were giving a tour of our area, I would do it on Thursday or Friday. The day would begin at Milton's Store on US Highway 441 North in northern Columbia County for a country breakfast. We would travel north, stopping at Hopewell Church and Cemetery, then north to Jasper to the Hamilton County History Museum, south to White Springs to Stephen Foster, a late lunch at Brown Lantern in Live Oak and a leisurely stroll through Nobles Greenhouse. Wouldn't that be fun? I may stop at Arise Coffe Bar at W.B. Howland Company Express for a cup of their delicious restorative coffee, as we might need it. Oh, and I would give everyone on my tour group a copy of the Riverbend News and encourage them to subscribe. Well, enough of touring around. Signing off with an old North Florida prayer shared with me by Columbia County native, former State Attorney and longtime, prominent North Florida attorney, the late Mr. A.K. Black: "Lord, Bless us and Bind us. Tie our coattails behind us and hide us under a hollow log so the devil can't find us." Get out and enjoy this special season of rebirth, renewal and resurrection. God's creations are on full display with rich colors and wonderful fragrances. From the Eight Mile Still on the Woodpecker Route north of White Springs, wishing you a good day.
