"Beautiful Bulow - One of Many Area Secrets"

It started out as a lazy Saturday. I know you know the drill: "What do you wanna' do today?" "I dunno,' how about you?" "We really should plan the weekends better, so we don't ever waste one." "I agree. We need to do better at that. It seems that if we don't plan our off time, we end up working. We work plenty and need to re-charge." So, when I got back from walking Spike ("Spike" - isn't that a great name for a 15 lb. Min Pin?), I brewed up some Starbucks Italian Roast (Life is too short to drink cheap coffee - more on that next week!) and we started brainstorming. "I'm not in the beach mindset yet, are you?" "No, the only sun worshippers there right now are the ones from New Jersey, visiting grandma. They're over there at Christmas, for goodness sake, because 50 degrees at the beach here in Flagler is better than the 14 degrees and snowy they left in Newark." "OK, how about yard work? We could go over to Home Depot and get some plants and..." "No, no, I've got it, let's go to a park!" Honest - that's how it started. My partner's son, Alex (His name is actually Alexis, but everyone calls him Sammy, for some puzzling reason), said he used to run in some of the parks and that he liked Bulow Plantation. Alex, I mean Sammy, used to run for FPCHS and in 2003 he broke (and still holds) the FL State schoolboy record for the mile... a blistering 4:03! It's the fastest ever in Florida and was the second best high school time in the US that year. He's running again now, as an "independent" and trying to decide how far he wants to go with it. (Her daughter, JD, was also a very good runner at FPC and is now an over-achieving student at DBCC: "Mom, I got a 105% on my Anatomy test today, but I should have done better!") Anyway, based on Alex-Sammy's recommendation, we headed off to Bulow State Park. Top down... 91 degrees... radio blasting The Blizzard (93.3 FM in Flagler Beach)... and yes, we blew past our exit - by a lot. We were supposed to get off I-95 at Old Dixie Highway and it was only halfway between the new Harley Heaven, Destination Daytona, and the Granada Blvd. exit that it hit me. "Ha, ha, we did it again," I said. "No, we didn't," said she, "you did." Details, details. Then, capitalizing on the beautiful weather, I claimed the cheap victory. "It's better this way, really... like serendipity. We get to enjoy a little longer ride in the Florida sunshine." (I said nothing about the recent $3.09 cents/gal. premium gas fill up.) Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park is easy to find. It's just across the Volusia line into Flagler County, right off Old Kings Road, coming North from Old Dixie Highway. We put the top up to avoid the dust from the gravel road and drove the mile or so into the park, instantly consumed by the primitive feel of Old Florida. Towering palms, massive old oaks festooned with hanging moss, the smell of the pines... "Keep your eyes peeled for gators, rattlers, and water mocs," I said, all in the spirit of fun. "Thanks a lot - that's just what I needed to hear to set me at ease." Heh, Heh - girls sure are funny. We paid the $3.00 entry fee/per car (honor system) - got our parking pass and pulled up to a pleasant picnic area. A friendly park employee chatted us up and we got the scoop on the hiking trails. We walked a gorgeous path to the old Bulow Sugar Mill ruins and immersed ourselves in the rich history of the plantation. It's now a "ruins" because the place was burned to the ground in 1836, as a casualty of the Second Seminole War (1835-1842). Because of the coquina construction, enough is left to tell a compelling story. The plantation produced four major crops - sugar cane, cotton, indigo, and rice. The sugar mill spun off molasses, "Liquid Gold," and shipped it to the Caribbean for the making of rum. The other crops found their way up the river to St. Augustine, Jacksonville, and Savannah, GA. Of course, the overriding social implication of the plantations was the dependency on the slave trade. I found myself trying to imagine the palpable sense of frustration and anxiety these slaves must have experienced during their years in bondage. I'm quite sure I didn't come close. Later, we walked down by the water and wallowed in the tranquility of this place, although the sign that read: "Beware of Alligators - No Swimming" kept us on our toes. As we drove away, we promised to make a list of all these places in our Central/Eastern Florida backyard - and visit them all! "When we get home, I'm going to watch the Golf Channel to see if Zach Johnson can follow up his victory at The Master's... If you like, you could wash the dust off my car." "We already left Bulow, big guy, your walk in the park is over."