Paynes Prairie

The husband surprised me on the other Sunday morning by saying why don't we go for a bike ride. We went out to Paynes Prairie near Gainesville in Micanopy, FL. We keep saying we will go and don't get there.

Paynes Prairie is a state park and preserve.

http://www.floridastateparks.org/paynesprairie/

Florida´s first state preserve in 1971. It had tons of animals, trails for hiking, biking and horses. They have camp sites, a lake and you may get lucky and see a buffalo. I was hoping to see a buffalo since I am a huge fan. They are elusive. We did see a bunch of deer. 

source

It was a huge place and well taken care of. We biked down a trail. We walked up the observation tower. We walked through a trail. We checked out the lake boat ramp and the campground. 

Old honeymoon house

Oh deer

cool roots

From the observation deck

The observation deck

Afterwards we were hungry. We ended up checking out Blue Highway. It's a pizzaria down the road from Paynes Prairie. The husband said a coworker said they were good. Thank goodness we got there not long after they opened. After we got a table the place was full. People were waiting for tables. 

The Sicilian pizza was good. The husband loved it. He said it was the best in that area. He is very picky about pizza since he is from New York. I would go there again. 

Also while we were out we saw that Mcintosh, FL is having a 1890s festival next month. I have never been to that festival and it sounds fun. I put it on the calendar. 

http://friendsofmcintosh.org/

From the website: Each year the 1890's Festival raises money to fund additional projects in the community.  The most noteworthy of these is the creation of an a scholarship fund to assist local and area young people pursue their scholastic careers.  Others have included a front-porch addition to the Community Center; the installation of playground equipment for the children; the Victorian-style lamp posts in the main park in the center of town, Van Ness Park; the clock in the Mini-Park; and the purchase of the old Carriage House adjacent to the depot. The Friends of McIntosh also support various organizations through donations, to organizations such as the American Heart Association, the local Emergency Assistance Fund, the Salvation Army and the Cub, Boy and Girl Scouts."