I spent my spring break in Gainesville

Usually Spring Break is the time students countdown to, when they’ll be able to go home and see their parents, dogs/cats and hometown friends. Or if you’re more adventurous, take a cruise or go to another country.

In the past, I was always eager to go home and spend time with my high school friends, go out, sleep in and play with my fur-babies. But this spring break I decided to stay in Gainesville. So what was I going to do with all that time? Thanks to my boyfriend and the fact I haven’t seen much in Gainesville besides UF, we decided to go out and see everything there is to see and do.

First we began with Lake Wauburg. I used to work at the Lake a year ago, so I knew it in and out and what there was to do. But even working at the Climbing Wall for months, I still have never rock climbed myself. So my boyfriend, my roommate and my best friend all went and watched me fail miserably at rock climbing.

Next up on our agenda was Paines Prairie. Now you may think, how has this girl never been to the prairie? I asked myself the same thing. I’ve lived here for 2 years and have never went, but trust me, if you haven’t gone yet please do! You may think walking on grass alongside alligators isn’t much fun but, if you stumble on a group super afraid of reptiles it can be very entertaining.

We would have kept going if it wasn’t for a huge gator sleeping right in the walk way and people being too afraid to step over it (obviously). We also saw four wild horses and a bison which was awesome considering I have never seen a bison in person before.

Along with the Prairie, me and my friend decided to go walk through other state parks in the city, one being Devil’s Millhopper. Yes I have never been to this one either, shocking I know.

For those who don’t know what Millhopper is, it’s a huge sinkhole that you can walk down to the bottom to, and enjoy the nature and waterfalls around you. It’s really beautiful relaxing, as long as you don’t think about the hundreds of stairs you will have to climb up on to get back to the top.

Then my boyfriend and I decided to take a day trip to St Augustine, to get away from Gainesville for a little. Usually this is the main destination for us students when we want to hit the beach or go drink in a different area code. St. Augustine is really cute and just to walk around and look at the castle, the boats and the old buildings made for a great day trip! Plus getting drunk on the beach was the highlight of the day.

When we got back, we finally did the one thing we said we were going to do as a date ever since we started dating. Go to the Florida Museum of Natural History and the Butterfly Rainforest.

This is all free for UF students, and again I still can’t believe I have never decided to do this in the past. I’m sure some people may think the museum is boring, but in my opinion it was fun! We played around with all the interactive exhibits and took a ton of pictures. Everything is fun as long as you make it fun.

I also had no idea the museum covered so many geographical areas and civilizations. It honestly was really cool to see it all.

 My favorite of all the things we did this week in Gainesville, was the butterfly rainforest. We went the same day as the museum since it’s in the same building and for those who haven’t gone and are putting it off thinking it’s not cool, PLEASE GO. It’s free, it’s adorable and it’s super fun.

Granted it isn’t big, but there are so many butterflies flying around everywhere and you can just enjoy their beauty. If you don’t like butterflies, I feel sorry for you. But it’s adorable when they land on you and you can take a cool picture for Instagram.

 Overall, I am very happy with how my spring break turned out. I didn’t need to go on a cruise or go on a trip somewhere. I stayed right here, hung out with my roommates and friends, and enjoyed my time in some of Gainesville’s scenic places I never explored before. This was my spring break on a budget, so next time you’re looking to do something that won’t cost you a lot, take up some of these options.