Travel 2016

Florida Caverns State Park. Probably the coolest place we visited in 2016, in my opinion.

Falling Waters State Park. The waterfall wasn't flowing much that day and it wouldn't really show up in photos. It was still pretty cool because I didn't know we had any waterfalls in Florida!!

Apalachicola National Forest

A beach we passed along the way that happened to be a WWII D-day Training site. I have no clue what it was called or what town we were in. Which I LOVE!! It was so amazing to be so unplugged for a full 2-3 days. We didn't have service the ENTIRE trip and it was so awesome.

We also found this super awesome place! It was free and it had fish tanks, and tons of information all about the things you would find in the Apalachicola Forest.

This was Hamilton's FAVORITE part! We stumbled across this amazing boardwalk that looks out on an entire forest of Dwarf Cypress trees! It was so beautiful and crazy to see those trees. They were about as tall as me and had zero leaves! They were all bonsai trees and it was just so cool because usually you only see tiny bonsai trees in people's windows or something, never a whole forest of them!

We went to so many beaches and it was kinda the best!

Spent a full week in Tennessee! We went to Fall Creek Falls and did the cable trail, Lookout Mountain, Signal Mountain, and Franklin, TN.

Spend many, many weekends at Disney.

Spend a wonderful Thanksgiving at Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park.

We stopped at Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park.


// we went to 7 beaches! Holmes, Siesta Key, Coquina, Whitney, Daytona, Cocoa, and New Smyrna Beaches.

// we went to 5 state parks. Florida Caverns, Falling Waters, Fall Creek Falls, Gold Head Branch, and Devil's Millhopper State Parks.

// we went to 2 state and national forests. Tate's Hell State Forest and Apalachicola National Forest.

// we went to 3 states. Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. okay, okay, we didn't REALLY do anything in Georgia, but we did drive through it, and it was quite a beautiful drive!

// we went to Disney countless times! We went at least 6 times and I loved it haha. I know this isn't TECHNICALLY traveling, but people travel from all over to go here, soo I'm still including it.



Places we will travel to in 2017.

// Myakka State Park, FL.
// Little Manatee River State Park, FL.
// Colorado. To see my best friend from growing up!
// Ocala National Forest, FL.
// Highlands Hammock State Park, FL.
// Jupiter, FL.
// Little Talbot Island State Park, FL.
// Idaho, most likely, this one isn't set in stone yet.

I know 2017 will be filled with even more adventure. I am so excited for all the places we will go to and for the places we've already been!

xoxo, Jacquelyn

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Palatka Camping

For Christmas, Hamilton and I decided we would take my mom and nephews camping. So we came up with a date and decided we would go for the first 3 day weekend in January! It was such an awesome trip. Plus Ham's sister ended up coming too and that was so fun!

We went camping at Rodman Campground and it was the most beautiful campsite I have been to yet. I think it's my favorite because it isn't as cleared out as other sites. There are so many trees and still some pretty thick brush everywhere, which makes the sites pretty closed off from everyone else's, which is pretty nice when camping with a dog.

I honestly don't like to have a solid plan when I'm camping. I usually just do some research on the area and pick out a couple things that I MUST do! So for this trip, I found Ravine Gardens State Park. That was the only state park really close to us, and the pictures were absolutely beautiful! So the first full day, that's where we went. Once we had been back at the site for awhile and rested a little, we drove down the street where our campsite was and I was in awe with what we found! As we drove down, there was a huge river, or lake or some sort of body of water. The shore was just all dead trees, and we could tell they had been there for a long time. It made for some awesome pictures, plus it was so gorgeous. We climbed way out onto the trees, and I was amazed at how thick the trees were! I would like to know where they came from. A little further down the road was a dam. It wasn't huge, but it was the biggest one I've seen!

The next day we just drove down SR 19, which goes through the entire Ocala National Forest. We just looked for hiking trails or random dirt roads to drive down. We found a couple, and they were some of the prettiest trails I've ever seen!

I am so grateful that we are able to take these trips and have the flexibility to take off work. I love hiking these trails and sleeping in the woods, especially in my hammock (which is WAY more comfy than I thought it would be!). And an added bonus is that the food always tastes better when your camping!


xoxo, Jacquelyn

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2016 recap

 Camping in Apalachicola was by far my favorite thing! It was my first real camping experience and I am hooked. We just drove all through the forest and stumbled upon some of the most amazing places.

 WEDDINGS! 2016 was the year of weddings! Many of Ham's friends got married and so did a couple of his siblings!

 2016 was also the year of beachin it up. We got tanner than ever and spent most of the first half of the year at the beach.

My momma graduated her LPN class. She is still in school for nursing and doing so well. Such an amazing role model.

We moved to Bradenton! I am from here. Born and raised. It was so amazing and so good for me to move back here. It was something I needed to do for my soul and I am so happy we're here for now.

 Spend a good week or two with all my nieces and nephews. My bother and his fam came down in the summer. I love when they're here because I definitely don't see them enough.

 Ham's oldest sister got married in July and it was such a beautiful and elegant wedding! There was so much love and I am so happy to be apart of this family.

 Got to see Twenty One Pilots for the second time and it was AMAZING. We had such great seats and it was such a fun time.

 Ham's oldest brother got married a week and a half later and it was such a fun wedding! It was a very small wedding, which made it so intimate and personal. It was such a wonderful day to be apart of.

 I tried to only post a few of these photos, but I couldn't pick! We got to spend a whole week in Tennessee after the wedding and it was so beautiful. I have developed a love for hiking and it definitely started with this trip. I haven't felt so close with nature in my life. It was so peaceful and so beautiful. It made me feel so small but so free and I can't wait to go on so many more adventures.

 I have seen some of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen in my entire life this year.

 We adopted a pup. We love him so much and he fills our life with laughter and so much joy. He makes things a little stressful at some times because he is still a puppy and likes to eat EVERYTHING...including our nephews bed...

 Again...SO many weddings! But I'm not complaining. We love weddings so much! Dancing, food, and so much love, what more do you need?

 We spent Thanksgiving with Ham's family and we went camping. It was tons of fun and it had been awhile since our last camping trip, so this just made my love of nature grow so much more. I am happiest when I'm out camping or hiking or just laying down looking up at the trees.

 We went to Disney almost every month and I loved it!

Sorry for the overload of pictures! 2016 was an amazing year. I know a lot of people had a rough year and some bad things happened, but I had a wonderful year and wouldn't change a thing. I have really come to know myself so much better this year and I know what things I want and what I want to do. 

I know 2017 will be even better because we have a better grip on what is going to happen and what we want. 

If you made it to the end, thanks for stickin it out haha.

xoxo, Jacquelyn

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