Tallahassee, Florida: A Capital Vacation for the Family

Story and photography by
Nancy & Eric Anderson 

 

Tourists sometimes have travel hobbies. Some chase the Great Dames of the hotel world with the enthusiasm of butterfly collectors. Some head for the highest points in North America. Others want to check out every state capital, perhaps anticipating the day they'll be contestants on Jeopardy!.

Those latter tourists risk being disappointed. Rapid City, SD, is much more interesting than the capital Pierre. Portsmouth, NH, has a lot more going for it than Concord. And what Anthony Trollop wrote in 1862 about Kentucky is still true, "Frankfort is the capital, and is as quietly dull a little town as I ever entered." 

However, visitors to Florida's capital of Tallahassee are likely to come away pleased, unless they come to the Sunshine State in pursuit of Mickey or that perfect beach with sand like talcum powder. Tallahassee benefits from its own relative obscurity. Unless you arrive during legislative season the roads are clear and parking is easy, the restaurants are inexpensive, the hotels are a good value and Tallahassee's many superb museums are generally safe from mobs of people.

Museum Madness

At the Old Capitol Museum it's a bit unusual to observe the reverence shown to Florida's previous legislators, especially in these days when the public is so cynical about its politicians. However, historian Andrew N. Edel says, "We're also the Museum of Florida Political History. It's our mission to inspire people to become more involved in the political process." Mission accomplished. You leave with a better understanding of politics.

Other museums are nearby. The Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science offers interactive exhibits especially geared to children and a few blocks over, the Museum of Florida History further captivates kids with its 9-foot mastodon skeleton, dioramas of life before the Spanish came, and gold exhibits from galleon wrecks. The adjacent Challenger Learning Center presents a full-dome planetarium and an IMAX theater, and an easy walk leads to the Knott House Museum whose eccentric owner wrote poetry to her furniture in the 1930s. A glance at the ditties on labels suggests that William Wordsworth had nothing to worry about.

Amusement Drive

There's more entertainment for families with cars, which you definitely need for a true Tallahassee vacation. Within a half-hour drive are the Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science (850-575-8684), with 52 acres of nature trails, aviary, and zoo, and 1880 farm homesteads; and the Wakulla Springs State Park (850-224-5950) where riverboats glide on one of the world's deepest freshwater springs surrounded by Florida's abundant wildlife. Also worth a drive is Goodwood Museum and Gardens (850-877-4202), whose Italianate mansion is one of the most elaborate antebellum homes in Florida. Just over the state line in Thomasville, Ga, is the stunning Pebble Hill Plantation.

An unexpected delight in Tallahassee is its Antique Car Museum, which houses in its new location 80 rare cars, including a 1929 Auburn, 1931 Duesenberg, 1936 Cord, and a few Hollywood vehicles, such as two Batmobiles and the Tucker from the Jeff Bridges movie Tucker: The Man and His Dream. Their interesting antique showroom overflows like grandma's attic, with bric-a-brac from grand pianos to cigar store Indians.

Reasonably priced food is available at a wealth of local stops, including the long-established Bradley's Country Store (850-893-1647). Hotels range from the 116-room Radisson, with its inexpensive room-service breakfast, to the downtown Governors Inn (850-681-6855), which has only 40 rooms—there may not be one available if the politicians are in session with the taxpayers picking up the tab.