Most Relaxing Getaway That’s Only A 2 1/2-Hour Drive From Tampa

Do you want to take a little getaway to a relaxing, beautiful place that's a less than 2 1/2-hour drive from Tampa?

Hop in the car with your family and friends for a drive north on I-75 and you'll find beautiful Lake City and Ichetucknee Springs.

It's amazing how much our Tampa Bay area is growing...more people moving here, more restaurants to choose from, but does it make you start to feel like you need a break from the hustle and bustle?

If you want to get back to nature, plan a weekend getaway to Ichetucknee Springs. There are great recreational activities to partake in there. You can tube or kayak down the river, take a trail ride, walk the trails, enjoy some fishing. There's something for everyone.

My favorite thing about Ichetucknee Springs is the water temperature. It's a perfect 72 degrees year-round.

And less than 30 minutes from Ichetucknee Springs, you'll find downtown Lake City. They've got some cute restaurants in the quaint little town, along with a brewery you'll definitely want to check out if you like to enjoy a good beer!

You can watch a video of me exploring Ichutucknee here.

Last weekend I took my kids to Disney World. MJ teased me that I was a bad mom for not taking them to the parks. But there's no hard and fast rule that you MUST take your kids to a park while you are staying at Disney World. We found plenty of other things to do that, some of which were free with our stay. My kid are 5 and 2 and they were THOROUGHLY entertained. (These ideas may not work for kids of all ages).

And by the way, I titled this "less expensive" things to do at Disney, but technically, they are all free (with your hotel stay).

We spent half a day riding around on Disney transportation and my kids LOVED it. No lines and we got great views of all the Disney properties, from Epcot's Spaceship Earth to MGM's Tower of Terror and all the cool hotel properties.

You can walk around and look in all the shops. Of course, you'll spend money on shopping and dining, but you gotta eat, right?! My kids just enjoyed seeing some of the musical performances and all the hustle-bustle.

If you are at a park all day, you can't even take the time to enjoy a dip in your hotel pool. And they all have cool themes and amenities. At the pool at the Art of Animation Hotel, there were plenty of fun places for the kids to climb on and explore.

Again, what's the point of spending all that money on your hotel room if you're only in it to crash after a park firework show, and then you bounce out to hit a park first thing in the a.m. They have colorful themes and furniture. And we packed all of our Disney princess costumes, so one night we just chilled in the room and did fashion shows.

Whether it's the Animal Kingdom Hotel with all of the animal viewing opportunities or the Art of Animation hotel with photo ops around every corner, take the time to walk around whatever resort you at and take in all the Disney details.