Discover Old Florida at Historic Spanish Point

Slip off bustling route 41 in Osprey, Florida, into a world of prehistoric middens, pioneer homesteads, butterfly gardens, tranquil pathways, and the waters of Little Sarasota Bay weaving among mangroves. Slip into Historic Spanish Point and embrace the wonderful manner this environmenal, archaeological, and historic site brings to life southwest Florida's past and present.

On 30 acreas just south of Sarasota, tucked away from tracts of homes and high rises, it's possible to glimpse what natural Florida was once like. Here, amidst lush subropical foliage is preserved and restored the story of 4,000 years of human habitation.

It's a time portal where on a leisurely afternoon visitors can sense the river of time from prehistoric artifacts through the structures of pioneer Floridas and eventually the touches placed there by the wealthy, who began to turn this part of Florida into the winter getaway it's become.

Knowledgeable tour guides take you along easily accessible pathways over shell-packed middens left by prehistoric ancestors (at one point you an actually go inside a midden, the only place in the nation you can do so). On Sundays, January through April, volunteers in period dress complement the guides through Living History Dramas. Or you can walk the site alone savoring the calming effect it has on visitors while absorbing the history at a pace and depth of your own choosing.

Spanish Point ins located at 337 N. Tamiami Trail (route 41). Open Monday through Saturday 9-5 and Sunday 12-5. Guided tours daily. Admission: $9 adults, $8 Florida residents and seniors, $3 children, under 6 free. More information www.historicspanishpoint.org.