Mission San Luis de Apalachee

MISSION SAN LUIS is located near downtown Tallahassee and the Florida State University campus. There are several ways to the park. We took I-10 to the FL 263 S/Capital Circle (Exit 196) then traveled south on Capital Circle and turned left onto US 90/Tennessee Street. Just past White Drive we turned left at the Mission entrance.

Mission San Luis offers an opportunity to walk through Florida’s mission period. The mission’s history is detailed on their website. We checked it out before our visit. It enabled us to appreciate not only the experience of mission life but also the incredible amount of research and work that went into recreating the seventeenth century mission. The mission is open Tuesday-Sunday 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

We arrived at the mission on a sunny, spring morning in mid-April. The sky was brilliant blue and the air was in the seventies. The best time for outdoor activity in Florida.

We started our visit at the visitor’s center and museum where we enjoyed the exhibits, artifacts, video, and gift shop.

The plaza was the center of activity for both the Spaniards and Apalachee. Imagine merchants selling their wares, children playing, and soldiers marching. The Apalachee might even be playing a ball game, a dangerous, vicious game. Today, however, peace and quiet reigned. Birds chirped and tree tops swayed gently in the breeze.