Florida                    

Florida is a flat peninsula that juts southward with the Gulf of Mexico bordering it on the west and the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Florida’s eastern coast has been one of the most popular resort destinations for travelers in the past century.  Listing from the north part of the state southward, the most popular cities are as follows:  Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Daytona Beach, Cocoa Beach, Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, and Miami.  Extending southward are the Florida Keys, a strand of islands connected by a bridge, with its final destination being Key West.  The west coast tri-cities of St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and Tampa are attracting tourists to this area at an astonishing rate.    

The Miami-Florida Keys area offers fabulous restaurants, fascinating architecture, and rich cultural diversity.  Some of the destination attractions include  Vizcaya Palace, Coral Gables, South Beach art deco district, Little Havana, the Museum Science and Planet Ocean, and Everglades National Park.  Many interesting beach cities don the Gulf of Mexico rim of Florida, yet Florida’s west coast remains less well known than its Atlantic side.  The following cities that are growing in popularity are Ft. Myers, Sanibel, Captiva, Marco Island, Sarasota, Clearwater, Cedar Key, and Tallahassee. 

The Atlantic cities have, in the past, been shadowed by the popular Disney theme parks.  The sun-bleached string of towns and cities draw millions of visitors each year.  Even though Florida draws crowds all 365 days, twice a year the shore really kicks into high gear.  February sees about 21 days of thunder during the auto-racing events that culminate in the world-famous Daytona 500.  Following that, Bike Week (in March) does for motorcycles what the Speed Weeks do for cars.  College students from all over the country hit Daytona Beach in March for Spring Break.   Jacksonville boasts Amelia Island and St. Augustine houses the Marineland Theme Park. Cocoa Beach, a smaller city, is located just a few miles from the Kennedy Space Center and Port Canaveral.  Palm Beach is famous for its outstanding architecture and lack of fast food chains, movie theaters, neon signs, and car dealerships.  None of these are allowed within Palm Beach city limits.  The last of the Atlantic cities is Ft. Lauderdale, which is a major departure point for cruises leaving Port Everglades.

Located almost in the dead center of the state you will find Orlando.  Within its enormous boundaries you can find hotel clusters, shopping villages, campgrounds, animal sanctuaries, and water slide parks.  Orlando is home to the Kennedy Space Center, which offers tours of the space shuttle launch sites.  Here you can also see the new Apollo/Saturn V. Center that houses the Saturn V. Rocket and IMAX films on a 5 1/2 story screen.  Busch Gardens Tampa Bay  is an adventurous encounter featuring naturalistic animal habitats, hair-raising thrill rides and dazzling live entertainment. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay offers guests the most unique experience found anywhere outside the wild. Busch Gardens' marquis attractions include Montu and Kumba, two of the world's top-ranked roller coasters; Akbar's Adventure Tours, a hilarious journey through Egypt starring zany tour guide Martin Short; and the Hollywood Live on Ice skating spectacular.  Orlando is also home to the best shopping in the country and here you really can shop 'til you drop! From the Factory Outlet Malls to F.A.O. Schwartz at Pointe Orlando and from Disney Village to Park Avenue, Orlando is a shoppers haven!  

America's Best Beach -

With sugar-fine sand and crystal clear waves, St. Joseph Peninsula State Park in Florida’s Panhandle reached the No.1 spot on Dr. Beach’s America’s Best Beach list. Dr. Beach, or Stephen P. Letherman, is an environmental scientist at the Florida International University in Miami who has ranked beaches for the past 12 years. According to Dr. Beach, St. Joseph has lily-white beaches with the finest and whitest sand in the world. Florida seemed to be a big hit with Dr. Beach this year, as three other Florida beaches made the list. Fort DeSoto Park, Caladesi Island State Park and Cape Florida State Recreation Area­­– secured the No. 4,5 and 9 spots.

Welcome to the place where storybook fantasy is everyday reality, and Disney classics are brought to life.

With shorter lines and more thrill rides, not to mention a working movie studio, Universal Studios is actually my favorite park

Sea World, featuring the famous show  "Shamu; World Showcase" has been a popular Florida park for adults and kids of all ages.

These naturistic theme parks combine the serine environment of the animal world and the fast paced, world of humans.

A popular attraction in Miami is Monkey Jungle.  It is a zoo with a twist - the visitors are in cages and the animals are outside.

For those of you who wish to buy shells, go to the Shell Factory on US route 41 in Ft. Myers.

Have Key Lime pie!

While in Key West, take the Conch Train.  It is an interesting 1 1/2 hour trip around the island.

The "off season" in Florida is a great time to visit theme parks.  To avoid the crowds and the lines, we suggest visiting in the fall (late August through early November) or during the spring (April through mid-June).

 

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