I recently had the opportunity of spending a weekend at Captain’s Quarters in Keaton Beach, owned by old friends Sandra and Joe Hatcher. I was invited for some desperately needed r&r and was only too happy to be their guest. My friendship with Sandra goes back about 10 years when we were into the tourism business – Sandra at Keaton Beach and I in Citrus County. As I stopped at the two stores to pick up food items for the…
Some may call it "the Forgotten Coast", but a visit to a section of Florida's Panhandle coastline will long be remembered. That section of coast referred to as "forgotten" stretches for about one hundred twenty miles between Panama City and Tallahassee from Mexico Beach to St Marks. It seems the area was omitted from a tourism map of Florida in the nineties. The local chambers of commerce of the affected counties gathered and dubbed their area as the "forgotten coast"…
Cape Canaveral, Florida is situated in the central East Coast of the state midway between Jacksonville and Miami. The history of Cape Canaveral and its region is fascinating. It dates back to an astounding 10,000 years ago, when the Ais and Timicuan Native Americans journeyed to the area. They settled there for the extraordinary fishing, and survived through much hardship up until the Colonial times. There was much European and Spanish exploration of the region. At first, the Cape region…
One riders' account of the 2000 Multiple Sclerosis 150 Bike Ride Well, I'm tired, I'm sore, but I DID IT! 75 miles yesterday - what an accomplishment, my longest distance to date. And then, 75 more miles today! Having just started biking again last August, I'm glad to be back on top of two skinny tires. I was originally introduced to cycling as a kid and road with the Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society through the rolling hills of Southeastern…
When you think of Key West you probably don’t think of glass bottom boats. You may think, instead, of beautiful sunsets, a fun and lively environment, and Jimmy Buffet. Now, it’s all changed, with Wild Dolphin glass bottom boat. Wild Dolphin Boat purpose when it sets sail is explore the depths of the sea through the glass bottom hull, with great sightseeing, a relaxing atmosphere, and to ultimately find a pod of bottlenose dolphins. When I arrived at the dock where…
The Illustrious and well-known Singer Island, is located on the East Central region of Palm Beach County. It is actually part of the Riviera Beach, in the South Florida Metropolitan area. Named after the sewing machine founder, Singer Island has a wide variety of parks, hiking events, sporting events, marinas and great entertainment, and shopping venues, not to mention superb restaurant outlets. Each of which will be covered in some detail in the later portions of this Article. Yet to…
If you've ever visited Florida, you've probably gone to Disney World in Orlando. While Disney World is well worth visiting, there is a whole world outside it that is even more worthy of a visit. I have been visiting Florida for the last 15 years and done all the usual vacation stuff: theme parks, beaches, pools and plenty of eating out. But about 3 years ago I decided it was time to try something a little different. It started when…
Where can you be in Asia, Africa and Australia in one day? Well of coarse at the Miami Metro Zoo, a world renown zoo. I was at the zoo, on a typical South Florida Summer day, hot in the morning, rainy in the afternoon, and beautiful in the evening. So in order to see all the moods of the animals, you may want to spend the whole day at the zoo. During the midday heat, you may want to visit…
Jungle Island (it used to be called Parrot Jungle Island) is one of those attractions in South Florida that has been around so long that most South Florida residents have been there. It’s like the Statue of Liberty. Eventually, most residents of New York will visit in their lifetime. Jungle Island has lived two lives during its existence; the original Parrot Jungle established in 1911 in Dade County, and the new Jungle Island, which opened in June 2003, located on…
Seminole Mills Park This is a 50-acre park located on Third Street north from Lake Mills Road in Southwest Seminole County near Chuluota. Lake Mills offers a unique up-close look at a mixed hardwood swamp. You’ll also find highlands thick with oak and pine at Lake Mills. It’s an extraordinary opportunity to see the wide range of the real, natural Florida. Views of Lake Mills Pavilions are invitingly located under the shade of 150 year old oak trees. There are…