For those that want a complete overview of our Florida Tour that we took at the end of last year, here is a complete summary of the trip with links to more detailed posts about each place. Itinerary/Budget for trip: Click pic for larger version Quick Stop at University of Florida Weeki Wachee Springs Myakka… Read More »
We got up early, had a nice big breakfast at the hotel in Cocoa Beach, and drove over to Kennedy Space Center. Driving there we saw several gators and even a wild boar, which you see below. Such an impressive view. We got their before the gates opened, but were able to ask a few… Read More »
After leaving Fort Lauderdale, we continued north towards Cocoa Beach. We checked into the hotel and ventured across the street to the beach. I was feeling quite nostalgic knowing Dad used to live right near there on a condo in the beach. It was quite breezy and a bit cold, but that didn’t stop the… Read More »
After spending the night in Fort Lauderdale at the Comfort Suites Airport & Cruise Port, we grabbed a quick breakfast snack from the hotel and then headed down to the river to inquire about a Fort Lauderdale Riverfront Cruise. Here’s a few pics from the drive. Since we were there in January during peak season,… Read More »
After leaving Marathon, Florida, we drove through Miami over to South Beach. We stopped in at University of Miami in Coral Gables. Such a pretty entrance into campus. We made a quick stop at Marlin’s Park too. I was so excited to drive near the cruise ships at Port Miami. This is one point of… Read More »
One of the things on our to-do-list while in the keys was to go to Bahia Honda State Park. The afternoon after spending our morning at sea, we had a few hours to spare. We decided to go check out this highly regarded state park. After entering the park we turned and headed to the… Read More »
Burdines Waterfront ChikiTiki Bar & Grill is located on Boot Key Harbor on Marathon Key. We actually passed by it earlier that day in the boat. This place was packed, but we managed to get a table inside. If you go there, I highly recommend eating outside. The inside is small and shares space with… Read More »
Never in a million years did I imagine that I would be spreading my Dad’s ashes before I even turned 40! You can read all about his journey with ALS, which was a quick one actually. On my last visit to see him, he expressed to Rob and me that he wanted to be “blowing… Read More »
On New Year’s Day, we woke up early and stopped in at McDonald’s for a quick breakfast before hopping on a charter boat for a half day on the open seas. Yes, that loose end of spreading Dad’s ashes had finally come and I’ll have to say I was a mess while eating breakfast. We… Read More »
Key West is such an interesting place with so much character, history, and uniqueness to experience. When we were in the Keys, we spent New Year’s Eve morning in Key West. This post is just to highlight the 4-5 hours we spent exploring this alluring city. I plan to come back and write a few… Read More »
Another must see and do while in the Florida Keys is to visit the The National Key Deer Refuge, which is located on Big Pine Key and No Name Key. We made a stop on Big Pine Key on our way back up to Marathon from Key West. click on map to enlarge click on… Read More »
After an exhilarating airboat tour in Everglades City, we headed towards Shark Valley, which has an observation tower that provides amazing panoramic views of the heart of the Everglades. click on map to enlarge Right before arriving at Shark Valley (Stop #1), we stopped at Miccosukee Restaurant for lunch. This is a restaurant on the… Read More »
We arrived at Captain Jack’s to get tickets for our airboat tour. Before going there we stopped at the convenient store for some breakfast. I saw Zinger’s and was quickly taken back to the times my Dad and I would stop at a 7-11 and I would get Zingers. Anyway, we got over to the… Read More »
We left Naples and arrived in Everglades City a little after 2 p.m. and checked into the Everglades City Motel. When we were looking for places to stay in Everglades City there was only 3 or 4 motels, none of which seemed super nice. We booked this one, because it had really good reviews and… Read More »
After leaving Sanibel Island, we continued south for a stop in Naples. Naples has lots of metered parking along the streets as well as some parking lots. We probably drove around for a good 30 minutes looking for a spot as well as gawking at the beautiful homes. We were about to bale when we… Read More »
We arrived at Sanibel Island and we were starving. We wanted to stop at a local place so we ended up at the Sanibel Cafe, which is in the Tahitian Gardens Plaza on Periwinkle Way. You could already tell we were visiting an island that has as abundance of shells, since all the table were… Read More »
After eating a lovely dinner at Capone’s, we went back to the hotel as the kids were itching to swim in the pool. We stayed at Hotel Indigo, which located in the beautiful River District of Fort Myers. The pool is on the roof of the hotel, and Rob and I enjoyed looking around, as… Read More »
On our Florida Tour, on Sunday after leaving Myakka River State Park, we drove the rest of the way down to Fort Myers, Florida where we were staying at the Hotel Indigo. We checked into the hotel, got settled in and then decided to walk around and find a cool place to eat. We ended… Read More »
On Sunday morning of our Florida tour, we got up and took Gramma and Granpa out for breakfast at Susie’s Grill. We dropped back by their house to finish gathering up all our stuff before to Fort Myers. We got a couple family shots as well. Here’s a few scenes along the way including a… Read More »
On the 2nd day of our Florida Tour 2014, we took a little break from visiting with Gramma and Granpa and went to Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, home of the Real Live Mermaids! That morning Granpa told us the story of Newton Perry and how he invented the breathing hoses that are used for… Read More »