From an airboat ride to a safari tram tour to a walk through the treetop canopy, our two days at Myakka River State Park were filled with (tame) mini-adventures. Located about 100 miles north of Sanibel Island, the park is only a short distance from Sarasota and civilization, but feels like “Old Florida,” with vast […]
Archive for Florida – Page 6
We’re hoping 2014 is off to a glorious beginning for you! We’re currently freezing in North Florida. Seriously—the temperature is dropping to 19 degrees tonight. That’s just not right. We’re sitting in the trailer on this chilly evening, drinking hot whiskey toddies, and trying to warm up after an Arctic bike ride this afternoon. There’s […]
If someone had asked me where I wanted to spend my birthday, I doubt that I would have said, “How about a swamp?” Nonetheless, that’s where we found ourselves in mid-December. After leaving the Keys, we traveled about 100 miles to Big Cypress Swamp, a wild natural preserve that nestles against the eastern edge of […]
You don’t think we went to the Keys without visiting Key West, do you? Of course not. In truth, I feared that the quirky and charming tropical village of my memory might have become tarnished beyond recognition in the 25 years since I last visited. But we couldn’t resist the siren call of the southernmost […]
The Florida Keys are a tropical paradise—turquoise waters, endless blue skies, palm trees swaying gently in the breeze, abundant fresh seafood, and a laid-back island lifestyle. The motto of the Keys is “Come As You Are,” and they mean it. We planned our visit for mid-November, when it’s still warm enough for swimming but the […]
Iremember when the only way to get to St. George Island was by ferry. There’s a picture of my sister and me, circa late 1950’s, standing at the bow of the ferry with our great-grandmother, Mother Pearl; she in her calico dress holding us close, us knobby kneed in our summer shorts and seersucker shirts. […]
A two-lane road—Highway 98—leads across the bay and into the center of downtown Apalachicola. It’s a one-stoplight town, with wide, palm-lined streets, vintage storefronts, antebellum homes, classic Florida cracker houses, and run-down shacks. Shrimp boats, oyster boats, and fishing vessels ply the waters for the shellfish and finfish harvest that sustains the town. By some […]
Almost 30,000 people (us included) descended on the laid-back little town of Apalachicola (population 2,300) for the 49th annual Florida Seafood Festival, held the first weekend in November every year. It was a fun two-day party celebrating the bounty that has sustained Franklin County for centuries. Some of the highlights: The Blessing of the Fleet Shrimp […]
The first time I told Eric about Wakulla Springs, I had to prod him into going with me. “There’s a jungle boat cruise!” I told him. “You won’t believe how close you can get to the birds and the ‘gators, and we might even see manatees!” He looked at me skeptically, and I knew he […]
I’ve often heard it said that you can’t go home again. But for the several weeks that we’ve been in Florida, that hasn’t held true. The warmth of the welcome that we’ve experienced, from family and friends, has been without reserve, and we’ve had a wonderful homecoming. Visiting my sister and my nieces and their […]
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If you enjoy hiking, biking, kayaking, birding, art, music, quirky towns, good food, and good friends—you'll enjoy traveling with us. Join us as we explore the backroads of North America—we love company and comments!