Florida Travel Tips - Florida Travel Guide

Hey - I am back from this nice spot called Florida! It is the 4th of April today. More about this trip tomorrow, because I finally get some work to do - searching for some data! See you tomorrow. Florida!!! ----- It takes some time to go down there from NY, so we passed 10 States of the US: leave New York on Friday at 10pm, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, South-Carolina, Georgia and finally arrived in Florida on Sunday. Because we could get the time-share just after 4 pm we hang around at Daytona Beach, which is a totally buggy place. Cars behind us were turning sideward to 45 degree and than it fall back on the road- the three guys were sitting in there dam car like it is the most normal thing in the world - totally cool. There was also an exhibition of sound systems in Cars or better to say Vans. These Vans were just made to carry the subwoofer and all that stuff. The earth was moving like hell around that area - unbelievable. You have to see the pictures one day. We were swimming in the Atlantic, which had really a pleasant temperature. Than we went to Kissimee which is close to Orlando and Disney world. There was our accommodation for the next seven days - in the 'Magic Tree Resort'. We were living there for free, because a friend of Bastian owns this apartment for a week in the year and was not able to use it this year, lucky us. It was very nice with a swimming- and whirlpool, tennis court, basketball basket... First evening we were just out for dinner in a chinese restaurant which was ok but nothing extraordinary so that I have to mention it here as a wonderful place. We went to bed early, because the driving was very exhausting. The next day we wanted to go skydiving, but it was way to expensive, so we left for the Golf of Mexico. The idea was to borrow some snorkeling accessory in St. Petersburg, and take part at a boot tour, which would have taken us out to an island. But we missed that one, instead we meet a guy at a gas station who told us that it would be nice to snorkel in Clearwater, which is near by. So we went there and in the aquarium there they send us to Tarpon Spring and Honeymoon Island. Problem: It was not possible to borrow any snorkel equipment. So we were just swimming in the Gulf throwing a special water ball to each other. When we came out of the water two old Ladies told us that a Dolphin was swimming beside us, what a bummer, because of the high waves we didn’t recognized him. When we were on a nature trail afterwards on Tarpon Island we walked through a thunderstorm and caught a lot of water. It was raining cats and dogs, so to say. But we saw a lot of wildlife: a turtle and a bird of prey who was carrying a fish away and a lot of other unknown birds (like different sorts of herons). It was so beautiful - so we had to dry our clothing after this few minutes. ------- The next day we took our car and drove down to the Everglades. In Everglade City we borrowed a canoe in the ranger station and then we stayed two days in the total wilderness. We had a map but it was crap (ok for the way out but crap on our way back). We slept under the sky on a platform in the middle of the water with a small roof. SOOOOOOO many stars, it was like in the outback of Australia, except the fact, that you could tell the next 3 biggest cities around, because of the light at the horizon. The light in the east was even Miami, which is very far away. As I told you on your way back we get a little bit lost, but Bastian and I we are smart and old pathfinder, we always knew were north is and got easily out of it. There was again a nature-trail which took an hour. On sand flea island was no wind and very sunny. We saw a lot of lizards and birds and I guess the bud of a racoon. I forget to say thank you to Bastian, who took care of all sand fleas on that platform *grins. Hoffentlich sind die vielen Stiche jetzt weg?! On our way back we stoped in Fort Meyers, were we asked someone for a good seafood-restaurant? And we get a perfect tip: Martanzas!!! I will give you the address later. It was directly at the harbor were you could sit outside. The waiter was very friendly and the food good and not exp. After a while we get a dolphin show for free, because a wild dolphin swim directly in front of our sits even jumped once. Than we drove back home. The next dolphin families we saw the next day, when we tried again to do snorkeling. We get up earlier than last time, and drove over to St. Petersburg (we knew that we could get snorkeling gear there, because we had a coupon which let us have it for half the price). From the boot which took us to the island we saw several Dolphins, but when we get of the boot and took the masks on to go swimming with the dolphins they were gone. (So the rest of the snorkeling is not worse it to mention, because it was 'swimming with mask and snorkel without vision' (O-ton Bastian). Than we hurried home to take a short shower and then to pick up Andrew (an other friend from Detroit/Michigan) who wants to go with us to Miami. We managed it all in time, but than we recognized that it was Thursday and not Friday - 24 hours as a present. So we take the them parks back to our plan which we had skipped before. So we had been to Universal studios the next day. Very nice, colorful and crowded. I used a lot of this fancy roller coasters - and I am still alive. It was really great fun the only thing that sucks was the lining up for at least half an hour to get on the ride. The dragon ride was cool, because there are two roller coasters in one, there are on two different tracks but they go synced (if they manage it) so that you meet the others on your 'tour'. Also extraordinaire is that your seat is fastened the other way around, so that you are hanging under the trail. There we take the longer line to get in the front car,, which was really worse it - HHHHUuuuuuu!!!! An other great thing was the 'Terminator 2 -3D Show' so etwas habe ich noch nicht gesehen - wow - Interactive, chairs were moving, and wind and ice get in your face after the explosion ....and and and. Perfect timing perfect show ( it was with real Actors as well who came out of the screen). In the evening we picked Andrew up from the airport (because it was now Friday evening).
Than we went down to Miami, another 212 miles to go. And on our way we borrowed fins and Andrew bought some snorkeling gear. But in the next shop we heard that it is not a good day for snorkeling, it would be a perfect day for surfing - so we also borrowed surfboards (all in Jupiter, a small town close to Miami). With all that stuff we went up to the Pier and try to surf - just a try! In Aussi it worked better, and the board was bigger (you hear, we had less success in riding a wave). So we go on to Miami. A good Place to Stay is the Youth hostel there, it is a fantastic house in the middle of the party-center and very cheap, you pay 44$ for a double room (22 each)- isn’t it unbelievable? Than we were out for Dinner and again we picked out the best spot in town. a cuban restaurant called Larios on the beach (820 Ocean Drive - south beach) Very friendly place, where we came back to later in the evening, because they where playing live music there, and it was more relaxing and easy than the rest of Miami. A lot of good-looking people down there, just there to make the ultimate party and to get drunk (do you know Ballermann? I haven’t been there, but I think it is similar with may be less Germans). In the Larios we had a nice conversation with a cuban dr. and his family. at 3 o'clock (4 because of the daylight saving) we left, to go back to NY, to pick up my sister from the JFK airport. On our way back we had to change the car at Jacksonville, because one tire lose air (for reasons that I will tell you later). But that was not a big deal: driving in pick up new car and go on!! (buget is a good company here). We get after some naps (not on the highway) we get to NY in time, one hour in reserve.

Florida General Tips

Florida General Tips

Visiting Florida?

Visiting Florida?