Florida

So we all know that Florida is one of those states that we could go on and on and on about, so I will just do a brief overview of Key West, Orlando, and Miami. However we all know Florida has beaches and water sports, so I will focus less on that.

Orlando – Kid Friendly all the way

If you are bringing the kids, then you must visit Orlando. Orlando has every theme park that you can imagine – Disney World, Universal, Wet N Wild, Sea World, Islands of Adventure, and even the less known Holy Land Experience which focuses on showing people how it was to live in biblical times. Right outside Orlando is Gatorland, a theme park dedicated to alligators. It houses also an educational center a wildlife preserve, or visit my favorite theme park is Discovery Cove Park where you can swim with the dolphins, visit the aviary, and see a tropical reef all in the same place.

After spending all day at the parks, take a walk in Lake Eila Park in downtown Orlando, where you will find 43 acres of running, picnicking, playgrounds, and more. Or head over to the Mall at the Millenia for tons of shopping.

Take a break from the hectic park life by taking the kids over to Tibet-butler reserve, which has educational and environmental focuses programs that teach you about Florida’s ecosystem.

Key West—Water, Water, and more Water

Yacht charters, glass bottom boat tours, dinner cruises, scuba diving, and dolphin watching is all part of the Key West experience, but get out of the water and visit some of these other tourist attractions. The Conch tour train or the Old Town Trolley Tours will give you an old fashioned tour of Key west. I always recommend these toursyou’re your first day so you can just sit back relax and learn what the city has to offer before spending the rest of your trip experiencing it all first hand. It lets you know where things and located and what is worth going to, and even about some attractions that you had no idea existed. Among them, Key West offers Cayo hueso y habana, which is located in Mallory Squares and offers shops and Cuban history. You can even see cigars being hand rolled. Another gem is the Flager Station History Center, which will tell you all you could ever need to know about the history of Key West. If you love history, then hit the Shipwreck Musuem which combines actors, films and the actual artifacts from the 1985 rediscovery of the wrecked vessel Isaac Allerton, which sank in 1856.

Dry Tortugas national park offers key west with a little less of the tourism and a little more natural beauty. You can climb up the lighthouse, hike, snorkel, birdwatch, fish, or camp. Not many people come all the way out there, so you get a little less crowded than on Key West.

Miami is for the grown ups.

Besides it’s lively night life of clubs and bars, they also have

Little Havana which has murals, monuments, cigar rollers, and everything else Cuban including music and restaurants. Also a great place to shop, eat, or stroll is Bayside market, which offers great views of the water and a mall front atmosphere.

If you want to get away from the beaches, the food, the nightlife, and the shopping head to one of these pitstops:

Oleta river state Park—camping, hiking, kayaking, wildlife, and of course still beaches.

Wings over Miami Museum—Air Museum located near the airport that tells visitors about military and civilian aviation.

Freedom tower- memorial to Cuban immigration

Sculpture park Martin Margulies Sculpture park encompasses the FIU campus with beautiful sculptures donated to the campus. Admission is free, and you know we like free.

Nascar fans should head over to the Daytona 500

There are also a million other museums including the Jewish Museum of Miami, and the Bonnet Museum and Gardens

Of course there are also a thousand other things that I failed to mention above to do in Florida. The general message = visit Florida.