February 20, 2011
Located on the northern end of Anastasia Island, within the city limits of St. Augustine, the St. Augustine Lighthouse plays a critical role in water navigation. In May 2010, Dad and I set off to tour the lighthouse and accompanying museum. The surprisingly expansive museum and audio tour provided a great deal of historical information, ...
February 11, 2011
Walt Disney always planned to build a working city in Central Florida. Known as the Florida project, his plans called for a high-tech, entirely interconnected city where people could live, work and play without ever needing their cars. When Walt passed away in 1966, however, new management was unsure how to take on such an ...
February 10, 2011
On a recent trip to St. Augustine, Florida, we took some time to simply drive around the area. We love to go out in a new town and get slightly lost, discovering hidden attractions along the way. On one of these drives we ended up at the Mala Compra Plantation Archaeological Site. It’s a park ...
February 10, 2011
In the 1800s, cotton was king throughout most of the American south. Florida certainly raised its share, but settlers quickly discovered that Florida’s rich subtropical climate made it an ideal location for raising another cash crop–sugar cane. In the early 1800s, sugar plantations dotted the Florida landscape, particularly along the Atlantic Coast. But the ...
February 9, 2011
Settled by the Spanish in 1565, St. Augustine, Florida is the oldest continuously-occupied city in the continental United States. St. Augustine was actually discovered by accident by explorer Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513. Legend has it that Ponce de Leon set out from Puerto Rico in search of the island of Bimini, where he ...
January 31, 2011
Mini-golf has been a nearly ubiquitous part of American vacations since the 1920s. The game was invented in Scotland in 1867 to provide an alternative for women, as social customs prevented them from playing traditional golf. While early mini-golf courses were simply miniature putting greens, by the 1930s obstacles were all the rage. Today mini-golf ...
January 18, 2011
Just minutes from crowded downtown Tampa, Hillsborough River State Park is a world away. The park won numerous awards in 2010 from ReserveAmerica, the national online campground reservation system. Hillsborough River was ranked #30 of the Top 50 Scenic Views, #15 of the Top 100 Family Campgrounds, #5 in the Top 25 Tours and Events, ...
January 17, 2011
The Florida RV SuperShow is held each January at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa. Sponsored by the Florida RV Trade Association, the show is the largest anywhere in the United States. This year was the 25th anniversary of the show, and the dates were January 12 through January 16. This was our second year ...
January 13, 2011
With nine locations in the United States and Canada, Medieval Times is a chain of dinner theaters specializing in the Middle Ages. The theaters are styled as 11th century castles, complete with drawbridge and moat. We recently visited the castle in Orlando, FL, which is currently the only location to also house a replica Medieval ...
January 9, 2011
We took our daughter and my niece to Disney World – it was also our first trip to the world’s largest attraction and boy, were we amazed beyond words! It’s like entering a whole other universe – albeit an overpriced one – still, the magic (for you can never really tell how they pull it ...
