Points of interest in Florida.

[thebeepster]

A little different slant...depending on your interests. I prefer North Fla. Visit historic Fernandina Beach, tour the quaint town and Ft. Clinch (Civil War), enjoy good seafood and stay at Amelia Island Plantation. Bicycling, hiking trails, deserted beaches, horseback riding, not to mention Tennis and Golf par excellance..!! No real partying there unless you bring it with you...the streets roll up early.

[TxMomma]

We love St Augustine.......we try to get there at least twice a year. Lots of historical sites, info to partake in, great places to eat and some great b & b's. Check out the Inn on Charlotte advertisment on this thread I believe.....some of us got together last Dec and stayed there, it was a lot of fun.


Enjoy your vacation where ever you decide to go.

[dogboy]

The keys are great if you havn't been there yet. I like Key Largo as its the first one you get to once off the mainland and they have a park state called John Penekampp or something like that. The park cost about $5-6 to get in since I was last there. There is a small beach area that is cool for snorkling, just bring some footwear for the water as I'm a tenderfoot and had an issue with walking on coral stone. There is a small store were you can buy drinks, clothes, book tours and showers and restrooms which were very clean. They have kyack rentals and even a marina that will rent you a real boat for the day,(expensive though). or go on the glass bottom boat tour which is pretty cool. The area also had the sun cruz casino boat off shore. I did the night trip for that one. They have a taxi boat that brings you out to the 3 mile limit and you board from a gang plank to the actual casino boat. What I remember the most was while topside for a break from the gambling you can see into the surrounding water due to the floodlights. We had a school of reef sharks around the entire perimiter of the boat that were in a feeding frenzy. There were so many of them that they were actually on top off each other fighting for the food. You could hear thier jaws snapping. It was kind a scarry but also funny as most off the people inside had no idea as to what was around the ship in those dark waters. When it was time to leave we had to board the water taxi back to shore. As we were going down the plank the sharks were still active and alot of people were oblivious until I said "don't slip and fall over or those guys will have a meal" 2 people behind me almost jumped out of thier skin when they looked over the side. It dosn't always happen as I did the trip a few times in the past and never saw that before. also do the airboat ride out into the everglades. Lots of gators to see up close and almost to personal for my taste though.

[Rich427]

Hey 308,

Just a little more information on the ferry to KW. It is called the Key West Express and they have boats that sail out of Miami, Marco Island, and Ft. Myers Beach. The cost right now to go over from FM is $129 round trip. The price used to come down when the season ended, but that has not happened this year. I guess the price of gas has hit them also! From FM it is about a little less than four hours over to KW. Great ride, but you must get there early to get a good seat. Get there late, and you are riding in a seat on the top deck with no protection from the sun and no air conditioning. The key to getting a good seat is to buy your tickets and pick them up the day before your trip. That way, you are not waiting in a long line to do so and therefore eliminating any chance of having a good seat selection.

This is not a bad way to go over, but remember, if it is just you and your gf. So you have to ask yourself, can you look her in the face for almost four hours and just talk? If not, they do have closed circuit tv, take a book, or take a couple friends to bs with.

They do have two fenced parking lots for cars, but I don't know that I would be comfortable parking any of my Vettes there for multiple days. Just me I guess.

If you decide to do KW, I would recommend the Key West Innkeepers Association. They handle booking to most of the quality B&Bs and did a great job for my wife and I a few months ago. We stayed at a B&B called Westwinds. Very nice. We had a small cabin that opened up to one, of two pools. There grounds are small but very secluded with the tropical vegetation they have planted. Breakfast is a continental breakfast that is served pool side every morning. Parking may be an issue here. Since we went over by boat, we did not have a car, but I don't recall them having a bunch of parking. The Innkeepers association can help you with this.

There is a high rise (couple stories) parking garage just a block from where the KW Express docks. We were there during the last couple weeks of the season and the garage had plenty of open parking.

OR, have you every thought of just going on a road trip and see many locations. As an example, put the gf in the car and head south. Sarasota has a number of interesting things to visit. If you are into museum style art, then the Ringling facility is a must visit. Then you can travel down toward Ft. Myers. but make sure you stop at Fisherman's Village in Punta Gorda. Beautiful view for lunch and some great little shops to satisfy the gf for an hour or two. Then go south to Sanibel/Captiva. Great laid back location for beach, shelling, etc. Very family oriented, which means not a ton of spring break type partying. Sunsets at the Mucky Duck are fabulous, and dinner at the Bubble Room is a must. Then you can venture down to Marco Island. If you planned something like this, you could also coordinate with the members of this board in each area to have a little group lunch or dinner at various spots along the way. Unless, this is going to be a romantic voyage with the gf and then this might not be what she has in mind. .

Anyway, good luck with whatever you come up with. If I can be of help here in Ft. Myers, just let me know.

Rich

[C5Rick]

Originally Posted by Rich427

Hey 308,

Just a little more information on the ferry to KW. It is called the Key West Express and they have boats that sail out of Miami, Marco Island, and Ft. Myers Beach. The cost right now to go over from FM is $129 round trip. The price used to come down when the season ended, but that has not happened this year. I guess the price of gas has hit them also! From FM it is about a little less than four hours over to KW. Great ride, but you must get there early to get a good seat. Get there late, and you are riding in a seat on the top deck with no protection from the sun and no air conditioning. The key to getting a good seat is to buy your tickets and pick them up the day before your trip. That way, you are not waiting in a long line to do so and therefore eliminating any chance of having a good seat selection.

This is not a bad way to go over, but remember, if it is just you and your gf. So you have to ask yourself, can you look her in the face for almost four hours and just talk? If not, they do have closed circuit tv, take a book, or take a couple friends to bs with.

They do have two fenced parking lots for cars, but I don't know that I would be comfortable parking any of my Vettes there for multiple days. Just me I guess.

If you decide to do KW, I would recommend the Key West Innkeepers Association. They handle booking to most of the quality B&Bs and did a great job for my wife and I a few months ago. We stayed at a B&B called Westwinds. Very nice. We had a small cabin that opened up to one, of two pools. There grounds are small but very secluded with the tropical vegetation they have planted. Breakfast is a continental breakfast that is served pool side every morning. Parking may be an issue here. Since we went over by boat, we did not have a car, but I don't recall them having a bunch of parking. The Innkeepers association can help you with this.

There is a high rise (couple stories) parking garage just a block from where the KW Express docks. We were there during the last couple weeks of the season and the garage had plenty of open parking.

OR, have you every thought of just going on a road trip and see many locations. As an example, put the gf in the car and head south. Sarasota has a number of interesting things to visit. If you are into museum style art, then the Ringling facility is a must visit. Then you can travel down toward Ft. Myers. but make sure you stop at Fisherman's Village in Punta Gorda. Beautiful view for lunch and some great little shops to satisfy the gf for an hour or two. Then go south to Sanibel/Captiva. Great laid back location for beach, shelling, etc. Very family oriented, which means not a ton of spring break type partying. Sunsets at the Mucky Duck are fabulous, and dinner at the Bubble Room is a must. Then you can venture down to Marco Island. If you planned something like this, you could also coordinate with the members of this board in each area to have a little group lunch or dinner at various spots along the way. Unless, this is going to be a romantic voyage with the gf and then this might not be what she has in mind. .

Anyway, good luck with whatever you come up with. If I can be of help here in Ft. Myers, just let me know.

Rich

I agree with a slow drive down the west coast.
Stayed in Captiva for a week and it was great. Everything you need is on Andy Rosse Lane and a short hop back to Sanibel.
Also a tour of the everglades, we went out of Everglades City, just south of Naples.

[Lady N]

Take it from an avid scuba diver try capt slate in key largo , good prices and services and the keys is the place to go . Siesta key is also nice . And there is also St Agustine is you like a bit of History .

[Guro305]

The ferry that leaves from Miami's Key Biscayne called the Key West Express Is a $98 round trip and you don't have to leave the same day.

However, I've never had a problem parking in Key West. People who do are usually tightwads!!! You will always find parking if you are willing to pay for it. John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is in Key Largo. If you go, it is much more worth it paying s#!t I don't know what it costs now, but it's worth paying the premium to take the boat out to the protected coral reef to go snorkeling. It's absolutely magnificant. Key Largo also has the Jule's Undersea Lodge, which has a lagoon that is safer then that crappy beach at Pennekamp's. However the main attraction you have to be a certified S.C.U.B.A. diver for which is the undersea lodge itself 30ft. below.

The drive down the Overseas Highway aka U.S. 1, is great in and of itself especially the Seven Mile Bridge and seeing what is left of Flagler's old East Coast Railroad that was destroyed by the Hurricane of 1935. Make sure, that before you leave Miami-Dade Co., you fuel up. Florida City is the last stop in Miami-Dade before the long drive into Monroe Co. and once you get into Monroe, gas goes WAY WAY UP!!!!!! One cheap stop and one only is Tom Thumb's in Tavernier. It's the cheapest gas station in the Keys. So worse case, fuel there.

However, if you opt to take a ferry, you can always rent a golf cart or a moped which is an extremely efficient mode of transportation in Bone Key.

[Guro305]

Originally Posted by C5Rick

I agree with a slow drive down the west coast.
Stayed in Captiva for a week and it was great. Everything you need is on Andy Rosse Lane and a short hop back to Sanibel.
Also a tour of the everglades, we went out of Everglades City, just south of Naples.

You're right! I enjoyed that too. Didn't realize there was so much poon on Fort Myers Beach!!! And, you don't even have to poke 'em in the throat like in Key West!!!!!!!!!

[Kap142]

Originally Posted by TxMomma

We love St Augustine.......we try to get there at least twice a year. Lots of historical sites, info to partake in, great places to eat and some great b & b's. Check out the Inn on Charlotte advertisment on this thread I believe.....some of us got together last Dec and stayed there, it was a lot of fun.


Enjoy your vacation where ever you decide to go.

Simply said, a great place to go

[Rich Z]

Originally Posted by Kap142

Simply said, a great place to go

Yeah! Can't wait for the next time...

And we really need to set something up for Amelia Island as well...