Florida Travel Blogs on RealTravel

Crystal River journal: Crystal River, FL

2007-12-25T04:32:48Z

a entry by On Tour from a trip to Crystal River, Florida.

12/13/07

We packed it in around 9:30 and are cruising down route I75 to Florida. Stopped at the Golden Arches and got some breakfast. Time 11:29 and we hit the Florida State line. At 1:30 we were driving into Ocala, FL (mega horse country) the temp was 81 degrees. We arrived at Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park, 275 South Rock Crusher Road, Crystal River, FL (352-795-1313 at 2:30. Absolutely beautiful large shaded sites. We are on the back forty with no one behind us. This is definitely one that we will return to! Thank you Sue Love! We mixed a G and T and proceeded to set up the coach, sat ...

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Disneyworld journal: A quick trip to Magic Kingdom

2008-03-31T05:48:21Z

"I wish I was a kid again!!"

a entry by E & A from a trip to Disneyworld, Florida.

It was a glorious day and we had a usual leisurely start. After bidding our hosts farewell we headed for the second stint at Disneyworld. Our expectations from Magic Kingdom were that of some really kid focused rides. While everything was still aimed at 6 year olds, it was still a lot of fun.

For starters, it was huge once we realized how big the place was we had to really prioritize our 5 hours. We had heard about the "Its a small world ride" and it just went on to prove that adults can enjoy the most kiddish of things. The haunted house was awesome a really fun experience, especially ...

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Orlando journal: Old Key West

2008-01-23T02:01:56Z

"Home away from home..."

a entry by lhumphreys from a trip to Orlando, Florida.

We headed out of Smithfield at 5am for my home away from home. My family is a member of Disney's Vacation Club with our main resort being Old Key West- Sam and my's road trip destination.

After 9 hours in the car and a few rest stops we finally start seeing the signs for Orlando. We take the exit for I-50 and it this point it should only be about an hour left. We pass through downtown Orlando (the actual city) and make our way past Universal Studios and Sea World- we are so close. There it is, exit 67- Downtown Disney- the exit that will lead us to our home away from home for the week. ...

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Crystal River journal: Fort Island Gulf Beach & Fishing Pier

2007-12-25T22:03:46Z

a entry by On Tour from a trip to Crystal River, Florida.

Headed for the ocean around 12:30. Arrived at Fort Island Gulf Beach & Fishing Pier around one. So breath taking…. I love the ocean so. We soaked in some sun, walked the beach and the boardwalk, had a cold one and just plain relaxed. The sun is so soothing…it just helps your whole being. For a short while you just let all of your troubles leave.

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Orlando journal: Florida

2007-11-26T15:33:34Z

a entry by Kiera from a trip to Orlando, Florida.

NEW YEARS 2006 - 2007

I have been to Florida a few times at this stage but never did a blog on what we got upta or where we went. This is all going from memory since it was almost a year ago we were there.

We had rented a house and this is the only way to stay if in Florida. The houses in Florida are amazing and have their own pool. Some really good deals and they are usually cheaper than staying in a hotel if there is a gang of you.

The house we stayed in was AMAZING! It had a great Renaissance/Venetian kind of feel to it an I wont lie, there was times that I didn’t want to ...

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Orlando journal: Let the road trip begin...

2007-10-26T15:52:03Z

"the home of drive through banking, and the land of the all you can eat KFC buffet..."

a entry by Nathan & Emma from a trip to Orlando, Florida.

'The home of the brave, and the land of the free!!' Or as I like to call it, 'the home of drive through banking, and the land of the all you can eat KFC buffet!' These are just two of the things I have fallen in love with so far on our road trip.

After picking up our black Kia Spectra from the not too friendly folks at Hertz Coral Gables, our next stop in Florida was Orlando. On the way we stopped into the Seminole tribe's alligator park in Big Cypress to fulfill one of my life long dreams (along with eating at the all you can eat KFC buffet, still to be fulfilled...) to take an ...

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Tavernier journal: Night Dive on the Duane

2007-01-27T01:13:49Z

a entry by Clare & Michael from a trip to Tavernier, Florida.

A conversation with Stephen Frink at the party sealed the deal for our decision to go further south. He said that there’s more to life than just diving, and the Lower Keys are a beautiful place. He was right. I’ve never done the drive down the length of the Keys. Our other alternative was West Palm Beach, but at this point we were feeling a little dived out and Alex was getting a little annoyed at being cooped up in a hotel room. But first, we had one more dive in Key Largo…

Day 9

Did some sightseeing around Key Largo, Tavernier and Islamorada. Got us ready for the night dive on ...

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Miami Beach journal: people watching in south beach

2007-08-06T10:08:20Z

"... oh but the beach, the beach is so big and water so clear and blue and welcoming in this hot weather!!"

a entry by quincinera from a trip to Miami Beach, Florida.

We decided to stopover in miami for 14 hours before transferring to to Rio. Miami looks very funny from up in the air. Residential areas that kind of branch into a lake (man-made or real?) so that each house has a water front in their backyard, the canal between Miami Beach and the main land of Miami ... oh but the beach, the beach is so big and water so clear and blue and welcoming in this hot weather!!

Yves and I walked for like 1 hour to find a place to eat becuz the 3 restaurants i found online all turn out to serve only dinner.... in the end we went to this restaurant in a hotel ...

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Orlando journal: Top 10 Travel Moments in Asia

2007-07-13T14:42:19Z

a entry by Aaron&Katy from a trip to Orlando, Florida.

With our trip officially over, we set to work compiling a list of our top ten most memorable moments in Asia, where we spent the majority of our travel time. For anyone planning a trip here, we hope you take a read before you go!

Top 10 memorable moments in Asia

10. Snorkeling around Koh Tao island, Thailand

Koh Tao is a small island located in the gulf of Thailand which is world famous for its fantastic diving. We didn’t possess the necessary skills to go diving but were able to go on incredible snorkeling trips. The water here was as clear as glass and packed with ...

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Sarasota journal: Adventures in sunny Sarasota

2007-06-21T18:56:28Z

"And speaking of art, the food we ordered resembled some sculptures as well."

a entry by IloveFlorida from a trip to Sarasota, Florida.

I got into Sarasota early Friday morning back in January. I had friends from Miami come up to meet me at the airport. It was amazing to reunite with old friends (also from up north) in a beautiful, new place. I should mention it was my birthday weekend and the sunny escape from unpleasant Pennsylvania was desperately needed.

My friends checked into the Tropical Shores Beach Resort with me. We immediately stocked up the roomy kitchen with bagels and juice for breakfast from the nearby Crescent Market, which is a little beachy supermarket in the heart of Siesta Village. Siesta Village is ...

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Miami Beach journal: Beats Bray...

2007-06-16T19:41:24Z

""It looked like the tropical paradise everyone can picture in their heads. At least it did when the sun shined""

a entry by Mark & Ciara from a trip to Miami Beach, Florida.

We arrived into Miami after a mammoth train journey - about 13 hours i think. The trains are actually really comfy, and its not a bad way to travel. In saying that, there's only so much microwave pizza you can eat.

First impression of Miami, like a lot of the South so far, has been a wet one. We arrived into yet another thunderstorm. We took a cab to South Beach, where our hotel was.

South Beach is Miami's seaside and beach resort. It's on an island linked to the mainland by a freeway over Biscayne bay and It's a brilliant place. All the buildings date from the 1920s - art deco ...

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Cape Canaveral journal: A Trip to the Kennedy Space Center

2007-06-15T12:09:21Z

"A Great Last Day in Florida"

a entry by Traveling Kings from a trip to Cape Canaveral, Florida.

This morning, we had a scheduled departure time of 8:00, and we left the house at 8:15. It was generally agreed that this was acceptable, considering it was Day 12 of our trip.

We drove out to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), at Cape Canaveral. This is only about 60 miles from where we are staying. We arrived around 10:30, and after we made our way through security (I would call it tighter than airport security), we found out there was going to be a satellite launch at KSC this morning. This put us all in a great mood, and we couldn’t believe our great luck.

The launch window for ...

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Orlando journal: Back to Disney Studios

2007-06-15T12:07:31Z

"The Fanasmic show at Disney Studios is a Must-See"

a entry by Traveling Kings from a trip to Orlando, Florida.

This evening, Stephanie and I took Miles & Mallory back to Disney Studios. The main reason for this was for us to see Fantasmic, which would be this park’s equivalent to the evening fireworks at the Magic Kingdom.

We got to the park about 8:00, and all four of us rode several of our favorite rides again – the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and the Aerosmith Rock ‘n Roller Coaster. We used some FASTPASSes we acquired the day before to skip the long lines for these rides.

We got in line for Fantasmic about 50 minutes before the 10:30 showtime. This is a very popular show, but the ...

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Orlando journal: Day 1 at Epcot

2007-06-09T15:01:20Z

"We are there when the Park opens!"

a entry by Traveling Kings from a trip to Orlando, Florida.

Today we went to the Epcot Center. The entire group went – the Wedding Couple + Adam, KK & PK, and us. We were amazingly at the park gate one hour before it opened. We were about the 3rd group in line at our turnstile (there are probably 15 to 20 turnstiles). This was a very neat experience that we didn’t get to experience yesterday at the Animal Kingdom.

About 15 minutes before the park opened, the staff announced that some young girl (probably about 7) would ceremoniously open the park for us. She was standing on a platform in front of the turnstiles, where everybody could see her. ...

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Orlando journal: Animal Kingdom

2007-06-08T03:21:37Z

"A Great 1st Day at Walt Disney World"

a entry by Traveling Kings from a trip to Orlando, Florida.

The Kings conquered the Animal Kingdom today. We arrived at the gate only 15 minutes prior to the park opening. This was WAY later than everybody had suggested. We plan to make some amends on that tomorrow.

Prior to our trip, the Animal Kingdom was definitely the favorite park to talk about by Mallory, the 7 year old. She loves animals – from cats to horses to whatever. We were excited that we could go to Animal Kingdom first, because she was so excited about it.

From 9:00 until 12:00, we followed the Touring Plan in the “Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World” to the letter. We ...

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Orlando journal: The Drive to Orlando is Complete

2007-06-07T03:34:55Z

"Whoo Hooo, we are finally in Orlando!"

a entry by Traveling Kings from a trip to Orlando, Florida.

Day 4 of our journey got off to a great start, with a visit to the Florida Caverns, in Marianna, Florida. Just minutes from our hotel, we had the opportunity to tour Florida’s only tour-guided, dry cavern (there are apparently plenty of guided tours of underwater caverns in Florida).

Jennifer led 16 of us on a 45 minute tour of the cavern. We were worried that we would get cold, since we forgot to pack any light jackets or shirts with long sleeves. However, this turned out to be the warmest cave we’ve ever toured. The cave tour only goes down to a depth of 50 feet, and most of our tour ...

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Marianna journal: A Day at the Beach

2007-06-06T05:20:29Z

"Clear Water and White Sands"

a entry by Traveling Kings from a trip to Marianna, Florida.

Today, we pulled out of the hotel at 9:40. We were about 60 miles from the beaches of Destin, Florida – our main destination for the day. As we were driving down the road heading for Destin, we ran across a couple of unexpected surprises.

We knew that the route we were taking to Destin was along the Gulf Islands National Seashore, part of our National Park system, but we did not expect to see a Visitor Center, since it spans off and on for many miles. Well, as luck would have it, right at the edge of Pensacola is one of several Visitor Centers for the National Seashore. We stopped in for ...

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Orlando journal: Sandwiche de Bisteak

2007-05-31T00:00:30Z

a review of Havana Cafe, a place to eat in Orlando, Florida.

This place has really really good Cuban food. Admittedly I've only been to one other Cuban restaurant, but this place has that one beat by far. Kudos to the guy who was seating people, serving, and bussing all by himself during a busy lunch!

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Fort Lauderdale journal: Day 1 - April 15, 2007

2007-04-17T19:11:13Z

a entry by Steve & Sally from a trip to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

We had the usual stress of flying the same day as our cruise travel. All in all, we just missed the bad weather and made it to the cruise port in plenty of time.

We did our usual familiarization of the ship as soon as we got onboard. Of course, right after lunch in the Windjammer Cafe. After all, we hadn’t eaten since Richmond. We were glad that we got to the airport early (4:50 am) to give us plenty of time for the check-in. And yes, Steve was very lucky as his bag tipped the scale at the limit of 50 pounds.

The picture you see is in the Solarium (it’s the indoor pool on the ...

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DeLand, Florida journal: Cannot Recommend!

2007-04-20T15:48:34Z

a review of University Inn, a place to stay in DeLand, Florida, Florida.

Although our reservation was made several weeks in advance, the motel booked the dates incorrectly. As a result, all of our possessions were unceremoniously deposited in a public space in the motel restaurant while we were attending a university function without regard to wrinkling of clothing, etc. No genuine apology was offered, nor was any compensation. They did identify other nearby lodging for us.

The motel's convenience to the university campus is appealing, but we have never experienced anything like this in our many years of travel throughout all 48 contiguous ...

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Miami journal: Comfortable and easy access for cruises

2007-04-11T01:47:04Z

a review of Courtyard by Marriott, a place to stay in Miami, Florida.

The Marriott Courtyard downtown Miami is just a few minutes from the pier for cruise ship departures. With the high demand and wide range of quality at Miami beach, this was a good choice. Reliable courtyard comfort and service.

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Tampa journal: Ybor City

2007-04-03T21:58:59Z

a review of Ybor City, a thing to do in Tampa, Florida.

This is the Latin Quarter near the city. There are restaurants, historical markers, cigar stores, tattoo parlors, and bars aplenty in this area. Enough to entertain you for an evening, but there are too many generic chain establishments for my taste.

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Tampa journal: The SfAAs

2007-04-03T22:07:29Z

a entry by Robert E Cook Honors from a trip to Tampa, Florida.

I spent 2 days and 3 nights in downtown Tampa, both attending the conference and seeing what there was to see in the area.

Tuesday I arrived, checked in to the hotel, and checked in to the conference. I wandered around the area for a bit and planned for the next day. When I went to talk to the concierge about what was around to eat and see, he said "well, there's a Quiznos." Clearly, this was going to take some creativity. That night I found a local place to sit outside and eat, went over my presentation, and called it an early day.

Wednesday morning I presented my paper on my ...

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Miami Beach journal: Overpriced but fun for a couple of hours

2007-03-29T22:05:02Z

a review of Parrot Jungle Island, a thing to do in Miami Beach, Florida.

The little monkeys in the Peru exhibit were the best - we spent a while watching them jump around. They had a show with animal babies which was cute. Oh, and I went on the big slide a couple of times (my husband was scraed). But overall, the approx $28 entrance wasn't worth it for us. We went through the whole thing in just under 2 hours, and we even had lunch.

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Miami Beach journal: Cute, but noisy

2007-03-29T21:56:11Z

a review of Miami River Inn, a place to stay in Miami Beach, Florida.

The person I made the reservation with couldn't have been nicer. She said she'd put us on the top floor of the house because I was concerned about noise issues (being an old house, there was bound to be some, but I was hopeful). Unfortunately when we arrived we were given a room at the edge of the stairs on the 2nd floor, and when I asked was told we could movve up to a room on the 3rd because those guests hadn't checked in yet, but there was no shower. Umm, that pertinent info was missing when I first called! Anyway, not only were we right at the edge of the stairs but also above the main ...

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