The Everglades are subtropical wetlands that stretch down the southern half of Florida from the Kissimmee River near Orlando through Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay at the southern tip of the state. In the wet season the water forms a slow-moving river that is 60 miles wide and over 100 miles long the giving the Glades their ‘River of Grass‘ nickname. The Florida Everglades has several different ecosystems this diversity makes it possible for many different species of plants, animals and birds to call the Everglades home.

One of the places I visited in the Everglades was Everglades National Park. The Park was established in 1947 and covers the southern 25 percent of the original Everglades. It’s the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, and the third-largest national park in the lower 48 states. This year, I was one of the over a million people who visit the park annually.

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As the weather begins to warm up in the North and the spring time thaw starts people’s thoughts turn to warm weather activities and they start looking forward to venturing outside for more than 15 minutes without freezing to death. Many people envision warm breezes, caressing their faces, palm tress gently swaying in the breeze, in short they picture Florida beaches.

Activities at Florida Beaches

I have lived in Florida over 25 years and when people come down to visit they always ask me where the best Florida beaches are and while I want to give them an honest answer it’s really, honestly, hard to choose just one. Having been all over the state and having visited more beaches than I can count I have to say there are too many to call just one my favorite or give it the title of ‘best’. When I’m asked this question tend to I ask a few myself, for instance I ask “What do you like to do at the beach, for instance do you like to fish?” It’s true you can cast a line off of any beach but if you’d actually like to catch something there are a few areas that are better than others. Destin, in the Panhandle, for instance, is known to have Cobia and other species running right off shore this may have something to do with the fact that the 100 fathom curve is only ten miles offshore at Destin and provides the fastest access to deep water fishing in the Gulf, surly the fish must use it too.

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As I watch the news, I see drivers up north getting stuck in snow storms and I think how nice it is to be able to drive on the beach. It’s a much nicer, more friendly environment and getting stuck in the sand isn’t nearly as awful as getting stuck in the snow. Winter is a great time to visit any of our Florida beaches and when you live on the beach as I do, winter is a great time for people watching and driving on the beach. Nearby Orlando is one of the premiere Florida vacation spots, as a matter of fact, it’s one of the premier vacation spots of the world. Winter is a great time to visit Orlando because it isn’t as crowed and it’s much cooler than in the summer, but still not as cold as the winter up north.

Motorsports Capital

When people ask me, as a Floridian, what I like to do during the winter, one of the places I always mention is Daytona Beach. Daytona Beach is known for many things, like the Daytona International Speedway home of NASCAR. During February, I try to go to Speed Week in Daytona, the many races and qualifying for the iconic Daytona 500 make it the place to be.

Harley Bikers and other motorcycle enthusiast gather for Bike Week in March. All these things are great draws to Daytona Beach but what I like about it is that you can drive on the beach there, that’s something you can only do on a few beaches in Florida.

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I have lived in Florida over half my life and one place I’ll never get tired of visiting is the Keys. When I first moved down here and heard the word “Key” I had no idea what that meant or what that was. I found out a “Key” is a derivative of the Spanish word Cayo, which means Small Island. The Florida Keys are a chain of small islands that begin about 20 miles south of Miami; the main chain swoops south-southwest for about another 120 miles or so Overseas Highway. The Keys divide the Atlantic Ocean on their east from the Gulf of Mexico on their west, not a bad spot to be in. At the southern most tip, Key West, we are only about 90 miles from Cuba which has added its flavor and influence to the Keys.

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I have a friend I met while in college recently come back for a visit. He’s French and is used to international type beaches, shops, cafes and clubs and often brags that there isn’t anything like them anywhere else in the world so while he was here I set out to change his mind.

I just love Miami South Beach. Some people think of it as the international playground for the rich, famous and beautiful people but not me; I live in Miami Beach so I know the ‘real’ South Beach and trust me you find all kinds there.

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Orlando, FL - One of the most widely anticipated theme park entertainment experiences ever created - The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort - is set for a public grand opening on June 18.

Universal Orlando Resort has also revealed details about what is expected to be one the most exciting theme park experiences ever created: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. It will be one of three themed attractions within The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, including Flight of the Hippogriff and Dragon Challenge.

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On a recent trip to the Florida Panhandle we stopped in a place called Destin, now I had been to Panama Beach, which is less than 50 miles away, before and it was a lot of fun but I’d never been this far west. The panhandle is also called the ‘Emerald Coast’ and as we were driving it became clear why the water is a beautiful shade of clear green. Another other thing I noticed was how the area, especially around Destin, was so beautiful and peaceful.

All along the road between Destin and Panama City Beach were these picturesque, little beachfront towns called, Seaside, Watercolor, Sandestin and Miramar. These towns are small and homey, with tree lined streets and pastel painted houses; they look like something out of a movie. In fact, the movie, The Truman Show was made in Seaside.

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