Avid Traveler and Master Scuba Diver
Sharing stories, photos and insights about the places I’ve visited. Simply sharing my experience and giving travel tips to help others plan their own dream trip and travel independently.
The Ringling is a sprawling estate encompassing 66 acres located in Sarasota, Florida. Perhaps a bit long for a day trip being a 3 ½-hour drive from Miami (or 3 hours from Fort Lauderdale), it can be combined with other Gulf Coast activities such as the Edison and Ford Winter Estates to make for a […]
With most of us on extended travel hiatuses, we are probably quite excited and enthusiastic about an eventual return to travel. It’s hard to imagine that almost 18 months has already gone by, and it seems we may have to cope with pandemic related rules for a long time to come. This month’s travel tip […]
There are two Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in the Sarasota area. The Downtown Sarasota Campus off Bayfront Park, and the Historic Spanish Point located a little over 10 miles away along Highway 41 on North Tamiami Trail in Osprey. It’s possible to visit both botanical gardens on the same day and doing so would not […]
Located just off Hollywood Beach between Johnson and Michigan Streets (near the Margaritaville Hotel), you’ll find the Yellow Brick Road dive site. It’s a great shore dive for all levels of divers and with lots of macro photo ops. The site is a former outfall pipe structure used for sewage and wastewater. The 800 foot-long […]
The Edison and Ford Winter Estates are located in Fort Myers, on the Gulf Coast of Florida and about a 2 ½-hour drive from Miami, or 2 hours from Fort Lauderdale. While doable as a day trip, we opted to make a mini vacation of it and stayed in Sarasota where we could also visit […]
Just outside Miami, in Biscayne Bay, you’ll find Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. Cape Florida has been many things through the ages. Ponce de Leon found this pristine area on his first expedition to Florida back in 1513 and named it the ‘Cape of Florida’. It was inhabited by Seminole Indians, and even served […]
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, located on Old Cutler Road in Coral Gables just south of Miami, is a nice outdoor venue with a lot of Florida history. It’s been a local attraction in Florida since it opened in 1938. More than just a tourist venue, it is a sanctuary for locals to stroll amongst exotic […]
A national landmark, the Deering Estate was the Florida home of Charles Deering between 1922 and 1927. Located just south of Miami in Palmetto Bay off Old Cutler Road, the sprawling 444-acre estate is now owned by the State of Florida and open to the public so everyone can enjoy the beautiful waterfront grounds.
The US Virgin Islands had been on our radar for a long time and with all the travel restrictions, organizing a dive vacation in St. Thomas seemed like the ideal plan. Since it’s a United States territory, no covid test was required to come back to the mainland. Perfect! While the resort bills itself as […]
The Cartanza, sometimes called the Cartanza Senora or Cartanser Senior, has an interesting story as do many wrecks. We just love learning about the history of these artificial reefs. In this case, there is also a wonderful conservation angle. Local divers organized an around the clock protest which was instrumental in preserving the wreck which […]