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South Florida Day Trips

Visiting the Morikami Gardens

The Morikami Gardens span over 16 acres and are an excellent place to go for a stroll or to take some photos. Hanging out and enjoying the scenery made us reminisce about the beautiful parks in Kyoto and Tokyo. A little bit of Japan right here in South Florida!

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South Florida Day Trips

Kayaking in Florida’s Mangroves

With Florida nestled in-between the Gulf of Mexico to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, it’s practically impossible not to be near a basin of water: big or small, salty or fresh. The first thing that comes to mind is lounging on the beach. However, when it comes to water activities there […]

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Trip Ideas

Stopping for Manatees on Our Way to St. Augustine, Florida

At 4.5 hrs from Miami, St. Augustine would be considered too long of a drive for a day trip, but it’s definitely something that could be done with a one or two night stay. A good weekend escape or long weekend adventure. In our case, we had an expiring voucher for a free hotel night […]

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South Florida Day Trips

A Scenic Road Trip in the Everglades National Park

Being creatures of habit, we tend to always return to the same entrance gate to visit the Everglades National Park. Not this time; on our most recent trip to the park we followed our friend’s advice (Thanks Stu!) and went further south to the Ernest F. Coe entrance. We liked what we saw! The area […]

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Scuba Diving South Florida Day Trips

Blue Heron Bridge, a World-Renowned Shore Dive Site

We finally had the chance to dive the famous Blue Heron Bridge dive site and we know now why it has been voted the best shore dive in the United States! Also, snorkelers can enjoy the easy access Phil Foster Park Snorkel Trail.

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South Florida Day Trips

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Coconut Grove’s Gem

Vizcaya is the former winter residence of James Deering, an affluent businessman from Chicago who played an important role in designing the villa and gardens along with a team of designers (Paul Chalfin, F. Burrall Hoffman and Diego Suarez). The construction of the villa started in 1914 and was completed two years later, followed by […]

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South Florida Day Trips

Spending a Day in Coral Gables and Coconut Grove

Let’s start by saying that this area isn’t anything like the cacophony of downtown Miami amongst its continual hustle and bustle. The quiet and serene feeling of these narrow streets lined with mature banyan trees almost makes you forget the glass towers and masses of tourists rushing between beaches and cruise ports and trendy restaurants. […]

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Trip Ideas

Tarpon Springs, Home of the Sponge Divers

Located on the Gulf Coast in Pinellas County, Tarpon Springs has a population of only about 25,000. While the region was first settled in 1876, it was named Tarpon Springs in 1882 because of the plentitude of jumping tarpons in the bay that were spotted by the settlers. With the arrival of the railroad in […]

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South Florida Day Trips

Exploring Fort De Soto Park

This lovely park is located in the Tampa Bay Area and makes for a delightful place to relax and chill out. For us this was the perfect spot to stop for lunch and stretch our legs as we made our way up the coast to Tarpon Springs from Miami.

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Trip Ideas

Visiting Florida’s Natural Springs in Crystal River, Homosassa, and Rainbow Springs

This post should be called swimming with manatees in Crystal River, but it turned out that an unseasonably warm February in Florida made for conditions that sent the manatees on their way back to the Gulf by the time we arrived. We still got to see a few manatees in Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park […]