Florida?

[d_fresh]

Going down to FLA in Sept. Just looking for some cool stuff to do, out of the way type stuff, non theme park/aquarium. Will have a car so anywhere within a couple hours of Orlando would be cool. Thanks!

[pinknic38]

When we stayed in Orlando we did the whole Disney World thing and drove to Coco Beach (check out Ron Jon's surf shop if you get a chance), but we got tired of the theme park thing and went to downtown Orlando and took this "Haunted Orlando" tour with some dude who was a parapsychologist. It was pretty cool! There were fliers everywhere about it but here's the website if you're interested. That's all I got cos we're beach bums and we love th aquariums. I've been to Sarasota a lot cos my aunt lives there and Pompano Beach cos my grandfather lives there.

[Elizabeth]

If you're into renaissance villas check out Vizcaya in Miami. I grew up in Miami so we had a field trip to Vizcaya pretty much every year. Its really gorgeous, and it overlooks the bay.

Also don't miss the Cuban food

Edit: Noo! Now I have a craving for it. haha

[Rhine]

Try and check out St. Augustine.

[c0urt]

roadsideamerica.com

[marc873]

Originally Posted by Rhine

Try and check out St. Augustine.

^^^ Great city... Also can't go wrong with stopping off in Cocoa Beach/Melbourne Beach. Fucking mellow as hell surf cities, and you got Nasa on the corner!

[pinknic38]

yeah Cocoa beach freaking rules

[BedtimeontheMoon]

Daytona Beach is about 1 1/2 to 2 hours North of Orlando. Cool beaches and odd shops. It's known mainly as the Spring Break spot in Florida.

St. Augustine (oldest city in the U.S.) has a lot of historical stuff. It's West from Orlando not sure on the time frame.

Within Orlando there are a few cool things to do, there is Ripley's Believe It or Not and Wonderworks which are museum-like places with a bunch of oddities. There is also a go-kart park that's pretty cool.

Much of Orlando is however geared towards the amusement parks...

Nightlife is Orlando is good at Downtown Disney or CityWalk; granted they are in the park arenas.

If you go an hour or so West you hit Tampa mainly known for Busch Gardens and Adventure Island (waterpark). Both are a lot of fun and are the main attraction of Tampa. Nightlife in Tampa is centered in Ybor City.

A bit out of Orlando is also the Kennedy Space Center that you can visit.

If you like camping/biking/hiking/snorkeling, you can go about 2 hours NorthWest to Ocala. Rainbow Springs is a great park to hang out for a day and has great spots for snorkeling and hiking. Manatee Springs is a campground and has awesome bike trails and natural springs (watch for Gators in the evening lol). I believe you can also cave dive as they have an extremely long underwater cave system up there, but be wary of getting lost.

Miami is nearly 4 hours south so that may be a bit out of your way. But as Lizz mentioned Vizcaya is a great place to visit. It is modeled after French design. Some more historical things to see in Miami include the Spanish Monastery and Venetian Pool. Venetian Pool is a sweetwater pool in Coral Gables (municipality of Miami?) close to Vizcaya. Coral Gables is one of the oldest areas of Miami and a nice area to drive through.
Of coarse, there are the beaches also.

Hmm... can't think of anything else too exciting... but it might be more b/c I've lived here my whole life than for a lack of things to do lol

If I think of anything else I'll let ya know. Enjoy your visit to Florida! I wish you a safe and hurricane free visit. (Keep an eye on the news, we're getting scares every other day it seems)

[d_fresh]

Thanks guys!
We're there with my 2 yr old for his 3rd birthday. 1 wk in disney and another outside.
been checking the news, know the iffy areas and familiarized myself through maps so hopefully all will be well.
cheers!

[marc873]

Ocala?!!!!

[joe7f]

Originally Posted by d_fresh

Thanks guys!
We're there with my 2 yr old for his 3rd birthday. 1 wk in disney and another outside.
been checking the news, know the iffy areas and familiarized myself through maps so hopefully all will be well.
cheers!

I am a bit late to the party on this thread but I thought I would throw out that the nightlife in Tampa is ALSO centered around Channelside which is connected to Ybor City via a trolley (the Ybor area is a little sketch on the outskirts though fine on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday etc)

If you SCUBA, there are lots of springs within 2 hours of Tampa. Kennedy Space Center is definitely worth a trip if you have even a passing interest in NASA.

If you end up in Tampa, shoot me a PM if you want to meet up for a beer

--Joey

[xanthuos]

Well now that you say you'll be there with your (soon to be) 3-year old, it changes my suggestion. I was going to invite you to a kickass show in Tallahassee on September 17th if you were going to be in Florida then.
The Winter Sounds is headlining, great band.

[catloaf]

I've lived in Orlando my whole life and I apologize in advance for sounding overly negative but if you're not into the theme park thing Orlando pretty much sucks. Even if you are into the theme park thing it's going to suck the second you leave it. Ron Jon's surf shop is very touristy and not very fun unless you're into that sort of thing however the beaches near by are very beautiful.
What I would recommend is Wekiva Springs. They're beautiful cold water springs where you can rent canoes and do other spring related stuff. You can camp there and all in all IMO it's one of the more beautiful places in Florida. If you google Wekiva Springs it will take you to the State Park site.

Also, as a lot of other people have said, St. Augustine rocks. It's kind of cool when you can be in a city with actual historical substance in the US.

I hope you enjoy Florida!