The Explore All 50 States Project
Let's Go!
There are quite a few places in the Keyes where you can see, and swim with dolphins but we chose to visit the Dolphin Research Center on the island of Marathon. We had read about this place in our guidebooks and it seemed to be more animal preserve oriented instead of "experience" oriented so we decided to check it out and learn more about the friendly water based mammal. After paying our admission (which in … [Read more...]
Heading out to our fan boat experience, the tour said was located in Miami, but be forewarned, it's right on the edge of the Everglades about an hour outside of the city. It's also totally worth the drive! There is no better nor more thrilling way to experience the Everglades that in a fan boat. There are many outfits that offer tours that are located along the highway, but we chose the Everglades Safari Park … [Read more...]
Miami has a huge Cuban population-most of whom arrived here seeking political asylum after leaving Cuba when it became a communist country under Fidel Castro. Cuban food is very flavorful and unique combining the Caribean island flavors with those of spanish origin. To get to know more about the Cuban influence in Miami and to explore it's cuisine I decided to treat my kids to a Cuban food experience at one of my … [Read more...]
After escaping all things Disney, and having a wonderful time doing a bunch of nifty science stuff at Wonderworks we were famished. After asking a few locals, we were directed down the block walking distance to the Copper Canyon Grill. If you are looking for something a little more gourmet but still family friendly, this place is just incredible. The food here was just beyond delicious and we left the restaurant … [Read more...]
What a stark contrast—from the sleepy little town of Sanibel Island to the hustle and bustle and visual overload of Downtown Disney…It was like walking around in a huge outdoor mall with tons of shops and restaurants and of course tons of Mickey and Minnie gear in every direction so bring your walking shoes and a fat wallet. There are lots of eating options here, but we found out the hard way that … [Read more...]
I'll be honest, I am not a huge Disney fan (my apologies to all you Disney devotees) but I thought it would be fun for everyone to have a real Disney experience. We live in Los Angeles, and so Disneyland is not a big thing for us. The kids have gone numerous times, but Orlando is Disneyland x10 so I thought we should all experience it. What really threw me for a loop in the planning stage of this trip were the … [Read more...]
After escaping from the Disney complex of parks and hotels and the overload of all things Disney, fearing that we would be brainwashed and turned into Disney zombies, we were thrilled to find Wonderworks, which refreshingly had absolutely NOTHING to do with Disney. (Sorry all you Disney fans, I am not a hater, but there can be too much of a good thing). Wonderworks is a science based fun house type activity zone … [Read more...]
After spending time at the beach hunting for shells the kids and I needed to know what kind of treasure we'd found so we headed to the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum. Wow, was this place fascinating-an entire museum devoted to shells. We learned all about the different sea creatures that make shells, their life cycle, and what shells are used for after the creatures die, such as tools and artwork or even homes for … [Read more...]
I bet you didn't know that Sanibel Island is the shell capitol of the US. In fact, it is the third best place in the world for shells. Shell hunting is another thing my kids can do for hours and I think it's tied in with with the same thrill they get from gold panning and diamond digging, it's all about the treasure hunt. After checking into our hotel and getting into our beachcombing gear, we headed to the … [Read more...]
Besides and abundance of shells, Sanibel Island is also a great place to see bottlenose dolphin in their natural habitat. We found out that the best way to see them is on a boat, which was not only fun for us, but apparently fun for the dolphins as well. We booked a trip on the Sanibel Thriller, a high powered speedboat that cruises around looking for pods of dolphin and then cruises by encouraging the dolphin to … [Read more...]
