Hi all,

I'm going to visit Florida in July this year, starting in Jacksonville to any direction.
Any advise for places which are a must, which are not so good or which ar forbidden (too expensive or so...)??



thank you

Jens

 

Jens it depends on what you want to do i.e.: sightsee or go to attractions.

Here are a few of my suggestions

St Augustine: Nice town lots of history.BTW it's just a little south of Jax.

Daytona: You can drive on the beach and check out the ladies or go to Daytona International Speedway and check out Daytona USA if your into racing.

Orlando: now if you want to go to the attractions this is the place, Disneyworld, Seaworld and a host of small attractions too.

Key West: Nice place with history and a party atmosphere.

I know others can offer more suggestions and i know Carlene can help with Ft Lauderdale and Miami. Hope this helps a little bit and have fun on your vacation.

 

I agree with TheWiz - it depends on what you want to do and see. Tell us what your interests are and maybe we can give you a better direction to go.

I know one place Wiz forgot - Busch Gardens. I love that place and it's over in his neck of the woods.

As for Ft. Lauderdale and Miami attractions - despite popular belief, I can't help you there. I've only gone south of Pompano for Tax Conferences or Nascar Races. Here in West Palm we have great beaches, but that's about it.

Of course, there's always "Steve's" place (my house). That should be a major stop in itself with the 1941 in progress resto ford truck. We can keep people here for days talking about nothing but that truck, what we've done, what we plan on doing and whatever else. Plus, I cook a mean steak on the grill.

If you decide that you're gonna come this far south and want to meet, please let me know via email and I'll let you know how you can get ahold of us.

 

Hi,

first of all thank you for your suggetions.
What we plan to do is open. Like every visit in the U.S we, my girlfreind and me, only rent a car and the first night in a hotel.

to make a rough guess...
JAX- St Augustine-Daytona Beach-maybe Orlando - Palm Beach- Miami- Key West- Naples- St Petersburg- Ganesville- JAX

you see it's the full progamm.
Does anybody know the average price for motel in July?

We are interested in horses, flea markets, trucks and or cars events an so on.....
What we want to see is.... hm...a few interesting Tourists magnets (not so much, we're still sick of the entrance fee from See World in San Diego ) but mainly learn more 'bout the "american way of life", meet people, go shoppig (are there good outlet stores or shopping malls out there?), hunting for a few parts for our truck and my freinds '73 'stang on a junkyard and -or part stores and -for me very important learning more english - I'm sure you've noticed my terrible english....

Carlene, nice idea, I'll send a email soon, thanks

Jens

 

If you head toward Melbourne or Titusville there are two good Flea Markets and I'll be there as of July second, I'm moving back. Frontinac is near Titusville and Super Flea near Melbourne the two towns are about 30 minutes apart. Orlando has good shopping malls and you can get rather cheap hotels around here, they may not be nice but they are cheap. Between 30 and 50 bucks a night in the smaller towns, probably 80-100+ in Orlando area. English is a pretty good language to learn in Florida except in Miami, most don't have strong accents unless you're in the smaller towns so you shouldn't have any problems in that arena.

 

if you're gonna stop in naples give me a call....maybe i will have my truck by then..

i can show you naples all ya want. beach..downtown..great shopping...golfing if ya life that...

 

I live down in Homestead, which is between Miami and the Florida Keys. My suggestions is to stay off the big interstates. All you will see from I-95 or I-75 will be interstate. If I could suggest try getting on some of the older US highways like US 27, US 19, US 301, etc. St Augustine is a pleasant town to visit but it is a little touristy for my tastes. It is also Godaweful hot in the summer. Try driving over the to Gainesville area and take US 441 south towards Orlando. Gainesville is a nice University town (UF) and is a good starting place to take in a nice drive south. The biggest Horse breeding farms in the Eastern US are in the Ocala area and the drive is VERY pretty. At some point you will be in or around the Ocala National Forest and that is quite pretty to look around in. Outside of Mt. Dora is an excellent flea market called Renningers. It is a double flea market with an antique side and a regular side. It is out of season for the antique dealers but worth the stop for the regular flea market. See what you need to see in Orlando...for my tastes the attractions are a massive rip off but I live here and am dragged to them five times a year by kids. After you are done with Orlando head south again on US 441. It is a two lane highway here but safer than I-95! In the pretty little town of Okeechobee is another OK flea market. Again the better season for the flea markets in Florida is winter so you will not see the best of them. When done in Okeechobee head south, around the big lake, taking the easterly route (the prettier one). At Pahokee take US 98 into Palm Beach County. Drive over to US A1A the butts up next to the coast. It is worth it to drive by the EXTREMELY wealthy peoples mansions and see how the "other side" live. JFK used to have flings with chicks on his yacht, the HONEY FITZ while it road at anchor off A1A and the "compound" Take AIA south into the Miami area. When in Miami I would say there is NOTHING in the downtown area worth your time. It is likely a pretty dangerous place after dark. If you can swing the bucks take a room on Miami Beach. In simple terms the more north you get on MiBe the cheaper it gets. When you get to South Beach (SoBe) you will pay alot to stay here. You will also not be able to park your car anyplace close to SoBe so it makes sense to stay in MiBe and take cabs into SoBe. It is better that way as the police look down very hard on drunk driving in and around SoBe and a visit to SoBe is not complete without a little boozing. Try to visit Little Havana. The people will be friendly to you if they see you are an "Americano" or "gringo". Drive west down Flagler street until you come to the Palmetto expressway and then cut over to SW 8th Street. The locals call this Calle Ocho...we native Miamians used to call it the Tamiami Trail. You will see and hear all these names used for this street. Drive east back towards the Beach on Calle Ocho. This will take you on a nice tour of Little Havana. To be honest most of the Cuban population of this area has fled to the suburbs and many of the new arrivals are Mexican, Nicaraguan, Dominican,etc but it still retains a Cuban flavor. Speaking of which look for Padron Cigars on Flagler street. They are worth the stop if you like a good fresh cigar. Also look for either La Carreta (The Cart) or Versailles resturants for decent Cuban food. A typical Cuban meal and one I suggest is either steak or pork chunks or rice and chicken. Have the tostones (fried green plaintains...put alot of salt on them) or maduros (fried sweet plaintains) with any of the above meals. Drink an Iron Beer with your meal (this is a cola drink with no booze) and you MUST try the flan (or flan de coco) with a good shot of Cafe' Cubano. A good cigar after a meal like that is a nice thing! If you want a more secluded beach in the Miami area without having to look at Mike Tysons tattoos and the wannabe Fast and Furious punk kids on Miami Beach you might try Cape Florida on Key Biscayne. Also when in Miami DO NOT ask anyone on the side of the road for directions. Cops are good for this as are most store owners who speak English but many tourists get into trouble asking for directions in "da hood". When in the Keys stop and take a stroll on some of the old rail bridges that are now open to the public. They are cool to bike and fish from. Just do not go swimming near the cuts as there are MANY sharks there. Despite what many will say most people in the Keys are not natives and are as ignorant of the local conditions as you may be. When you get to Big Pine Key there is a Flea Market that is also worth a stop. Key West is a big party city. I spent much of my ill-spent youth in Key West and have likely puked over much of that city. Bars to visit: The Green Parrot, Hogs Breath, Captain Tonys (my favorite), The Bull and Whistle Bar and Sloppy Joes. Be very careful what you eat in KW. Many of the people working the restaurants are illegals from Europe and have a "...serving is beneath me..." attitude. I have gotten food sickness more times than I can recall in KW. One of the few times I will say you are better off sticking to fast food or stop at the big Publix supermarket and get your own food. Spend some time in the City Cemetary and read the gravestones (...I told you I was sick...) and see the unknown dead from the USS Maine. Also notice the evidence of Vodoo and Santaria rituals in the cemetary. It might make sense to rent a bike in KW but those scooters are a damn menace. The Hemingway House is pricey but cool if you like his books (before going to the Keys read TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT about the 1930s in the Keys). The little Conch train is also a bit schlockey but will give you a good overview of the city. Take in the sunset from Mallory Square. This used to be a cool hippie-dippie event that has now been hijacked by the tourist ship trade. There are no cheap places to stay in the Keys so you might look into booking a room in advance with one of the Bed and Breakfasts in Old Town. Also the Hotel La Concha is nice. On the west coats of Florida Naples is a nice drive over. When you getback to the mainland drive into Homestead and take Krome Avenue up to the Tamiami Trail (SW 8th street). Head west through the heart of the Everglades. Very pretty this time of the year but be careful about the heat and skeeters. Drive up 41 from Naples to Ft. Myers. In Ft. Myers the Edison and Ford homes are a nice diversion. At this point you could go up I75 but if it were me I would divert onto the little roads ito Central Western Florida. This is very pretty range country and worth the drive around. A good route would be US 17 from Punta Gorda up to Lakeland. In The Tampa area look into Ybor city for culture and food. Drive on up from there via US 19 for another pretty drive. Boy I have written a lot and yet have left out HUGE amounts. Any questions and I will be glad to help answer.

PS Florida has a bed tax and the average stay in a hotel is around $50. You can find them cheaper but you will have to scratch. Disney runs deals on the little resort hotels they opened for about $75 or so a night but this allows unlimited bus trips all over Disney property and are very safe.

 

Just have to say this. I am a historian, by trade. If you like history with a military flavor you must stop into the JFK Space Center at Cape Canaveral. Between Orlando and Tamp on I-4 is a good private air museum called Fantasy of Flight that is quite good. In Pensacola is THE best air museum in the SE USA. The US Naval Aviation Museum. It is excellent and worth a stop.

 

Hi all,

first of all I want to thank you all for your tips

Lakeitel, thank you so much for your huge post. I have printed it out a I'll follow your tips on a Florida map today evening.

I looking forward to visit Florida on July 11th....

till then....


Jens

 

No problem. I just noticed your coming from Germany. I spent some time in Schleswig-Holstein in my misspent youth.

Some more randon notes: For quick and easy shopping stop a the SUPER WAL-MARTS they are great for travellers as they have everything. The best grocery chain in Florida is PUBLIX and they too can be very good to visitors. I would strongly recommend that you plan on drinking at least one gallon of water per day per person this time of year in Florida. If you drink alchoholic drinks, coffee, etc you will need to drink more. The heat will creep up on you quickly here and many Europeans are not famliar with the double smack of heat and humidity when they get here. You will find large numbers of your landsmann in the Naples/Ft. Myers/St. Petersburg area. LTU does flights into Ft. Myers airport and a lot of Germans have found the charms of this area of the state. In Orlando the closer you are to Disney the more expensive the hotel will cost. Disney opened a series of cheapo resorts on their own property a few years back. These are nothing more than regular hotel rooms but they are MUCH more convient to getting into the Magic Kingdom, especially if you have children with you. They are $79 to $109 per night and again something that I have stayed at with a small child and I felt it was worth it for the convience of being in the Magic Kingdom moments after breakfast. If you like to be on the beach with a lot of people then the beachs in South Eastern Florida will do. A more quiet and family oriented beach will be found in South West Florida (Naples northward to St. Pete) and in the Panhandle. The best beaches in Florida are the pure white beaches of the Panhandle. When in Miami you might consider taking a one-three day cruise from the cruise ships docked there. This is the off season and Florida residents have cheaper fairs. I am sure someone here would be pleased to assist you in buying tickets for the Florida resident price. There is a cruise ship that goes to the Bahamas on a day-cruise basis and there is another that does a three day loop that includes Key West. For what they give you they are a bargain. When in Key West consider taking a boat out to Ft. Jefferson. This is in the Dry Tortugas (SW of Key West) and is a wonderful nature spot. In Key Largo is John Pennycamp Park (ocean side of US 1). This is worth taking the boat out to do some skin diving on the reefs. Very safe and very pretty. If you drive through the neighborhoods in Western Big Pine Key you will encounter the rare and endanged Florida Key Deer. They are cool but as dumb as a bag of hammers. If you are into shooting (as I am) you can go to any of the ranges in Florida to rent a gun for use on that range. In Orlando and a few other places you can rent Machine Guns....they are too cool! If I can help any more please drop me a line!

 

Hi again,

How small is the world, I live in Schleswig Holstein, in Pinneberg, near Hamburg.....

Jens

 

I have good friends in Neumunster in Kreis Plon. Pretty area of Germany. I recall having many many Jevers and Alsterwassers....among other libations...in my time there. The whole area brings back fond memories. Eating candy in Lubeck, walking in Schleswig. Shopping in Kiel, etc. It was nice being an American where no Americans went. I felt very welcome and an object to be shown off when I was in Neumunster.

 

Jens,
I see you have an interest in U-Boots. Seeing as you are coming to Florida have you read the book, OPERATION DRUMBEAT by Dr. Michael Gannon? It is an excellent book about U-123 that operated off the coast of Florida in January 1942. Have you been to the U-Boot memorial at Laboe (my spelling in German stinks..is that correct?). The one in Kielhaven. I almost had to grease my behind to make it through that thing...and I was 18 years old, and about 200 pound lighter in those days!

 

Hi Lakeitel,


Neumunster is only 30 miles from here, I was there just a week ago. I bought our new Horse trailer there.
Do you speak a little german?
Yes , you are right, Laboe...there is the last Type VII U-Boat. I have been there one time and I'm realy sad for the condition of the boat..... Do you have some interests in U-Boats? Unfortunetely I haven't enough time to update our homepage so there are not many interesting thing on that site....
In Chicago is the last Type IX Boat in a Museum. Sometimes I'll go to Chicago to visit it.


Jens

How long do you have been here in Schleswig Holstein???

 

My German is non-existant at this point. I can often follow along when reading, but spoken German is usually too fast for me to keep up with now. I try to listen to Deutsche Welle but it is too much for me to keep up with in German.

My interests in U-Boots are purely related to my greater interests in the 1914-18 / 1939-45 wars. I collect and shoot firearms from those eras. Sadly I am in the process of puting my home up for sale and my life is in total disarray. Otherwise I would offer to meet up with you while you were in Florida and let you rattle off some ammo from whatever weapons would be your choice. I am living between two places right now and most of my pocessions are in storage at the moment. I am really collecting hard the weapons of Finland and the USSR in WWII at the moment but have quite a few from Imperial Germany (Gew 98s, Kar 98s) and National Socialist Germany (P08s, P38s, K98ks, PPK, PP, Sauer 38h, Mauser HSc, etc etc). I do not have any full-auto weapons but I have high hopes!

I spent an elongated six months or so with friends in Neumunster. I say elongated as they ended up heading to Norway for holiday and I tagged along. In the interim I spent a lot of time making small tours of the area around Northern Germany with these friends. I have also spent some time in Hamburg, Hannover, Munich, and Berlin. I really do no like cities (can you tell when I told you basically to avoid Florida's cities and take the back roads) and much prefer the German countryside. Northern Germany is very underrated by American tourists and very very nice. Once I got over the fact that no one smiles when they say hello (and they all thought I was mentally ill as I walked around smiling) and that EVERYTHING is just "good", I was OK! I guess that last thing about "good" is a German language thing but it drove me nuts! To be honest unless I really try hard most of the memories are clouded by exessive beer consumption. Now I am fat, old and diabetic so I cannot drink beer anymore...but I have my memories!