Florida State Of Mind – A Family’s Favourite Adventure

---

Florida – wow – what an amazing family holiday! Our entire family is into the outdoors and nature, and Florida offered a great mix of family esta visa’sthrough estafasttrack.org.uk. which was also a relatively quick and painless process.

Our first stop was The Castillo de San Marcos, a beautiful, masonry site located in the town of Augustine. Built in the 1600s, it still stands tall and proud. It’s a great destination for lovers of history and architecture! The Castillo de San Marcos has walls at least 14 feet thick. They were built to defend its past occupants against attacks. These days, the walls protect an ambience of charm, grace and a convey a comforting sense of permanence.

One of the highlights of the whole trip was a day spent at the Universal Orlando Resort (most people say its Disney’s fiercest competition). There were two beautiful theme parks one of which is called the “Islands of Adventure” and this was a huge hit with the little ones.

Next, we headed to Miami for some sightseeing at the Seaquarium. The Seaquarium is located between Miami and Key Biscayne. One day was not enough! Nowhere else in the world can you sensibly ask "Is that sea lion dead?”. The little ones were amazed to find that a sea line can hold its breath for almost half an hour as it naps underneath the water (I have to admit I was as well). We also did the Sea Trek Reef Encounter and loved every minute! From the staff being superb to the actual diving, to feeding sting rays and fish, we really couldn’t have asked for more. Highly recommended.

Florida is known as the beach lover’s ultimate destination and the reputation did not disappoint. We spent and afternoon at the crisp white South Beach sipping on Juice and paddling in the water.

We then moved onto three days in the fabulous Florida Keys. It’s only an hour’s drive from Miami but a world away from the fast pace of the city. The keys received their name from ‘cayo’ a Spanish word for ‘island’. To get there we hired a car from www.economycarrentals.com and then drove from Florida City down an 18-mile stretch through the Everglades (known to the locals as ‘The Stretch’).

We were keen to try our hands at a little snorkelling and there is a living coral reef just off Key Largo. It was relatively expensive but at the end of the day worth every penny. We were totally immersed in an underwater world; canyons of living rock, schools of fish flashing past in technicolor. If the water wasn’t so cold in the UK this would be our new family hobby. We booked with these guys and www.tavernierdivecenter.com and would recommend them to anyone.

Then it was a little ‘Dad’s time’. While the rest of the family just mulled about on the beach I lived out one of my childhood dreams… Tarpon fishing on the flats of Florida Bay. A friend of mine had recommended fishing for Tuna in the Gulf Stream but sadly that was a little out of my price range. (Next time I will have to leave the family behind!) The Tarpon fishing was amazing and the guide that took me was a true ‘guru’.

We spent the last three days of holiday in the calm and tranquil Fort Lauderdale staying with family friends. Fort Lauderdale is a lot quieter and a less touristy than Miami and it was a great way to close of a better family vacation that we could ever have hoped for. USA we will be back!

---