Florida Geotourism
November 23rd, 2007
By Kirby Collins
Looking for that perfect Christmas gift for a loved one in the north hunkered down for winter? Or maybe you’re looking for the perfect gift for a Floridian who loves everything about the Sunshine State. Well you’re in luck, many Florida retailers have many unique gift ideas from Chocolate Alligators to Key Lime Pie for online shoppers to choose from. But don’t get mad at me when Aunt Rose gets jealous as she opens a box of Florida Citrus while she shivers in Michigan.
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November 1st, 2007
 White Springs, FL - The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Recreation and Parks is pleased to announce the 55th Annual Florida Folk Festival is scheduled for November 9 - 11 at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park in White Springs. Since 1953, folk artists have come together for one of the oldest state folk festivals in America. The Florida Folk Festival, Florida’s premier heritage event, continues a grand tradition ofcelebrating Florida’s land, people and diverse cultural heritage with more than 200 performances each day by Florida’s greatest folk and roots artists—a river of talent.
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September 2nd, 2007
By Kirby Collins
Stuart, FL - The House of Refuge Museum at Gilbert’s Bar in Stuart has a history of life savings that goes back to 1876.
Only one remaining of nine on Florida’s east coast commissioned for the U.S. Life Saving Service. Keepers provided shelter, food, clothing and transportation to survivors of shipwrecks and storms at sea. In 1955 it was acquired by the Martin County Historical Society.
Hours of Operation
Mon - Sat: 10 am - 4 pm
Sun: 1 pm - 4 pm
The House of Refuge is located just north of St. Lucie Inlet in Stuart, Florida.
August 28th, 2007
By Kirby Collins
Stuart, FL - Stuart is home to one of the most remarkable beaches in Florida, aptly named Bathtub Reef Park. The reef itself is about 40 yards offshore and is partially exposed during low tide. The reef protects the shoreline from breaking waves and is a great place for small children to swim and feel comfortable.
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August 19th, 2007
Florida Keys - Every year, patrons of Florida Keys dive and snorkel shops play a guessing game. Locals and visitors alike try to guess the date and time of the annual coral spawn — sometimes nicknamed “sex on the reef” — on North America’s only living coral barrier reef, which parallels the island chain.
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August 12th, 2007
Geo·tour·ism (n): tourism that sustains or
enhances the geographical character of a place -
its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and
the well-being of its residents.
By Kirby Collins
Geotourism sustains communities and allows them to keep their unique flavor and style. There’s less pressure to conform to national architectural trends that make every city look the same.
Geotourism gives visitors a chance to escape strip malls and the homogeneous feel they get from every other place they visit.
Geotourism is good business. Every place in Florida has its own character, our beaches all have different types of sand and our regions have distinctive looks. Business people can focus on their customer by being who they are, not who Mickey thinks they should be.
PlacesAroundFlorida.com supports Florida Geotourism
For more info, view National Geographic and Wikipedia.
August 8th, 2007
By Kirby Collins
Daytona Beach, FL - At the east end of Main Street in Daytona Beach sits a landmark that has stood for 106 Years, the Daytona Beach Pier, also known as the Main Street Pier. The Pier is 1000 feet long, the longest on the east coast and is a great place for getting a bird’s eye view of the coastline and all the hotels along the beach.
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July 23rd, 2007
By Kirby Collins
Palm Beach, FL - Palm Beach has always been the winter playground of the elite like Henry Flagler, the Kennedy family and The Donald. However the beaches of Palm Beach are at their best in the summer when the winds die and the seas are calm. July is when the water clears, boats anchor up offshore and everybody enjoys the water which is just cool enough to provide relief from the Florida sun.
We visited Palm Beach at the east end of Royal Palm Way, Okeechobee Road becomes Royal Palm when you cross the Intracoastal Waterway. There is limited parking and it may take a while to find a spot on weekends, however weekdays during the summer shouldn’t offer much too difficulty. If you go, don’t forget the change for the parking meters.
Palm Beach is located at Royal Palm Way and S Ocean Blvd in Palm Beach.
July 19th, 2007
By Kirby Collins
 Sebastian Inlet, FL - We visited Sebastian Inlet State Park last weekend and enjoyed the calm seas and warm sun, we arrived in the early morning and were almost alone on the beach except for a few surfers who were catching a small break.
Later in the morning about a dozen skimborders showed up and gave us a great show, so I whipped out my video camera, you can see the video here.
View Sebastian Inlet State Park Images »
After a walk on the north jetty we headed over to the catwalk under the bridge that spans the inlet. There we saw a manatee swimming out the inlet with the outgoing tide. The water was fairly clear considering that the tide was falling, the incoming tide offers cleaner water. We also saw a small pod of stingrays coming into the inlet, as well as a few small mangrove snappers caught that were destined for the dinner table.
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July 17th, 2007
By Kirby Collins
Melbourne Beach, FL - Sebastian Beach Inn is popular for its beachside location, great food and it’s Sunday Reggae Party. We recently stopped in and enjoyed the beautiful view of the Atlantic from their huge Sea Side Deck.
The seas were flat and the beach was nearly deserted. As we waited for our food, we had a couple drinks and enjoyed a flock of about 40 white ibis hunting for mole crabs along the shore break.
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July 10th, 2007
By Kirby Collins
 Live Oak, FL - Last weekend we stumbled upon the Suwannee River State Park on our way back from Tallahassee and were impressed by its beauty and reminded of the diversity Florida has to offer. The park offers canoe rentals, cabin rentals, a playground, picnic areas and camping, though the camping area is currently closed through late summer.
We walked along the Suwannee River Trail, a short trail as there are five trails in the park, ranging from a quarter mile to 18 miles, looping through surrounding woodlands and provide spectacular views of the rivers. The trail is easy to walk with rolling elevations and foot bridges across the rougher terrain.
View all Suwannee River State Park images
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July 9th, 2007
 By Kirby Collins
Sebastian, FL - Capt. Hiram’s Resort in Sebastian Florida is one of the coolest places in Florida. On the Indian River, it’s almost directly across from Sebastian Inlet. Hiram’s features an outside Sand Bar with a beach, live entertainment and a great view. There is also an inside dining area that you’d feel as comfortable wearing shorts and flip-flops as you would and suit and tie.
Their menu is diverse with the fare ranging from crab cakes to filet mignon. Recently, I had their dolphin sandwich, referred to as Maui Maui on the menu (we natives still call em dolphin) and it was terrific as usual.
 When I was living in Sebastian I thought every little seacoast town had a similar restaurant and yet as I travel throughout Florida, I have yet to find a place like Hiram’s.
Capt. Hiram’s Resort also features a full service hotel, a deep-water marina and banquet facilities.
June 25th, 2007
By Kirby Collins
I’m excited to launch two new Image Galleries in PlacesAroundFlorida.com this week. The Birding in Florida image gallery has many of Florida’s most common birds. Many of the bird pictures were taken at the Viera Wetlands near Melbourne FL.
Florida Ecotourism is growing and the Florida Wildlife image gallery features many of the common animals you’d most likely encounter. Florida is truly one of the greatest places to view nature with many state and local parks and birding trails.
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