What to do in Florida?

[Cinnamonbite]

Look, I live here. Beaches, Disney, YAAAAAAWN!

Besides, it's so jam-packed crowded in August that everything just kinda sucks. What I'm looking for is a place to take pictures. A place where I can DO things, not ride on a tour bus kind of thing. Ok, like this: http://www.squidoo.com/kidnap

that's my last vacation. Hiking down the Grand Canyon and up, walking all over San Fransisco-including Lombard Street, biking across the Golden Gate Bridge, man, that's the first time I ever had cioppino and that's some awesoness in a bowl! I was all up and down the French Quarter looking in windows and OH! Chinatown-I have this nifty bracelet. And in LA, we I visited Valentino's grave/mausoleum. Yeah. Do we HAVE anything in Florida? I'm kinda leaning toward St. Augustine out of desperation, but I've been there before, of course. It's just more interesting than the Keys. In theory, up should be cooler than down too, LOL

Anyone have any suggestions? Doesn't have to be on the coast, but I grew up inland and can't think of a thing to do.

[NorthFloridaNinja]

Hey, I'm from Central Florida also.

For right now, I'd suggest sticking to urban activities. I went to down to South Beach for a half marathon in March and it was a pretty fun trip and less expensive than I expected. So, you might want to consider that. However, August is the height of tourist season and Miami is gonna be just as bad as Orlando. I've also been to St. Augustine before when I was younger and it was pretty cool. Less tourists there too...

For outdoors activities, there are some cool hiking trails in Ocala and parts of North Florida that you might wanna check out when it cools down some in October or November. Just google Florida Trail and you'll see what I'm talking about. I would NOT suggest going now though, because you'll be knee deep in mosquitoes and no amount of bug spray can protect you. Also, I'm in Tallahassee and it's hot all throughout the state right now, and the rest of the country from what I've been hearing.

Hope that helps somewhat.

[Cinnamonbite]

Yeah, it's in August so...yeah, I'm going to be parboiled.

[KAllen]

Other than going to see TNA, or M.Mouse, you can prepare to dodge hurricanes. Or get ready for the New Orleans Saints to kick the Tampa Bay Buc's ass!!!

[JackieRobert]

Have you been to Silver Springs? It's glass bottom boats and a pretty park. That was definitely worth a trip! I too suffer from a dislove of Florida in general. I live outside Tampa. Let me know if you find anything cool and I'll do the same

[Space_Elf]

I've been to Florida a few times (my grandma lives there). I always liked St. Augustine for walking around. I'm a history nut, so anything historical appeals to me. I like to find neat old towns and cities to walk around in and St. Augustine has some cute shops and a good ghost tour if you're into that sort of thing.

[Samunwal]

Not sure if you'll see this or not since you posted in July, but I just found your post so here goes. Since you've hiked the Grand Canyon, I'm guessing you're good with outdoors stuff so I'll start with that. You can kayak / canoe all over the state. The grass flats and mangrove swamps of Tampa Bay are awesome, and even more so if you like to fish. Now that it's winter, if you get into the power plant outflow areas, you can see a LOT of manatees right at the side of your boat. The Wilderness Waterway in the Everglades is another great place to go. I did a three night trip there a few years ago that is still one of the neatest camping trips I've ever been on. The Mosquito Lagoon on the Atlantic side by Cape Canaveral is also a good place for canoe camping but without the distance and isolation of the Glades. Speaking of Cape Canaveral, if you've never gone, you should. Go see one of the birthplaces of mankind's steps into space. Stay inland on the freshwater lakes and rivers to see stuff like alligators, otters and birds - lots and lots of birds (those are also in the salt and brackish water areas, obviously). The Chasohowitzka River on the southern edge of the Nature Coast is an awesome place to canoe to see all of those and more. Make sure and explore the tributaries that flow into it. You can catch largemouth bass in the headwaters and gator trout after it goes brackish to salt where it flows into the gulf. There are plenty of hiking and backpacking opportunities. The Ocala National Forest has a lot of trails and back country, and if you've ever read the book or seen the movie "The Yearling," the people Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings used as the basis of the story lived in what is now the National Forest and you can visit some of the areas in which they lived and you can see how tough life could be in Florida before air conditioning and the place got so crowded and developed. The State Park system is one of the best ones I have seen anywhere in the country. Hit up the State Park web sites for particulars, but ones I can tell you are really freakin' cool are Honeymoon Island, Fort Desoto, Oleno, Myakka River, Anclote Key, John Pennekamp, and Long Key. And then there are the state forests, like the Withlacoochee. I use the Croom Tract of the Withlacoochee like a great big back yard. All of the counties have their park systems, and most of their properties will not show up on Google maps (neither do the state parks, generally), so if you are going to a particular county, search its parks and recreation web site. Like mountain biking? Come to the Tampa area for some of the best trails in the state, including one that is an IMBA Epic ride, and one that should be - check out swampclub.org for details. Snorkeling or scuba? The aforementioned John Pennekamp has a boat concession that will carry you to the Lower 48's only coral reef for a couple of hours of snorkeling or there are also scuba charters. Long Key, you're camping right on the beach with lower key, but still really cool, snorkeloing right off the beach. Into debauchery? Got you covered there, too. Ybor City, Channelside, SoHo in Tampa; downtown St Petersburg (if you go here, check out the Dickens House B&B- great place and the guy who runs it is a really good dude); most of Miami; and my favorite, Key West. Hard to beat Duvall Street for providing a really good hangover. Don't want to kill too many brain cells? Tampa has some history associated with it, St Pete (downtown) is pretty cool, lots of folks like Miami, St Augustine is really old, and Key West can keep you busy for a couple of days seeing the sites (the cemetary really is a "don't miss it"). This is not anywhere near all-inclusive, but I think might get you started. Great thing about the outdoors stuff now, is you are in the cooler, drier LEAST BUGGY time of the year, so do those now, save the urban stuff for summer when the AC factor can kick in. And no, I have no connection to any Florida state agency or chamber of commerce; I just get around a bit and could actually write a whole lot more.