Yes, we stayed – once again* – in a chain hotel. All the while guiding fellow travelers to choose locally owned, independent and unique places to stay. But when someone gives you a gift card for a chain, you don’t exactly say, “Thanks! But no thanks. We don’t stay in chain hotels.” *Read here, about the other time we stayed...
St. Augustine tops many “Best Of” lists. So much so that we, who usually stay away from towns that are so highly lauded they’ll probably be full of annoying tourists, might consider just staying home. The fact that we rarely revisit a town, and we’ve stayed near St. Augustine four times, speaks large. Recently named by Southern Living as The...
Known for its Old-Florida fishing village atmosphere, Fort Pierce has always offered low-key fun: surfing, kayaking, paddleboarding, boating and fishing along one of Florida’s best all-weather inlets. Horseback riding on the beach, or just strolling the waterfront at Jetty Park. For those of you in search of the nostalgic simple pleasures a small beach town offers, Fort Pierce – “The...
The guest rooms of our little beach bungalow have shape-shifted numerous times over the years out of necessity but also on a whim (or five.) In the beginning we couldn’t wait to rip out all evidence of someone else’s ideas and paint a large swath of our own better and more fun ones. One such life for one of these...
With coral reefs just 100 feet from the beach, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is one of the few shore diving towns in the US. “Florida’s Beach Diving Capital” offers a tank rack for gear setup and easy access to great diving and snorkeling experiences. No need to haul your own boat, figure out where to launch it, and motor miles out with a...
Who doesn’t love a cute old cottage with a colorful backstory? We’ve rounded up 30+ such little structures all around Florida, that have proved their resilience – both the vintage structures and their owners. These businesses on our list have stood the test of time as have the people keeping them fresh and relevant. Old houses repurposed as restaurants, shops,...
What a year it was! How about yours? I think this was the most we’ve ever traveled in one year, and it was mainly fun, sometimes eye-popping (it is Florida, after all) and occasionally annoying. As all travel is, right? If we’re being honest. We also have a new granddaughter: Ellis is a big sister! Rhoda is three months old....
While some of our nation’s gift givers are busy ordering the latest trendy frigid-weather presents – Capes? Pettable faux fur outerwear? (Is feather knit truly pettable?) we who live with summer in our souls remain in a sunshine state of mind when it comes to giving gifts. 65% of travelers are dreaming of a warm coastal getaway. We are here...
While “extreme” and “relaxing” will never live in the same sentence in our world, we found it fascinating that this is an actual thing. It happened in England, this Extreme Relaxing Competition. Good for them, to put so much importance on relaxing that it’s become a contest…. But whew, that sounds like pressure! Ready, set, RELAX!!! Relaxation is the #1...
And we found the perfect bungalow for your home base. When you hear “This town has undergone an amazing transformation into a vibrant beach destination,” you absolutely want to go to see for yourself, right? This happened for us, so we went to check out Pompano Beach for ourselves. And for you! Transformations spark curiosity and excitement: How did they...
