suggestions for florida vacation??

so i'm taking a trip to florida in may... i've been before but it was always wi
th my parents and/or other relatives. can anyone give some tips on some places
to check out while i'm there? i'll be in sarasota/siesta key mainly but i have
unlimited miles on my rental car so driving a few hours isnt a big deal. i'll
be flying in and out of tampa. anything herp related/nature related etc is alw
ays high on my priorities.
any tips would be great!

I used to live in Florida--until I was 12. One of my favorite places when I was a kid was St. Augustine. It's a neat town, and St. Augustine beach is great--we used to camp there for a week-long vacation when I was a kid.

Blue Springs park is nice (but that's nowhere near where you'll be, I don't think). I went to Silver Springs, Lion Country Safari and places like that when I was MUCH younger...don't remember much about them :)

I wish I could be more help!

i went to silver springs last time i was there and loved it! thats the kind of stuff i'm looking to check out. do you know of any zoos or reptile parks in that general area?

Well, if you don't mind driving 4-5 hours, you can always hop on I-75 south and hit Everglades National Park.

Craig

Everglades all the way. the most awesome day of my life was spent there

i am in Fla.(tampa) right now...visiting family(i live in cincinnati). Busch gardens is really nice, its an amusment park...then theres universal studios and disney land and all that stuff. not sure about anything reptile related...

everglades may be a possibility if we can get my aunt to watch our baby... he's only 4mo old and i dont really want to drive all that way with him then drag him thru the glades :) but yeah, i'd love to go there.... i'm not too keen on theme parks, but busch gardens doesnt sound too bad.

gotta see the glades, if you are into field herpin, drive around there at night it is supposed to be AMAZING night herpin.
~mike

got my collapsable snake hook ready!

not really but i can probably take my regular one down....

thanks guys

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kzooherpetoculturist

got my collapsable snake hook ready!

not really but i can probably take my regular one down....

thanks guys

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I just went down in Feb, i took my fullsized snake hook with me. I took and used a carboard tube to cover the handle, and unraveled another and wrapped it around the acctual hook end. then tapped around the whole tube with duct tape for a bit of strength. wrote my name on it and told the people at the front desp to be careful with it and it is more delecate than a golf club (just to make sure they didn't throw it around befor the guys in back do). Good luck!!!

~mike

If you do decide to head down to Everglades National Park, take the long route and drive Janes Senic Drive. You get off of I-75 at SR 29 south. It's a few miles south on the right. The sign is small so you have to watch for it. The road turns to hard packed dirt that takes you through the Fakahatchee Strand. You have to turn around and leave the same way you came in. Then get back on SR 29 south until you hit US 41 (Tamiami Trail). Go east. There is another road that is worth checking out east on US 41 called Turner River Road. It's on the north side and again you will have to turn around to get out, but Turner River Road takes you into the Big Cypress National Preserve.

Once back to US 41, continue east and on the south side is the Shark River area of Everglades National Park, if you want to check it out. To get to the main area of the park, continue east on US 41 until you get to Krome Ave. Turn right on Krome and continue south until you hit Homestead/Florida City. You will see signs directing you to the park entrance.

Craig

wow, thanks a lot, i just printed that off... do you work there or something??


my uncle owns a bamboo farm in homestead and has done a lot of research in the everglades, but he's kind of a loner so i dont know think he could take me anywhere cool. thanks again!

Your welcome and no I don't work there. I've lived here all my life and used to haunt these areas back in the '70s as a teen. I've recently visited several places and they still seem worth while.

Bamboo farm! I'm in the market as I'm redoing some landscaping. I really like the black and two tone varieties. Does he sell to the public? LOL

If you do decide to hit some of those places, make sure you take extra fuel.

Here are some gator pics from my most recent trip to Janes Scenic Drive.

This guy was crossing the road and I stopped my truck about 4' away. When I took the pic, I was only 2-3 feet from him.

http://redtailboa.net/pp/data/4462/roadgator.JPG

This pic was taken from my drivers side window. I was right at the edge of the road, looking down on her. She had a bunch of babies around her and was hissing at me the whole time.

http://redtailboa.net/pp/data/4462/momma-a.JPG

Craig

nice pics, thanks again! btw, is the zoo in naples any good?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kzooherpetoculturist

nice pics, thanks again! btw, is the zoo in naples any good?

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I'm not familiar with that zoo, I live at the east end of "Alligator Alley" which is what the section of I 75 between Naples and US 27 is called. The MetroZoo in Dade county is pretty impresive.

Craig

yeah from what i was reading it sounded pretty small... it said their specialty is big cats.

i dont know if we'll have time to go all the way over to the east side... we're trying to get that figured out.