Getaways to the authentic Florida
Florida Rambler is always on the lookout for places that capture the Florida that is being lost to expressways and development. We include historic destinations, Florida landmarks and places where the past lives on in big and small ways. Here’s a scene from Micanopy, located right off I-75 near Gainesville.
Jonathan Dickinson State park can keep a lover of the outdoors busy for days with hiking, biking, kayaking, camping, wildlife watching and soaking up the natural beauty. The park has been the site of ongoing protests of a state proposal to build a hotel and golf courses there.
Lake Placid has quite a few stories to tell, and they are told in murals. On the walls of 50 buildings. All over town.
This offbeat historic hotel is the classic place to stay in Vero, a laid-back beach town that charms visitors with its funky Florida history, gorgeous beaches and cute downtown.
Downtown West Palm Beach bustles with bakeries, restaurants and bars, framed by historic buildings and modern towers, an old and established city with a fresh and modern vibe.
No Name Pub has been around since the 1930s, and it looks like it. It offers tasty food in a historic building, but what makes this the king of Funky Florida is the decor: $90,000 (some say) stapled to the walls and ceiling.
This historic restaurant near Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park at Cross Creek is a great place to eat like a cracker. It offers an old Florida ambiance and menu.
My idea of a great choice for a place to eat on vacation is a restaurant with a story behind it. Here are eight historic restaurants that fit that criteria — from Prohibition rum-runners to 1980s drug-runners; from authentic 1920s grand hotel to an authentic 1950s diner.
In the wild and watery world of southwest Florida, Collier-Seminole State Park near Naples draws people who love the natural Florida for camping, hiking and paddling.
Before Disney World, the winter circus in Sarasota was Florida’s biggest attraction, and Sarasota was the nation’s epicenter for clowns and circus culture.
Shangri-la Springs is a historic hotel surrounded by eight acres of gardens with fountains, ponds, towering trees and the original spring the town is named for. You are welcome to visit the grounds or have breakfast or lunch at its restaurant, which serves produce from its organic garden. It’s an Old Florida hidden gem!