Marathon Key in the center of the Florida Keys

Marathon Key in the center of the Florida Keys

Marathon Key is a 10 mile stretch of quaint islands consisting of three different islands. It consist of a 10 mile stretch of family and adult packed activities with superb dining, great nightlife, spectacular accommodations, excellent family resturants and great water sports.

With the shallow waters around the keys snorkeling, sail boarding, sailing and kayaking is a great pastime. Snorkeling and diving in the keys offers some exceptional experiences. With the calm seas the visibility is awesome. Several of the outfitters offer nature guided tours for the kayakers. Take a day and visit the mangrove canopied canals and streams by kayak or canoe. Search for tropical birds, sharks, and sting rays while exploring the canals around the keys.


Long Key State Recreational Park


Key Colony Beach


Crane Point Museum


About Marathon Key


Scuba Diving


Abyss Dive Center on Marathon Key

While visiting any of the keys make sure you spend a day golfing. Golfing in the keys is remarkable. The scenery is excellent, with towering trees and tropical flowers, bushes and mangroves. While golfing you may encounter egrets, herons and other tropical wildlife on the courses. There are several courses to choose from while in the keys, so sit back one day and relax with a round of golf.

Florida Keys, Key Largo

Key Largo, the northern most island of the Florida Keys island chain, lies only an hour's drive from South Florida's two major airports. Yet it is a world away. Key Largo is a paradise all by itself. Some of the best snorkeling is right here in Key Largo. With it's own 510 foot artificial reef it's own underwater state park, no wonder Key Largo is called the Worlds Dive Capitol.

Shopping in Key Largo is unbelievable. If you are looking for anything from fruit to home decorations to clothing you will find it here. Some of the best nautical furnishings, island type clothing, antiques, water sports equipment and etc. Here are a couple of links to help you see what kind of shopping Key Largo offers.

Shopping in Key Largo

Key Largo Chamber Shopping List

If you are looking to get married in a tropical setting but dont want to travel oversees you may want to check out one of several tropical setting in Key Largo.
Perhaps best of all, the Florida Keys are home to a host of highly-professional wedding planners, photographers, and venue operators. These people are ready to help you prepare a wedding ceremony and reception that will suit your desires and budget.
And when the ceremony is over, a fabulous honeymoon awaits you in Key Largo’s own back yard.

There are numerous things to do in Key Largo, you could say it is a town that never sleeps.

• Boating


• Watersports


• Underwater Parks


• Above Water Parks


• Sailing


• Nightlife


• Resturants


• Golfing


• Attractions


• Tours and Excursions


• Kayacking


• Birdwatching


• Watching the awesome sunsets

The Florida Keys

The Florida Keys

One of the best places to visit while in Florida is the wonderful Florida Keys. The keys are made up of 1700 islands. The keys start about 15 miles south of Miami and they extend south to a point where the most southern tip is only 90 miles from Cuba. US hwy 1 or sometimes called the Overseas Hwy is the main route through the keys from top to bottom.

There is so much to do and see in the keys I cant put everything on this blog. I just love the keys personally because of the laid back atmosphere. It reminds me so much of the Caribbean; the water, the scenery, the restaurants and clubs.

Here are a few of my favorite links for the keyes:

Key Largo

The Best of the Keys

The Florida Keys

Florida keys weather


There is so much to do and see in the keys I will be spending the next few days exploring some of the sights and sounds and sharing them with you.

Tampa Ybor City

Ybor City - Tampa Florida

Tampa is home to the world famous Ybor City. Known as the home to the Latin Quater similar to the French Quarter in New Orleans. Tampa Ybor is filled with wonderful culture and great cuisines. Choose from Spanish, French, Italian, Greek and Cuban cuisine just by taking a stroll through the historic district of Ybor.

Ybor was founded in the 1880s by cigar manufacturers and was populated by thousands of immigrants, mainly from Spain, Cuba, and Italy. For the next 50 years, workers in Ybor City's cigar factories would roll millions of cigars annually. Even today there are several cigar shops in Ybor and also a Ybor City Museum.

If your a cigar connoisseur then you will enjoy the:

Cigar Heritage Festival Saturday,

November 21, 2009

Centennial Park in

Ybor City

Ybor Chamber of Commerce

Ybor City Web Site

If you are looking for a listing of places to eat and drink in Ybor click on this link for a exhaustive list of places to visit in Ybor. Click Here

Bicycling in Florida

A phrase that has hit our county chamber of commerce is; Bikers, Bird Watchers, and Boaters. We live in a county that has a world famous bicycle trail called "The Withlacoochee Trail". We have several events each year on the trail. The Withlacoochee Trail attract thousands of visitors each year from around the world. The trail is part of the Rails to Trail bicycling organization.



The Withlacoochee Trail is 46 miles long, 12 feet wide, and is asphalt for the entire length. It use to be part of a old railroad track that was converted to a paved recreational trail suitable for hiking, biking, and skating, Horseback riding is available on a separate trail along side the paved trail. The North end of the trail is located in Citrus Springs south of Dunnellon, Florida and extends 46 miles to the south ending at the trailhead at Highway 301 in Dade City, Florida. As of right now it is the longest paved rail trail in Florida.



The beautiful country farmland and the wonderful lakes you pass on this trail will take your breath away. Many a morning I have seen wildlife feeding and grazing on the side of the trail .

There are many great web sites to pull information from about this wonderful recreation rail to trail. Here are a few that I have visited that I am offering to you to use.

Rails To Trails

Outdoor Travel

Trails.com

Florida Trail

Bicycling Life

Withlacoochee Trail State Park starts just north of S.R. 50, a mile east of I-75 For more information, call the Withlachoochee State Trail office, 352-394-2280, or the Rails to Trails of the Withlacoochee, 352-726-2251. Inverness the county seat for Citrus County lies right in the middle of the trail. Come by sometime, if your an avid biker or just a weekend novice, you will love our charm here.

Stormy Hurricane Season for 2009

Many predictions for another stormy hurricane season is due this year. With the hurricane season starting on June 1st even the legislature in Tallahassee. Governor Charlie Crist was talking on capitol hill about the upcoming hurricane season after NOAA release their predictions.

Governor Crist urged Floridians to prepare for the hurricane season predicted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to be near-normal this year, with a 70 percent chance of nine to 14 storms.

Four to seven of those storms could turn into hurricanes, and up to three could be category three, four or five, NOAA said, while Crist said Floridians should be "like a Boy Scout or Girl Scout" and prepare for the upcoming season.

NOAA’s seasonal hurricane outlook does not project where and when any of these storms may hit. Landfall is dictated by weather patterns in place at the time the storm approaches.

For more information about the upcoming hurricane season from NOAA click on the link below:

NOAA 2009 Hurricane Outlook

Tampa - TBARTA Master Plan for long range rail in Florida

On Friday April 24, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority revealed it long range goals for the regional transit plan to the public.

Here is a picture of the proposed rail system on the east coast of Florida.



TBARTA LATEST NEWS LETTER.
http://www.tbarta.com/sites/tbarta.com/files/press-room/May09_Newsltr_%2851109%29-Web.pdf

TBARTA Brochure
http://www.tbarta.com/sites/tbarta.com/files/press-room/TBARTA-Broch_9x12_FINAL.pdf

MyFlorida Green

With Florida taking an aim at going green. A lot of very good websites have popped up with some very interesting information for the public. I found one site that has a extensive list of helpful tips to save the public money while helping the enviroment.

Check out our conservation tips to see how you can get started.