<p>It has been a strange year. I have not had any reason to be in Florida for the first 50 yrs of my life. I now find myself possibly being in Florida for the 2nd time in 8 months.
Spouse has some business in the Fort Lauderdale area. I am going to come along. Our D who will be turning 21 during that week wants to join us. We know it will be very hot. We are probably going to stay somewhere near the beach. Using some Marriott points his secretary has come up with the Marriott in delray beach.
We will be there about 6 days. Husband has 3 free days mid trip that we will use to drive to another part of Florida. My D has done some web surfing and she has come up with 2 things she wants to do. Swim with the Manatees in Crystal River and go to the Salvador Dali museum in St Petersburg. Of course neither of these is close to Fort Lauderdale but it is doable.
Any suggestions of things to do. Aside from the beach which is not a big deal to us since we live 5 minutes from the beach in Ca. including an ocean view from my bedroom. And my beach town has ideal summer weather of high 70’s.
Already did Disneyworld last trip.</p>
<p>Have you done Sea World? They have lots of aquatic life, and if you splurge you can swim with the dolphins at Discovery Cove. Kennedy Space Center is always an option and probably closer than your daughter’s locations. Miami’s South Beach is always a fun place to drive through and check out.</p>
<p>But yea, Crystal River idea sounds like a lot of fun, and that’s not too far from St. Pete so maybe you could stay a night in that area. If you like baseball Tampa Bay Ray’s tickets are always cheap, and Tropicana Field just got redone. That’s right in St. Pete.</p>
<p>The Keys are also another great option. Not sure about what all it entails (never been there myself) but I have heard rave reviews from those who have gone.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Head up the coast and see Cape Canaveral</p></li>
<li><p>Head down the coast all the way to Key West</p></li>
<li><p>You could head to the Everglades but if you do, remember it’ll be hot, sticky, and full of mosquitos (I assume they don’t spray there since it’s a natural habitat)</p></li>
<li><p>You could go to Universal Studios in Orlando</p></li>
<li><p>The beaches there are different from the one in Cal. The water is much warmer and they have nice white sand (in some places). The waves generally aren’t as good as here though. We’re not far from the beach here either but we enjoyed going to the Florida beaches.</p></li>
<li><p>Try to get in a snorkeling or scuba (if you’re certified) trip - especially around the keys like Key Largo (you need to head out on a boat trip). The waters there are tropical and much nicer IMO for diving than California’s waters.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I’m pretty sure I stayed at Marriott in Ft. Lauderdale about 20 or so years ago. It was a nice one. They have a bar by one of the inland waterways. After working for about 24 hours straight myself and a colleague went down to that bar (in the morning) and another colleague pulled up in a boat. We hopped on the boat, went this way and that on the inland waterway and ended up heading out in the ocean just offshore of ft Lauderdale and we went scuba diving. It was pretty nice - lots of barracuda and other fish and the water was warm. When we were done he delivered us right back to that Marriott bar (I think it was a Marriott).</p>
<p>I definately would suggest the keys! When i was staying with my friends family in Ft. Lauderdale for 3 weeks over christmas we took a day trip to the Keys and I loved it! I think it was a 4 hour drive to the very tip of the keys but the views from the drive are amazing!</p>
<p>I like the Keys too, but if your D doesn’t there are few options for a Plan B. Being a fan of Salvador Dali’s work, I’ll plug the Tampa Bay area. Professional baseball, Busch Garden’s wild animal park, miles of beautiful white sand beaches, a lively area for young adults at Clearwater beach, etc.</p>
<p>Near the Tampa area is and old sponge diving, greek area of Tarpon Springs. Also, there’s a lively community called Ybor City, which is also part of the Tampa area. I’ve never been to Ybor City, but I’ve been told it’s got a Latin Quarter flavor to it, with lots of jazz, artisans … stuff like that. Personally, if you go to to Key West, take the high speed cataramans over to The Dry Tortugas, a national park a few hours out in the middle of the ocean. (fort and bird refuge) Has beautiful water to swim and snorkel in. We spent the day there.</p>
<p>zebes</p>
<p>Its a LONG drive to Key West and a LONG drive back. So you could go to Key Largo, or midway down the keys. You can swim with the dolphins at 2-3 spots in the middle of the keys–Theater of the Sea is one area in Islamorada, but there are others. Midway down the keys: swiming with dophins, snorkeling, a boat trip. A nice resort is Hawks Cay for a 2-3 night splurge. </p>
<p>Or head for the west coast and take in swimming with Manatees, the Dali exhibit, and take in Clearwater or St Pete beach (goggle to get an idea of which is a better choice for a 21 yo). Ybor City is worth a visit, and eat at the Columbia restaurant. Another spurge is to stay at the Don Ceasar for 2-3 nights.</p>
<p>The Dali museum is great, but not sure if it’s worth the ten hour round trip from Ft. Lauderdale. Crystal River is a couple of hours north of St. Pete, so may be worth it to do both. If you’re into kitsch, you can see the mermaids at weeki wachee springs on the way up there. Ybor is known mostly for nightlife, doesn’t compare to South Beach IMO. Skip the Columbia and eat at Bern’s (don’t miss the [dessert</a> room!](<a href=“http://www.bernssteakhouse.com/HarryWaughDessertRoom/tabid/264/Default.aspx]dessert”>http://www.bernssteakhouse.com/HarryWaughDessertRoom/tabid/264/Default.aspx)). I do recommend a Greek lunch or dinner in Tarpon Springs, an authentic Greek fishing village with the largest concentration of Greek-Americans in the U.S. And yes, the Rays are #1 in the AL East!</p>
<p>[The</a> Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens The Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens](<a href=“http://www.morikami.org/]The”>http://www.morikami.org/)
stayed in delray a few years ago and visited the above japanese garden. Beautiful! And they have a restaurant on the grounds so we had some sushi after touring the gardens.
We also took lots of walks and ogled the multi-million dollar mansions lining the shoreline (Delray and West Palm Beach).
Go down to Miami and walk around South Beach. Crowded but lots of energy and the young folks love it.
I love the keys but the drive IS long. Key Largo is a good compromise.
We did some windsurfing on Biscayne Bay (Miami). Lots of fun.
And yeah Universal Studios and Sea World are both loads of fun!</p>
<p>With a 21 year-old, head to south beach and coconut grove in Miami. She will love it. And both are only about 40 minutes south.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the ideas. Keep them coming.
I looked into swimming with the dolphins but it is more then her Dad is willing to spend. The manatees are much less. Plus it interests her more. Since it is her 21st birthday I want to do something she really wants to do. She has been wanting to do the Dali museum since our last trip. She loves Salvador Dali enough to have a tattoo on her back that is taken from one of his paintings.
I just picked up a Florida map from the AAA and I am going to look at distances. I think we could leave Delray early one morning, drive to St Petersburg. Maybe see the museum that afternoon. Spend the night somewhere in that area. Maybe somewhere on a beach that is nice since that might be her birthday night. Slowly the next day head up towards Crystal River. Stay somewhere nearby. The manatee tours seem to leave at 7 or 8 am in the summertime. Then after the Manatees head back down.
suggestions for places to stay.
I think the Japanese Gardens sound nice for an afternoon when my spouse is working.
Is it worth going down to Miami for the day.
Also how far is it to Key Largo? Would it be worth it for a day?
We might have a friend of my D’s with us for some of the time. Her friend does not drink so I would not be looking for places with alot of nightlife.
I feel lucky that my D has chosen to spend her 21st with us and an non drinking friend versus the Las Vegas trip her other friend suggested.</p>
<p>21 year old, you want to go to the South Beach, more specifically the Delano at night.</p>
<p>If you’re not interested in snorkeling or fishing I’m not sure it’d be worth going to Key Largo unless you just want a drive and to see what it looks like.</p>
<p>My girls were bored out of their mind at the Keys, and it’s a very long drive from FTL</p>
<p>Agreed, 21 year old would love Miami, especially after her birthday night. So if you have a couple days after the manatees make that a day trip to see South Beach. There’s a lot of art stuff there too, so it’s good for all hours of the day and night.</p>
<p>The Marriott resort on Marco Island is the nicest Marriott in the country.</p>
<p>wonderful suggestions. South Beach is energetic; great food, dancing at night, shops that aren’t chains. If you head to Key Largo, stop at Parrot Jungle. There is also the Indian Reservation, and boat trips that circle the coast (guides point out the celebrity homes). Key Largo is relaxing, and its fun to take a morning boat trip and try snorkeling. If you go there, eat at Fish House. Key West is a 2 hour drive from Key Largo. Hemingways House, Pirate Museum, etc can fill a day of sight seeing.</p>
<p>I can offer lots of suggestions, but I think you need to figure if you spend time going south, north (to Space station, St Augustine), or NW to Tampa.</p>
<p>Go to Universal Studios and stay in one of their on-site hotels. You get front of the line access to both parks. Well worth the price of the hotel, especially in the heat of the summer.</p>
<p>I think we are getting closer to making reservations.
The plan is to head to St Petersburg for the weekend of the birthday. We will take in the Salvador Dali Museum and I think stay somewhere on St Pete’s beach. The next day we will head up to Crystal River for the Manatees. I am thinking we will spend the morning in the St Petersburg area and head out mid day or late afternoon and stop in Tarpon Springs on the way up to Crystal River. Is there a place we should try to eat dinner at in Tarpon Springs?
Also a dinner suggestion in St Pete’s Beach or St Petersburg? My D is allergic to shellfish.
Don’t yet know what day trips we will do from Ft Lauderdale/Palm Beach area but we can plan that when we are there. Probably one day down to Miami.</p>
<p>A cautionary tale re South Beach. It is fun, but can be quite costly for dining even in the small places along Ocean Drive. I usually go in the winter, so maybe in summer they have some specials (as they do mid week in winter.) However, the most unpleasant surprise we had was a $25 mojito on Ocean Drive. I usually never ask the price of mixed drinks, but after that charge on a dinner check, in South Beach I always do ask (BTW I am used to NY prices, but that was above and beyond.)</p>