Why should kids have all the fun? Sometimes I want to be a kid again. I see you nodding yes – your inner child wants to play too! And so, it came to pass that an opportunity to do just…
Alafia River State Park has Epic Bike Trails
Epic.Now there is a word you do not hear very often.But you hear it often at Alafia River State Park, a reclaimed phosphate mine with some of the most challenging elevation changes in the state of Florida. The park is…
Take a Walk in a Park Today
Saturday, March 30, 2019 is National Take a Walk in a Park day. Do your duty! I did mine a bit early at De Soto National Memorial Park in Bradenton – a small park on the south shore of the…

Have Dog, Will Travel
Jennifer A. Huber is Saturday Morning Magazine’s guest blogger for December, 2018. Welcome, Jennifer! We love how adopting a dog lead you to new adventures. Both the story and photos are by Jennifer A. Huber/ SoloTravelGirl.com A traveling pet parent…

Lake Eola Park hosts Farmers Market
Every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando becomes the place to be. Tents of all sizes line both sides of the park’s winding sidewalks for the weekly Orlando Farmers Market. Music, ethnic food,…

Babcock Ranch is Powered by the Sun
While growing up, my passions ebbed and flowed – in second grade, horses galloped across my landscape always with me riding out front. By fourth grade being a ballerina took center stage. Did you dream dreams as a kid of…
Florida State Parks are Calling Your Name
I LOVE FLORIDA STATE PARKS Yes, I do. Deeply. Passionately. Just thinking about taking my dogs for walks on dirt trails shaded by tall trees or getting my wading shoes wet climbing in and out kayaks for river trips makes…
Naples Loves Outdoor Farmers Markets
Naples on the West Coast of Florida has a hot and heavy love affair going on with outdoor Farmers Markets. Seven different Farmers Markets, yes seven, strut their stuff on different days of the week during the season (November through…

Florida Bed & Breakfasts Pamper Guests
Florida Bed & Breakfasts – you never know where you will find one. Wandering around Florida’s Forgotten Coast I found myself in the fishing village of Apalachicola and discovered the Coombs Inn & Suites, three lovely historic Victorian Mansions. I…

Emerson Point Preserve & Waterfront Doings in Palmetto
All that walking at Emerson Point Preserve worked up an appetite for lunch and I found myself at the Riverside Café, watching cloud shows and devouring the Dieters Delight. “How do you like it?” the waitress asked. This is my…

Old Cedar Key Walking Tour and More Adventures
The Old Cedar Key walking tour is on my list of things to do but first we need to check in. At the Faraway Inn their Office sign is turned to Open. Obi and I step inside. The manager looks…

Winter Park Puts a Smile in Your Step
Want to put a smile in your step? Spend a Saturday in Winter Park. Yep. Saturday. Why? Because it is Farmer’s Market Day. Every Saturday an encampment of tents fan out in a tight cluster around the old train station…

Hogtown Creek Greenway walk in Gainesville
Chapter 5 in “10 Florida Great Walks Around Gainesville & Ocala” Hogtown Creek Greenway Quick Question: In the middle of what city can you find a dreamy forest pathway that follows creek beds? Answer: Gainesville, Florida. Honest! There is more…

Pensacola – Dig Into the Past or Soar with Angels
In the faded photograph, my dad leans his long frame against the airplane, one arm resting on the open cockpit. A long white silk scarf is wound once around his neck with the ends hanging down all the way to…

Gainesville is Good to Go for All Seasons
Depending on the season Gainesville rearranges its face. The face during football season is painted orange and blue of course. GO GATORS. Every semester Gainesville changes its feel and look as the city ebbs and surges with the academic calendar…

50 Great Walks in Florida is now an e book!
BREAKING NEWS University Press of Florida has just announced that Lucy’s award-winning print book 50 Great Walks in Florida is now available as a Kindle e book on Amazon. Did you know that once you click the “Buy” button you…

Visit Sarasota if you want to be invigorated
Want to be invigorated? Then my advice is – visit Sarasota soon. Why? For starters, here are five why’s: Be stimulated = Sarasota boasts a playbill loaded with award-winning arts and culture venues. These events don’t take a breather for…

Watch the Sunset in Cedar Key with your Canine
“Is he friendly?” That is the question, even if the gender is she instead of he. We’re talking dogs, out for a stroll in a new place. Along comes another dog. Naturally both are leashed. Before contact is made one…

Pet friendly travel with your canine
In my Florida travels I meet fantastic people who are travel writers, residents, newcomers, guides and entrepreneurs, all are digging into the Florida places they love and finding treasures worth keeping. Here is Patricia Collier, owner of FloridaPets.net and publisher…
Dog’s Day Out : Things to do with your dog in February
Saturday, Feb. 18 10 a.m. The Annual Mardi Gras on Mainstreet, pups and their two-legged friends parade through downtown DeLand dressed in costume. Saturday, Feb. 18 from 9-noon, Pups at the Point – dogs welcome on the third Saturday of…

Walk Leaf-strewn Trails in a Florida Forest
My dogs like walking the Sand Hill Trail at Silver Springs State Park in Ocala. Often we’re the first ones walking the leaf-strewn path and that means our chances of seeing wildlife are pretty good. A fact of life –…

Peace River Seafood & More in Punta Gorda
Got crabs? The Peace River Seafood Market & Restaurant in Punta Gorda does. Lots of them. Stone crab claws in season along with whole blue crabs that turn from blue to an outrageous shade of orange when they’re steamed. Ah,…

Naples Street Concierge there for you
IN FOCUS – Florida Feature Story by Lucy Beebe Tobias Susan Becker is a Street Concierge in Naples, Florida. Say what? Naples may be the only place in the country to have Street Concierges, located at the Third Street Concierge,…

Apalachicola is a Time Travel Trip
Time travel. It is out there somewhere – the ability to step through a door and, whoosh, go back in time. Time travel is possible in Florida. Seriously. It takes a bit of driving instead of a magic door but…
