dog friendly

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…

Explore the Wild Side of Englewood
Explore the Wild Side of Englewood

Explore the Wild Side of Englewood

Englewood, Florida has a wild side. I’m thinking parks and beaches and dining discoveries. What were you thinking? Moving right along – Swim, paddle, board a boat, walk, run, amble or meander, it all works in Englewood. Day of Discovery…

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…

Florida Bed & Breakfasts Pamper Guests
Florida Bed & Breakfasts Pamper Guests

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
Emerson Point Preserve & Waterfront Doings in Palmetto

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
Old Cedar Key Walking Tour and More Adventures

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
Winter Park Puts a Smile in Your Step

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…

Pensacola – Dig Into the Past or Soar with Angels
Pensacola – Dig Into the Past or Soar with Angels

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
Gainesville is Good to Go for All Seasons

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!
50 Great Walks in Florida is now an e book!

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
Visit Sarasota if you want to be invigorated

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
Watch the Sunset in Cedar Key with your Canine

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…

Walk Leaf-strewn Trails in a Florida Forest
Walk Leaf-strewn Trails in a Florida Forest

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
Peace River Seafood & More in Punta Gorda

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
Naples Street Concierge there for you

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,…