• Logout
  • Member Center

Fun-shine state

 

A dozen not-so-obvious ways to have fun in Florida

Special to The Miami Herald

You’ve done the theme parks, tanned on the beaches, taken a cruise, toured the museums and hit South Beach night spots.

Want to do something different on a Florida getaway?

You can dig for fossils, have your palm read, or be a cowboy for a weekend — and that’s just a start on the surprising variety of activities awaiting Florida adventurers with a yen for a change.

Florida is a great state for the outdoors and there are many such choices beyond the usual. These adventures also may take you to parts of the state you’ve not seen before.

Many of the activities outlined below can be enjoyed in a number of Florida locales. But for each category, we have chosen a single site known for that specific activity.

•  Sky diving: If it’s your kind of fun, you can parachute out of an airplane in many Florida locales, from Key West to Pensacola. Skydive Deland at the municipal airport in DeLand offers tandem jumps for beginners or drops for experienced parachutists. It also stages several chute events during the year. Among past jumpers at DeLand are Formula One racer Michael Schumacher, and actor Tom Cruise. Price for a tandem jump (attached to instructor) is $179, plus $90 for a video if you want a record of your adventure. For experienced jumpers who don’t need a tandem partner, the cost is $23. 386-738-3539, www.skydivedeland.com.

•  Fossil hunting: Because a single shark loses as many as 20,000 teeth during its lifetime, finding prehistoric sharks’ teeth is relatively easy. One of the best places to hunt for them is at Venice on Florida’s Gulf coast. Comb the sand at Venice Beach or Caspersen Beach. Better still, search the sea bottom just offshore via snorkel or scuba, particularly after a storm. Venice Chamber of Commerce, 941-488-2236. Fossil information, www.venicechamber.com.

•  A-mazing: Several locales set up corn mazes in autumn — corn fields with puzzling paths winding through them. In Zellwood, near Mount Dora, the Long and Scott farm has a six-acre corn maze that is open weekends through Dec. 11; admission is $11 adults, $9 children 3-16. Also available on site: A 60-foot slide, picnic area, scavenger hunt and fresh ears of the remarkably sweet Zellwood corn. 352-383-6900, www.longandscottfarms.com.

•  Spirit readings: The town of Cassadaga near Orlando is full of psychics. You can get a spirit reading, have your palm read, sit in a seance, seek spirtualist healing, learn about past life regressions. Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp, founded in 1894, is the center of activity in Cassadaga. It offers spirit readings (15 minutes $20, most longer readings $50-$75). These and other psychic services are provided also by the many psychics elsewhere in this small town. The camp also conducts daily historic tours of Cassadaga and its spirit activities daily at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., adults $15, children 12 and under with adult, $7.50. 386-228-3171, www.cassadaga.org.

•  Quail hunting: Bobwhite quail hunts are conducted at a number of sites. In Florida’s Panhandle at the 3,000-acre Hard Labor Creek Plantation, several packages are offered to guests in the season, which runs from October to April. The Copper Package, for example provides a half-day hunt for two people, guide and dogs included, with a limit of 12 birds per hunter. Cost is $425. The plantation is located in Chipley. 850-527-6063, www.floridaquail.com.

dealsaver
The Miami Herald: Subscribe now!

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

We have introduced a new commenting system called Disqus for our articles. This allows readers the option of signing in using their Facebook, Twitter, Disqus or existing MiamiHerald.com username and password.

Having problems? Read more about the commenting system on MiamiHerald.com.

Hide Comments

This affects comments on all stories.

Cancel OK
0 comments

  • Videos



  • Quick Job Search

Enter Keyword(s) Enter City Select a State Select a Category