Paul Reinckens kicked slowly over the sandy bottom 30 feet deep in the Gulf of Mexico looking for triangular objects — not an easy task with visibility a mere four feet and this dive being his first underwater fossil hunt. But suddenly, there it was: a hard, brownish-gray chevron lying on the sand.
Legoland’s new attraction, The World of Chima, in which animal tribes war over an energy source called Chi, will open July 3, the park announced Tuesday.
Miami-Dade — South Beach especially — is still seeing a surge of new or rebuilt hotel openings, giving locals plenty of fresh options close to home.
With its sizzling beaches and steamy nightlife, it’s no wonder Miami is a top vacation spot for snowbirds, spring breakers, international tourists and passengers heading out on cruises from Florida ports. More than 13 million people visited the city in 2011, according to the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau.
It’s a Friday or Saturday night and you are ready to go out and get your party on. You know Miami and South Beach are among the best places in the world to do this, but since you don’t normally frequent the clubs and you’re not interested in spending a ton of cash on bottle service, you end up staying home and jamming out to your favorite Pandora station. Well that’s no fun!
Growing up in Miami, riding a bike was my primary source of true neighborhood exploration. I spent countless hours outside discovering surroundings: which trees to climb, where the best parks were, finding hidden roads. It was a new adventure every day.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando will expand into London next year, the theme park announced Wednesday. The new area, which has been under construction for months, will be built along Diagon Alley, and the centerpiece will be a ride based on Gringotts Bank. It is to be completed in 2014.
Central Florida’s theme parks will have a spate of new attractions opening over the next three months as Autobots take on Decepticons, the animal tribes of Chima battle over “chi,” pirates battle over treasure, penguins open their 30-degree home to visitors (Brrr!), space shuttle Atlantis goes on display, and the characters of Madagascar come to life.
Transformers: The Ride – 3D will open at Universal Studios June 20, just a year after construction began and close to the start of the summer season, resort officials announced Thursday.
You can order Gloria Estefan’s ropa vieja at either end of an hour-and-a-half drive on I-95, but only in Vero Beach does it come with a side dish of an uncrowded, white sand beach.
Those who remember the pink stucco and brick façade of the original Elliott Museum will be surprised at the “pink lady” now. The Grand Dame has been reincarnated. The demolition and reconstruction took 1 1/2 years.
During the 1950s, my husband traveled from New York to Miami Beach for winter vacation long before there was an I-95. He recalls seeing the McKee Jungle Garden, hailed as a “mecca for visitors,” set along Route 1 in Vero Beach. Attractions at the 80-acre “manmade jungle” included a wide variety of palms, spider and rhesus monkeys, a bear named Dr. Dolittle and fly-eating flowers.
Visit the beaches on this Gulf Coast barrier island and you’re likely to see people doing the Sanibel Stoop. That’s the term for the bent-at-the-waist posture used to collect seashells on Sanibel Island, which bills itself as one of the best shelling locations in the world.
Women in feathers danced some sort of crazy mating ritual to Southern tunes — vying, I was told, for the honored title of Buzzard Queen. Then there was the 70-something-year-old man in the loin cloth and tails wearing a Buzzard Queen Inspector button and, around his neck, a Perfect Woman Meter.
I pull back on the slingshot and release an attack on the pig glaring smugly back at me from the facing wall.
Touring Florida can be expensive, especially for a traveler who chooses waterfront hotels and gourmet restaurants. But along 1,200 miles of coastline and 11,000 miles of rivers and waterways — as well as spots of dry land — are plenty of places for free fun. Here’s a sampling:
Half a millennium has passed since Ponce de Leon claimed the state for Spain
Nothing fancy: That could be the motto of the classic Florida fish shack.
Tribes of animal warriors are coming to Legoland Florida this summer in a new “land,” based on Lego’s latest toy series, Legends of Chima, that will feature a water ride as its centerpiece.
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