A Traveling Dog, The Travel Blog

Now, I’m not saying this because I was born there, but Tampa is pretty much the best city in Florida.

Miami? Psh. Lame!

Key West? A few days there is fine, but after you’ve toured Hemingway’s house and drank your body weight in margaritas, you’re ready to get back to the mainland.

Orlando? Gross! If Disney doesn’t scare you away, it’s like pretty much armpit of Florida.

That can only leave Tampa. It’s Cuban roots run deep through the city, especially in the former Cigar-making district, the lovely Ybor City. When in Ybor, you have to grab a cuban sandwich and some flan at the historic La Tropicana Cafe, and take a stroll down 7th ave. On 7th and on the surrounding streets and aves. you’ll find all sorts of old cigar factories and other architectural relics of Ybor’s glory days turned into antique shops, vintage stores, bars, restaurants, music venues, and lots more bars.

In addition to Ybor, you have the beautiful Gulf beaches 25 minutes away in St. Petersburg/Clearwater, PLUS awesome roller coasters at Busch Gardens. Oh yeah, and every January there’s Gasparilla. Gasparilla is a Mardi Gras-esque parade where giant ships of costumed pirates invade the bay and “take over the city”. What’s not to love?

New Mexico features a wealth of things to see when on vacation, and it may be a little hard to delegate time to visit each one of the must see stops this great state holds. One definite stop for the adventurous types should be the Carlsbad Caverns. The main event here is the beautiful rock formations on the walls, ceilings, and floors of the caves. This journey isn’t for the faint of heart, you need to travel nearly 70 stories below the earth’s surface to get there.

Continuing on the the road trip theme, tourist attractions are a staple in Americana and a must-see for anyone traveling highways and byways. We’re not talking about beaches and theme parks either. These places speak to lovers of the strange and bizarre and probably aren’t in your standard travel guide.They’re like America’s deformities:  so weird, we just can’t look away! Here is a list of a few odd U.S. tourist attractions that still attract hundreds of road-trippers every year.

Babyland General Hospital (Cleveland, Georgia):

This  institution is sure to cater to the 8 year-old girl in all of us. It’s the magical place where Cabbage Patch Kids are stuffed and certified. Although the craze for Cabbage Patch Kids has died down since the 80s and 90s, they still have quiet a few visitors in the summer.

Precious Moments Chapel (Carthage, Missouri):

What’s creepier than those popular teary-eyed, angle-winged Precious Moments figurines? A whole chapel adorned with Precious Moments characters painted Sistine Chapel in a Missouri church. Still, this place rakes in the visitors every year.

Prehistoric Forest (Marblehead, Ohio):

Dinosaurs are cool! Dinosaur replicas are less cool. At Prehistoric Forest in Marblehead, you can gaze at dinosaur statues that are set up to look like a less threatening Jurassic Park. The coolest part is the tram ride in which visitors are handed fake M16’s and are told to “kill the monsters”.

There’s nothing more American than a good old-fashioned road-trip.

It’s a great way to travel and explore the country you live in, see the underbelly of areas that you often overlook, and bond with your fellow road-weary traveling partner in the process. A cross-country road trip is on many people’s bucket list, so if you’re looking to cross that off of your’s, National Geographic has what you need to get some inspiration.

On their website they have a really great section profiling the most scenic highways and byways in the US. It separates the suggested routes into regions, so whether you want to head north, south, east, or west, there are plenty of facts and information to get your travel bug going.

One that’s definitely on my list is the Blues Highway drive. Blues Highway, also known as Highway 61, is a route between Memphis and Vicksburg that runs along the mighty Mississippi River. It’s a road trip must-drive for any music lover. On this highway traveled by Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Bessie Smith, and BB King, you’ll find smoky juke joints nestled under pine trees, the sweet sounds of southern gospel music billowing through open church doors, and of course, some famous Memphis BBQ. Memphis is home to Stax Museum of American Soul Music, which is named after the famed Stax records that put out Otis Redding, Issac Hayes and the Staple Singers.

To read more, or find another incredible road trip destination, check out the website.

Procrastination is widely viewed as a bad habit and sure sign of someone who just doesn’t have their stuff together. But sometimes, procrastination pays off.

A few days ago I stumbled upon this great site called Lastminutecruises.com. They offer incredible deals on Caribbean and Mediterranean cruises for the person who just can’t book things in advance. For example, a 3-night cruise from Miami to the Bahamas was $169… that’s nearly 61% off regular ticket price.

In addition to the traditional Carribean cruises that go to Mexico and the Bahamas, there are several different destinations that one could consider if they want something a little different. Other cruise destinations include Alaska, Bermuda, Canada-New England, Hawaii and North Europe–at amazing prices!

I have never snorkeled, but I plan to sometime in the future and I think it’s important to choose the best resorts for snorkeling. Of course you can go anywhere, but some of the top resorts offer guides, and even gear and boat rentals. A guide can be really nice if you want to find the perfect place to snorkel with someone along with you for safety reasons.

Some of the top places are obviously going to include Australia (where the Great Barrier Reef is located), Florida, the Caribbean, and Mexico. But to get a little bit more specific, let’s take a look at a few of the best snorkeling resorts.

Our first resort is Florida’s Little Palm Island. In general, Florida has many different islands, but none quite as unique as this! Little Palm is completely secluded and provides spa treatments which were once reserved for only Indonesian princesses. There are several spa rooms, personal waiters, restaurants, and yes, snorkeling! You will surely enjoy some of the best snorkeling and scuba dives in this location. You can also snag some rental equipment for kayaking, surfing, and sailing.

Second on the list is the Lady Elliot Resort, located near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. At this resort, you can either tour the reef in a glass bottom boat, walk along the reefs with a guide, or you can snorkel in the exceptionally clear blue water. Who knows, you might meet up with dolphins, manta rays, turtles and even the odd humpback whale! Since this is Australia, you can expect to pay a very low $40 a day for all of your gear, some of which is even free. Lady Elliot also features some restaurants, lounges, clubs, bars, boutiques, swimming pools and a ton of activities to keep you busy.

Third on the list is the ever popular Hawk’s Cay Resort located in the Florida Keys. The Hawk’s Cay Resort has scuba diving, snuba diving (a combination of snorkeling and scuba diving), spearfishing, and salt water fishing available. You can also take lessons for the scuba or snuba diving as well. If you are an experienced diver you can also sign up for one of the night dives — sounds exciting!

Some people like warm beach vacations, while others would prefer a somewhat chillier winter ski vacation. But what about those of you that simply love sports like golf, tennis, snorkeling or hiking? Fortunately, there are also packages out there for you as well — you simply have to look around and see what’s available.

If you want an amazing golf package, for example, you might consider the Doral Golf Resort and Spa located in Miami. This resort has four championship courses, and is home to the legendary Blue Monster golf course as well as the Doral Ryder Open!

Tennis fan? You can either visit a place that is having a tennis championship, or you can travel to a resort where you can play on some of the best courts in the country. For the latter, check out the Wild Dunes in North Carolina. This beautiful resort has all kinds of extra amenities besides tennis such as a beautiful beach, marina, boating, snorkeling and much more! The tennis at Wild Dunes has been rated as among the best in the country. In fact, these courts were once the site of the US Clay Court Championships!

If snorkeling or diving is your delight, you should definitely check out Florida, The Caribbean and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. In particularly the Great Barrier Reef is one of the best places to go simply because of all the options available and how clear the water is! You are literally going to see every fish and animal imaginable on the Great Barrier Reef — and if you pick from some of the packages available you can guarantee the time of your life on one of the many yachts that transport people back and forth from the shore. Some of these yachts have all the modern comforts of home!

Nowadays, more vacationers than ever are choosing eco-friendly options such as cruise lines that only use eco-friendly fuel, hotels that only serve vegetarian or macro-biotic foods, and yes, even vacation rentals with built-in PV solar panels.

It’s no big surprise that people are finally getting into green friendly products and services, especially considering all the scares over the last few years about various problems such as global warming. This is one of those problems where every little bit does help and if you decide to do your part, that’s great!

A few months back I decided to rent a villa located in Sarasota, FL — I love Sarasota! Certain parts, especially the area I stayed in are really quiet and serene and you can just enjoy yourself without all the traffic and busy neighborhoods. This specific home had green appliances and PV solar panels.

The solar panels are really nice because although Florida in general is usually pretty warm, if you do visit in the winter months it can get a little cool. Also, if the place you are staying at has a swimming pool or spa/jacuzzi, these very technologically advanced panels can warm these as well. I went during the winter months, but I still wanted to swim in the pool, so these panels became quite useful!

I could live on the beach 365 days a year, and it still wouldn’t be enough. That’s because I love the sun, the scenery, the warm weather, and the activities, including tanning, volleyball, golf, tennis, swimming, snorkeling, and much more. If you enjoy the beach too, you’ll love our list of the world’s top beach resorts.

First on the list is one of my personal favorites, the Amelia Island Plantation in Amelia, Florida. This plantation has all sorts of recreational activities such as biking, horseback riding, kayaking, Segway safaris, an amazing golf course, and a spa. Then again, pretty much all of the resorts in Florida are going to have some sort of a golf activity available.

Our next resort is the The Kona Village Resort is located in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii (pictured). Like so many travelers, I’m in love with the state of Hawaii—it’s one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. This resort offers everything from Lei making and star gazing to helicopter tours and whale watching. There’s only one problem: Once you get to Hawaii, you may never want to leave!

Next we have the Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort in Hilton Head Island, North Carolina—another great state for travel. Here, guests can enjoy tons of activities, beautiful sandy beaches, perfect weather, and magnificent sunsets, all at a fair price.

Of course, I can’t write about the best beach vacations and not mention California—it just wouldn’t be right. I recommend the Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa in La Jolla. Despite the name, this “hotel” feels more like a resort, and it’s received a number of impressive accolades, like the AAA 4-Diamond Award and a position on Conde Nast Traveler’s “Hot List” in 2005 and 2006.

People always argue: Which is better, Disney World or Disneyland? Frankly, I think it depends on what you grew up with.

A lot of people from California, for example, have gone to Disneyland since they were kids, which makes it harder for Disney World to impress them. On the other hand, I lived in Florida most of my life and have been going to Disney World since I could walk on my own, so Disney World has always been my favorite, both as a kid and an adult. When I visited California, I thought it would be cool to check out the smaller version of Disney World, but Disneyland did not impress me at all!

Which park you prefer also depends on where in the country you live and how much you want to pay for tickets and food. Disneyland, perhaps because it is much smaller than Disney World, is generally a little less expensive. But of course I think Disney World has better food, better options, and more to do!

For example, I lo ve the different ethnicities and cultures represented at Disney World, allowing you to easily “travel” from Morocco to Germany, for example, and even enjoy authentic cuisine. Of those countries, my father enjoyed Germany because he loves their beer, whereas my mom and I loved Morocco because of the restaurant’s beautiful decorations—it seriously felt like stepping into another country.

Try out both parks, and see which one YOU like the best!