Glenda's blog

Did you know we have a “Venice” of America? 

Embraced by the Atlantic Ocean, New River and a host of scenic inland waterways, Fort Lauderdale truly lives up to its designation as the “Venice of America”.

Centrally located on 33 square miles between Palm Beach and Miami, Fort Lauderdale is the seventh largest city in Florida (est. 167,000 pop.).

With over 3,000 hours of sunshine each year, and pleasant year round ocean breezes, Fort Lauderdale is a wonderful tourist destination.  Its semi-tropical climate, rich natural beauty, and array of cultural, entertainment and education opportunities make it perfect  for singles, couples, and families alike.

The 120 mile-long Florida Keys are the antithesis of Miami.  With tropical hardwoods, winding creeks, and stunning coral formations, it’s no wonder Hollywood chose to film scenes from several movies there, including “PT 109” and “Key Largo”.  If you are looking for unsurpassed beauty and tranquility, the Keys are just the ticket. 

Key Largo is the northernmost island of the Keys.  Key Largo is situated between  Everglades National Park to the west and North America’s only living coral barrier reef to the east. 

Six miles offshore in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary you will find the wreck of the Spiegel Grove, a 510-foot Navy vessel sunk in 2002 as the backbone for a new coral reef. 

Are you considering a vacation destination that offers something for everyone?  The Florida Everglades has the potential for high adventure, while simultaneously offering the standard requirements of beautiful beaches, great food, and unusual shopping.  Overnight accommodations range from rustic camping with limited accommodations to elegant resorts featuring every conceivable amenity.

The Everglades is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States.  It is home to many rare and endangered species including the American crocodile, the Florida panther, and the West Indian manatee

Have you ever wanted a free vacation? Worry-Free Vacations kindly offered me an all-expense paid trip to Cozumel to examine the hurricane damage and restoration process.  A free trip to one of my favorite places! I was packed and ready to go in 15 minutes!

Cozumel experienced 53 horrendous hours of Hurricane Wilma that was devastating to the landscape, the resorts, and the economy.  The eye alone hovered over the island for 8 hours.  The pier at the Reef Club was ripped from the dock and rolled 200 yards down the beach.  Waves crashed into second story windows of resorts.   It was terrorizing to the warmest, most gracious people I’ve met in Mexico. 

Last week we exhausted ourselves hopping from park to park at Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando.  We took in many other exciting area attractions, then had lunch with an astronaut at Cape Canaveral.  Now we should be ready to relax in the car and drive down the East Coast Florida.  Hwy 95, 1 or 1A will get you started.

The Treasure Coast is a lovely, untarnished stretch of quiet beaches.  There’s booty at the bottom of the ocean along this coastline, where an 18th century Spanish fleet sunk. The McLarty Treasure Museum is where those shipwrecked survivors of yore set up camp. 

In 1961 Jacque Cousteau visited a subtropical island 12 miles off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. He dubbed it one of the 5 best dive spots on earth.  Since that time, with the allure of the azure Caribbean waters and the warmth of the Mexican sun, it has become the destination of choice for snorkeling and diving. The “Land of Swallows” in ancient Mayan, the island of Cozumel.

Are you looking for a vacation destination where you can arrive quickly and with minimal frustration?  Does an average high temperature of 81 in January and 90 in July sound too good to be true?

Paradise is a brief 2 hour flight, where a turquoise sea washes gently onto white powder beaches.  The world’s second largest coral reef beckons you to explore its dazzling array of colorful marine life.  Ancient Mayan ruins provide testimony to an advanced civilization whose amazing fortresses and pyramids overlook thousands of acres of jungle.

Just three decades ago Cancun was little more than a fishing village on an island bordered by the Caribbean Sea and a beautiful lagoon. Entrepreneurs dreamed up an ambitious tourism project, filled in parts of the lagoon, built two bridges connecting the island to the mainland, and provided the necessary infrastructure.

Today Cancun has more than 27,000 hotel rooms. Many are ultra luxurious with every amenity you can imagine, but there are a host of others that meet every type and price range. Cancun is a thriving vacation destination with an average temperature of 80 degrees, relatively little rain, and pristine white sand beaches.