Covid-safe activities for the whole family

Like many people these days, I've been avoiding unnecessary travel for fear of contracting or unwittingly spreading Covid. Many museums have shut down temporarily and some permanently so I've had to find creative ways to feed my travel and museum addiction.  

I don't want to travel by plane so I've been keeping my trips within driving distance and I've been limiting my activities to outdoor venues like the Oxbox-Eco Center (I wrote a separate post about the Oxbow Eco-Center which you can read here)

and the Port Saint Lucie Botanical Gardens, which is free and open to the public 7 days a week.

The city has recently finished the 1,300-ft Riverwalk Boardwalk extension from Bridge Plaza to the Botanical Gardens. Residents can use the Riverwalk to walk, jog, or fish on the St. Lucie River and there is a floating dock with a kayak/canoe launch as well. The good news for pedestrians is that plans are in place to connect the existing Riverwalk at Veterans Park to the new 1,300-ft section so you'll be able to walk from the Botanical Gardens and under the bridge to Veterans Park without having to walk through the busy intersection on Port Saint Lucie Boulevard.

A couple months ago, my husband and I went on a short road trip up to Sanford, Florida for our anniversary and had a staycation on The Famous Tiny Houseboat. The houseboat was fun and relaxing and the perfect place to social distance. You can read more about The Famous Tiny Houseboat here.

This past weekend we took another road trip to the west coast of Florida and rented a cute little cottage on Airbnb again. 

Porch View of the Hillsborough River.

It was located in the quiet and peaceful neighborhood of Old Seminole Heights with our back porch right on the Hillsborough River. With just a 5-minute drive to downtown Tampa, we had the best of both the city and country. 

Our kind hosts generously allowed us to monopolize their canoe every day. 

We paddled up and down all day and couldn't get enough of this gorgeous river.

Sparkman Wharf is an outdoor entertainment destination on the waterfront with a dining garden, Biergarten, recreational lawn, and live music.

Foodtruck-style restaurants built out of shipping containers offer a variety of take-away cuisines. 

Tables, sofas, and swings are spaced a minimum of 6-feet apart for safe yet intimate dining.

Armature Works is a mixed-use event space with restaurants, an upscale food court, bar, rooftop lounge, and indoor/outdoor seating located in the historic Tampa Heights neighborhood.

Open-air seating inside Armature Works.

The area is family and pet-friendly with ample seating, tables, astroturf, and games.

You can grab a water taxi, rent a stand-up paddleboard, or go for a bike or stroll along the Hillsborough River. The Tampa Riverwalk includes Waterworks Park which has a playground and splash pad for the kiddos and a dog park for our furry friends. 

The weather was perfect for sitting outdoors along the waterfront and enjoying the live music performance. 

Armature Works also offers drive-in movies at 7:30 and 10:00 pm every night for $22 per car. 

This is a short video I shot of one of our canoeing adventures on the Hillsborough River. With the weather cooling down to more comfortable temperatures here in Florida, now is a great time to explore all the fun and healthy outdoor activities Florida has to offer!

The Famous Tiny Houseboat

My husband and I were celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary and were looking for a relaxing getaway. We also wanted to avoid air travel during the pandemic so I was thrilled to discover the Famous Tiny Houseboat on Airbnb just a two-hour drive away. 

It earned the name, "Famous Tiny Houseboat" when it was featured on the HGTV television show, Tiny House Hunters. 

We've stayed in a lot of weird and interesting places all over the world but this was our first time staying on a houseboat. I was extremely excited about this trip especially since we've gone so long without being able to travel due to the pandemic.

This adorable floating house is in the perfect location. Located in the Monroe Harbour Marina in Sanford, Florida, it's just a short two-block walk to Historic Downtown Sanford. I liked that it was in the center of everything but also in a very quiet location.

Historic Downtown Sanford is a quaint and charming little town packed with bars, restaurants, art galleries, vintage shops, and performing arts theaters. 

A free trolley will shuttle you up and down the cobblestone streets or you can rent a golf cart, bicycle, or scooter. 

If you're a sporty person like me, you can go for a run or a bike ride along the pedestrian-friendly Riverwalk Trail. If you feel like relaxing, you can take in the view of Lake Monroe while sitting on one of the Riverwalk's fun bench swings. 

We took advantage of our prime location and brought our stand-up paddleboards with us and explored about 3 miles of the 15-square mile Lake Monroe. If you want a day out on the lake that requires less physical activity, boat rentals are also available.

The houseboat exceeded my expectations. It was clean, spacious, and had everything we needed, including a kitchen with a full-sized refrigerator and a dishwasher.

Measuring 500-square feet, it was twice the size of the average hotel room. We lived in a cottage in Hawaii for two years that was the same size as the houseboat so it didn't feel tiny to us at all. 

 It was nicely decorated and the living room even had a record player and a fireplace. 

The house also had Wifi and a small workspace. 

Though I can't say I'd be too motivated to do much work with this gorgeous view.

Unlike most tiny houses, you could easily stand up in the upstairs sleeping loft.

It even had a walk-in closet that was large enough to fit seating so you could relax and read a book or watch the boats passing by outside the tiny window. 

 This houseboat experience was unique, relaxing, and really fun. I fell in love with the Famous Tiny Houseboat and the city of Sanford. I would definitely do it again and my only wish is that we could've stayed longer. 

Palm Beach Balloon Festival

The Palm Beach Balloon Festival took place over the Thanksgiving weekend at the International Polo Club in Wellington, Florida.

It was organized by the Midflo Balloon Glow Tour. While they've held other balloon festivals throughout Florida, this was the first time the event was held in Palm Beach.

Aerial view of the Polo Club from inside the hot air balloon

I was slightly apprehensive about going because some of the online reviews for the event were not very complimentary. Some people who attended other events complained that they purchased tickets for balloon rides that were canceled and then they were not refunded. 

I've always wanted to ride in a hot air balloon so I decided not to let the reviews deter me and I pre-purchased tickets. The tickets did state that they were non-refundable in the event that the balloons could not fly due to unfavorable weather conditions so I set my expectations low and told myself to be prepared for disappointment. 

Some other poor reviews were about how disorganized the other balloon festivals were, which I will agree with. Aside from the parking, which was extremely organized and well-staffed with friendly employees, there was seemingly no order once you entered the venue. We could not locate a single staff member to direct us to where we needed to check-in for our balloon ride. There was no signage indicating where we needed to go either. 

There was someone making announcements but because the International Polo Club is a massive arena, if you were on the other side of the field, you couldn't hear what was being said. Despite it being disorganized and understaffed, it didn't take us too long to find the line to check-in for the balloon rides because all of the other patrons started directing each other where to go. At one point, an announcement was made asking for people to volunteer to help inflate one of the balloons. Because of the lack of staff, the balloon festival turned into a very hands-on event and guests truly got a behind-the-scenes experience!

I'm so glad I didn't let the poor reviews deter me from attending the event because I had so much fun. It far exceeded my expectations and my only complaint was that the balloon ride was too short. I loved it so much that I wanted to do it again. 

The balloons were tethered and very safe but there were plenty of other things to keep people entertained. They had music, games, and carnival rides for the kids and people who didn't want to go up in the balloons. Several bars were set-up for serving adult beverages and there were many food trucks to choose from where I had the best food truck meal I've ever had. 

                           

There were 18 balloons at the festival and once the sun had set and it was completely dark all 18 balloons went "full burn" and lit up. 

                 

I had such a fantastic time at the Palm Beach Balloon Festival and I can't wait to go again next year.

More Florida

Last week my husband and I set off on another adventure. We took an unplanned road trip through Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Unplanned trips are great because there's no schedule to keep and no expectations. We didn't book any accommodations, we made no reservations and did no research into museums or activities. We just got in the car and drove. 

Our first stop was right here in our own town at the Port Saint Lucie Botanical Garden where they were having their annual free tree giveaway. 

First, you had to register and get your ticket. Then you had to go to 5 out of 7 educational booths in order to get your tree. The booths were manned by volunteer Master Gardeners who were there to teach us how to take care of our new trees.

 The topics covered information about each type of tree, climate, soil, planting, pruning, watering, pests, fertilizing and more. 

I have to say that I learned a lot of useful information from each Master Gardener because this New York native is really not great when it comes to living green things. Once our ticket was punched from all 5 booths we were allowed to select a tree.

We chose the Southern Live Oak. This is a picture of it in the back of our car. We had to fold down the back seats and lay it down in the trunk. It reached all the way to the front. 

Eventually, this tree will grow to be 40 to 60 feet tall and will have a spread of 60 to 100 feet. We planted it next to our hammock so that in 30 years we'll have shade!

Once we adopted our tree we were back on the road and drove north to Lake City, Florida. This area of Florida is about as country as it gets. You know you're in the country when you have a store that sells thousands of cowboy boots in every size, design, and color imaginable. 

There's not much to do in this area except for the boot store and the Florida Welcome Center where you can get discounted theme park tickets, free orange juice and see a 14 foot stuffed alligator. The reason for this stop was because it's located near Ichetucknee Springs State Park. (Click this link for address and hours of operation information)

The Ichetucknee River is the best place for tubing in Florida. It costs just $6 per car to enter the state park and you can rent tubes at various stands located along the road outside the park. The river is 6 miles long and stunningly beautiful. It was one of the most relaxing activities I've ever done. We got there early and so there were only a few other people in the river. As the current took us down the river we watched the morning fog rise off the water. We listened to the birds wake up and start to sing while we gently floated by. I only wish that I still had my GoPro camera so I could share pictures but it's just more incentive for you to go and see for yourself. I know that I can't wait to go back again. 

Please come back next week to read all about the next leg of our adventure in Alabama.

Florida Everglades Airboat Adventure

Touring the Everglades in an airboat is the quintessential Florida experience. We went on our airboat ride at Sawgrass Recreation Park in Weston. We saved a few bucks by buying tickets online. They can be used any time which was great because our first attempt to go was rained out so we wound up going a few weeks later. Tours leave about every 20 minutes so you don't need to reserve a specific time. Just show up and get in line. 

My best friend begged me to go on the boat wearing big sunglasses and a headscarf. Oh, the things I do for my friends! This wound up being a very practical move since it gets extremely windy once the boat starts moving.

This woman in front of me had the right idea too. It was like a glimpse of my future self! 

Here's a view of the dock, boats and the Everglades. Everglades National Park is a 1.5-million-acre wetland preserve made up of coastal mangroves, sawgrass marshes and pine flatwoods that are home to hundreds of animal species.

Our driver had 30 years of Everglades knowledge and Airboat driving experience but I won't spoil it for you by revealing the cool things we learned from him. 

Below is a photo of the 14-foot gator that swam right up to our boat and bumped it with his nose! I only wish I took a video of the woman who grabbed her two teenage boys and jumped up onto her seat screaming for the driver to start moving. That was definitely my favorite part of the trip!

The ticket price also includes admission to all 3 animal exhibits.

The best part is that Florida residents are able to use their tickets for free admission for a whole year. You and your family can go on as many airboat rides as you like and receive 10% off at the gift shop as well as discounts on 10 other South Florida parks like the Miami Zoo and Lion Country Safari. So what are you waiting for?