Saw the nearby beaches and one of the State Parks next block from the Doubletree hotel. Went and spent some time in the adjacent FLL beach. Want to mention the local Publix grocery store, Starbucks, Wendy's and Burger King we used. The Free all night Parking on the roadside (across the road and one block outside the strip mall) instead of paying for $24 for a valet + tips parking at the hotel. Also the beach parking in the entire strip was open 24x7 (including ho...

Again dashed to Keys from FL and stopped at Google Map suggested nice food stops which specializes in local seafood, fresh daily catch and of Florida variety where locals go. Was able to stop and Chamber of Commerce in one of the upper keys and got a lot of useful info about the food places and how to locate them by mile marker! Locally it seems their reference is a mile marker mapping Key West as 0 mile marker. Went to lots of nice food places and took pictur...

We started again from DoubleTree Galleria 1 Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, and stopped at nearby FL Beach park to take some pictures. Drove again towards west to drive south to Big Cypress NP and finally reached at the fork for either goto Keys or to Evergaldes NP. Chose the NP and passed via some gator/everglades-airboat outfitters to enter into the visitor center which is outside the national park. Paid the annual Park Pass fees and went to all trailheads to hike th...

Meeting a family friend in Miami suburbs, and doing a 90 minutes hike in Big Cypress National Preserve wilderness. Perhaps this was the most wonderful and eventful day as we drove the entire length of SR A1A which is dotted with skyscrapper residential buildings trying to outdo each other in the greater Miami area. We reached again the south Miami suburb but this time driving via shore. Gave us the peripherial taste of Miami's riches, as strip malls were flood...

The main idea of coming down here was to explore the south Florida wilderness, go deep inside in the trails of the Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Parks, and other nature areas. So, first we drove west to the edge of the Everglades Wildlife Mangement Area, once hit, SR 997 drove south to the intersection of SR 41. SR 41 crosses east to west and divides first "Everglades Wildlife Mangement Area" and then the "Big Cypress National Preserve". The...