As you drive down to Key West, you'll see lots of mangroves in the clear turquoise water. You may find yourself with the urge to get closer to those mangroves, as we did. So we decided to take a two-hour guided kayak tour with Lazy Dog. For $35 per person, we set out with a […]

Before I left Sarasota last week, I paid a visit to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. Because of the time of year, there were hardly any flowers in bloom throughout the grounds — 99% of the flowers I saw there were inside the Tropical Display House, which is the first stop in the gardens so […]

When my friend Nancy heard that I was going to Key West, she told me not to skip The Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory. Nancy, who writes the crafty blog Belle Epoque, is a great traveler so I knew I needed to include it in my itinerary. Well, the conservatory did not disappoint — […]

Last week, I reported that Sarasota Season of Sculpture was holding an unusual benefit on Valentine's Day to help the Gulf Coast city permanently acquire the J. Seward Johnson's staute "Unconditional Surrender," which is based on the famous photograph "The Kiss at Times Square" taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt for Life magazine on V-J Day on […]

It’s hard to believe but it actually happened: tonight Jimmy Buffett paid a surprise visit to one of his Margaritaville restaurants, making every Parrothead’s dream come true. Buffett and Mac McAnally began playing at the Margaritaville in Key West around 1Opm and kept going for about an hour and a half. The restaurant was completely […]

Kitesurfers in Islamorada You can fly to Key West, but it's so much better to drive from Miami, Sarasota or wherever else you begin. The ride through the keys is incredibly scenic, as there's crystal blue water dotted with uninhabited isles on both sides of the highway, US 1. And once you hit the first […]

I’ll admit, I was reluctant to come to Key West. In my quest to travel to as many new places as possible, I’ll usually dismiss destinations in the U.S. as not being exotic or interesting enough. Well, right now I am loving Key West and it serves as an excellent reminder that that sort of […]

After transporting us to Rio and Belo Horizonte with his videos, Ivan (aka The Food Poet) takes us around his neighborhood, the Upper West Side of New York City. This is a useful — and entertaining — culinary guide whether you live in NYC and are looking for new places or whether you’re just visiting […]

Can you guess where this majestic house is located? Nope, it’s not Morocco, although there are Moorish influences in the architecture. And it’s not a Venetian palace, either, although the original owners intended it to look just like one. It’s the Ca d’Zan Mansion and it’s in Sarasota, FL. John Ringling and his wife Mable […]

Miami may be Florida’s first city of art, hosting the famous show Art Basel Miami Beach. But Sarasota isn’t far behind. Not only is there the Ringling Museum of Art, which I’m going to visit soon, but there is top-rate outdoor art thanks to the Sarasota Season of Sculpture. Right now, “Unconditional Surrender” by J. […]