The Official 2008 RVers Guide to Florida - (Page 35) REGION 2 you’ll find entertainment so varied you’d have to live here year-round to see it all. The Miami experience also includes world-class ballet, theater, opera and philharmonic orchestra companies; one-of a- kind cultural events and museums; and professional sports. Nearby Coral Gables offers a wealth of opportunities for dining, relaxation and entertainment. Fairchild Tropical Garden includes 83 acres of rare tropical plants, with exhibits and narrated tram tours. Some of Miami’s most popular nature parks and attractions stretch southward from the suburbs to the far reaches of southern Dade County. The 83-acre Fairchild Tropical Garden is the largest tropical botanical garden in the continental United States and features a rare plant house, rain forest and sunken gardens. Nearby, Parrot Jungle is a natural, subtropical garden of exotic trees and plants and home to a delightful flock of trained parrots, macaws and cockatiels that perform daily. In a unique twist, visitors to Monkey Jungle observe the antics of more than 500 free-roaming primates representing 50 species from the vantage of caged walkways through the rain forest habitat. The 290-acre, state-of-the-art Metrozoo in western Dade County is home to lions and tigers and bears — and some 900 other wild animals. Special zoo features include a wildlife show and a behind-the-scenes tram tour through the working and breeding areas of the impressive facility. In Homestead, Coral Castle stands as a tribute to a “heavy heart.” As legend would have it, lovelorn Edward Leedskalnin spent 33 years hand-carving this coral monument to a fiancee who jilted him at the altar. Chipped from 1,000 tons of coral rock, this eerie engineering triumph includes solar-heated bathtubs, a 5,000-pound heart-shaped table and a nine-ton gate so perfectly balanced that a child can open it with the touch of a finger. Head south of Miami to visit the legendary Florida Keys. On these tiny islands — strung together first by nature, next by Henry Flagler’s railroad and more recently by The Overseas Highway — visitors can still find the “changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes” immortalized in the songs of Jimmy Buffett. Visitors will find their worries disappear as they cruise among the islands on U.S. Highway 1, with its huge expanses of blue-green water. Along the way, fishing villages, plush resorts, family-owned hotels and plenty of seafood restaurants dot the landscape. Campers will find options from RV resorts to waterfront tenting in state parks. The most frequently visited regions in The Keys include Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, the Lower Keys and Key West. In Key Largo, known for the clarity of its waters, the star attractions are John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and the adjacent Key Largo National Marine Sanctuary.These two refuges, part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, feature 40 types of delicate corals and more than 600 species of tropical fish.Throughout the islands, water activities top the list of things to do, although Key Largo and Looe Key (off the Lower Keys) are best known for diving and snorkeling. Islamorada and Marathon are most famous for angling, with plenty of charter fishing boats. Most visitors top off their Keys vacation with a trip to Key West, the eclectic end of the continent. This southernmost point of the United States embraces a fascinating mix of history, eccentricity and island charm. Civil War-era forts, famous writers’ homes, sidewalk cafes and outrageous residents add to the unique atmosphere — and watching the sun set from the docks at Mallory Square is an experience not to be missed. For a truly extraordinary experience, take a seaplane or charter a boat from Key West out to Fort Jefferson, which lies among a cluster of seven coral reefs called the Dry Tortugas. Here, visitors marvel at the fort walls 8-feet thick and 50-feet high, as well as three gun tiers designed for 450 guns. During the Civil War, the fort was held by the Union and served as a prison for captured deserters. Today, visitors can hear stories about the prison’s most famous inmate, Dr. Samuel Mudd, the Maryland physician who unwittingly set the broken leg of President Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth. frvta.org 35 http://www.k-krv.com http://www.k-krv.com http://frvta.org
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