Florida's Hidden Gems

Hidden away off of a winding road on the other side of Tampa's well-known Bayshore Blvd. is Ballast Point Park, which is my favorite pick for Florida's Hidden Gems.

Only In Your State has an interesting article on 14 of their picks for Hidden Gems in Florida.  Click here to go to their article to discover some new spots in Florida to explore.

Iceplorations at Busch Gardens

During a recent visit to Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida, The Captain and I enjoyed one of the best ice shows I have ever seen in my life that features dazzling, sparkly and colorful Broadway-style costumes from a Tony Award-winning designer. 

Daily performances are held in the Moroccan Palace Theatre.  Check the Busch Gardens website for show times.

Along with the awesome show filled with world-class skaters, more than 75 original costumes, amazing aerial performances, master puppetry and live animal stars, the audience is treated to effects that seem to bring you into the stage production.

Some facts about the production from the Busch Garden website . . .

Iceploration® incorporates 21 live animals including an African ground hornbill, sun conures, Siberian lynx and Siberian huskies. 

Among the award-winning individuals lending their talents to the creation of Iceploration are a Tony Award-winning costume designer and an Olympic gymnast.

Creating the four tons of ice for the Iceploration stage required 10,000 gallons of water.

Iceploration's 77 featured costumes took more than 10 months and nearly 500 yards of fabric to construct.

This video is a sampling of the awesome show . . .

Blooming Busch Gardens!

The Captain and I took advantage of an early morning special for Busch Gardens passholders, and we really enjoyed having the park pretty much to ourselves for quite some time, so I took advantage of the unusually peaceful time at the park to take landscape photographs.

While much of the country is buried in snow, check out these beautiful blooms that reminds me that Spring is here in Tampa.  I especially enjoyed this section of the park with all the color!

Sheikra reopened this month for those adventurous and brave enough to hang from the ride and get flung upward, upside down, sideways and even through the water from this huge roller coaster.  For a taste of the ride, click on the photo for a video The Captain made . . . he's a bit obsessed with the ride!

We really enjoyed the concert featuring Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr., formerly of the Fifth Dimension and multiple grammy winners.  They put on a fabulous show that was part of the Real Music Concert Series. We plan on going back next week to see Herman's Hermits featuring Peter Noone.  Their music specials are getting better and better . . . The Doobie Brothers will be there tomorrow!

It was a gorgeous February day with temps in the 70's-80's!

This is why we love living in Florida :)

Coming soon to Busch Gardens!

I'm so excited that one of my favorite cartoon characters, King Julien, will be a part of a new original live musical show featuring singers, dancers and rock/pop music performed by a live band!

"Madagascar Live! Operation: Vacation" coming to Busch Gardens Tampa in May 2013, will bring exciting changes to Stanleyville Theater, which will be refurbished and become enclosed and air-conditioned.

Click here for more details.

Fort Desoto Park ~ St. Petersburg, Florida

The Captain and I recently spent a beautiful and sunny Florida day on the white sandy gulf beach at Fort Desoto Park in St. Petersburg, Florida.

We couldn't have picked a better day . . . no rain, no storms . . . very unusual for this time of year.  There is nothing like sunning on the beach and cooling off in the warm, salty and refreshing Gulf of Mexico.

Our day started very early in the morning . . . we arrived as the sun came up . . . daybreak on the Gulf of Mexico beaches is awesome!

The park offers great diversity with a wealth of bird life, sea life, wild life and plant life.  We just visited the beach, but the park also includes two fishing piers, campgrounds, the historial forts, museum, boating and so much more.

Although it has been many years, it was one of my favorite places to go camping, where you can encounter cute raccoons that are very adept at stealing food, hiking or biking through the trails or fishing from your camp site.  An awesome place to go camping, if that is your thing.

  

The park consists of 1,136 acres of protected islands . . . home to beach plants, mangroves, wetlands, palm hammocks, hardwoods and native plants.  It is the one place in this area that I imagine is as it was when the Spanish explorers first discovered its vast beauty.

The park's natural ecosystems provides a home to more than 290 documented species of birds and the beaches provide refuge to the loggerhead sea turtle as they nest between April and September.

  

Fort De Soto's three miles of white sandy beaches was named America’s Top Beach for 2009 by Trip Advisor, the world's largest online travel community. In 2005, “Dr. Beach,” named Fort De Soto the nation’s #1 Beach.

Here are some photos we took . . .

Click here for the official website of Fort Desoto Park.

We plan on visiting again very soon to check

 out other amenities the park provides . . . 

hopefully for a couple days of camping and fishing!

This post has been linked up with the

following blog hop/meme . . .

Cheetah Hunt at Busch Gardens

Although we had every intention to make it to Busch Gardens for the opening of the new ride Cheetah Hunt, between Florida thunderstorms and life, we didn't make it until the other day.  We got there in the very late afternoon and it got too dark to continue taking photos, so there wasn't enough time to explore the new section to go with the ride.  

Hopefully we will return next week . . . 

but in the meantime, here is a peak at the new ride . . .

The landscaping at the base of this section

 of the ride is gorgeously tropical!

A photo from our last visit . . . the landscapers 

busily preparing the grounds for the opening

of the new Cheetah Hunt section.

What a difference a few weeks makes!

One of our favorite spots to chill out.

I love this water feature!

Busch Garden's newest attraction . . . Cheetah Hunt

Do you love roller coasters?

If you do, Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida has become a haven for roller coaster enthusiasts.  Just when you think they could not possibly squeeze in another roller coaster . . . here comes another one!

Here is a video on the newest attraction . . . Cheetah Hunt

Thrill seekers will be able to immerse themselves in a new jungle realm inside Busch Gardens soon.

Busch Gardens officials introduced the park's new attraction Wednesday - a new ride called Cheetah Hunt. The centerpiece will be a new roller coaster.

The ride will use repelling magnets to launch riders from 0 to 60 mph in seconds. The ride, almost an entire mile in length, will repeat the launch twice more during the ride.

Enthusiasts will board the ride in the historic monorail station, which will be completely renovated as part of the new attraction.

It will feature an African landscape and animals as well. The adjacent area that formerly housed the Budweiser Clydesdales will now be home to cheetahs and give visitors an up close experience with the animals.

The area and ride is expected to open in the spring.

Source:  Bay News 9