Taking off Travel blog

I love Florida, yet I’ve only seen a small part of it. My first trip there was in the 1980s. I’d just started my first job and a few of us decided to book a long weekend in Miami. Truth to tell, I didn’t do much sightseeing then; it was enough for me to be in a different place and soak up the sun. But I made up for it on subsequent trips. The one thing I haven’t done yet is take an eco-tour of Florida, but I’ve been doing a lot of research and I’ve come up with a list of places I’d like to visit. Here are a few of them: Read more »

Some like it hot – and that’s certainly the case in Tampa. This major city on the west coast of Florida is warm all year round, with only an outside chance of snow during the winter months. That means you can spend a lot of time at the beach. The Tampa Bay area is known for lightning strikes and one of the stories about how it got its name is that Tampa meant ‘sticks of fire’ in Calusa. With parks, beaches, attractions and theme parks, Tampa has a lot to offer anyone on a layover or vacation. Tampa Airport (TPA) is only a few miles from downtown Tampa so there’s plenty of time to take in the sights and sounds of the city.

A Trip To Africa

One of Tampa’s best attractions is Busch Gardens Africa. Started in 1969 as a hospitality center for visitors to the Anheuser-Busch brewery, the park covers more than 300 acres. There’s no manufacturing on site now. Instead, you can enjoy thrills and rides inside an African themed park where the animals roam free. The Gwazi double wooden roller coaster is an unmissable experience, as are the Tidal Wave Rapids. (Maybe not the best thing if you’re killing time before a meeting, as you’ll end up soaking wet.) One of the latest additions to Busch Gardens is Jungala, a hidden village in the Congo area where you can get close to the animals. Read more »