Key Points:
- My Sister Needs to Visit Me
- Florida Has Great Places to Play and Eat
- My Sister is Crazy for Not Visiting Me
My sister and her wonderful family live in a nearly perfect little town in the Upland South. It is truly delightful. She also needs to leave her little Garden of Eden and see the rest of the world. But, if she is not smart or tempted enough to see the beauty of real Florida, I am sure you are. Below are the top 10 places I’d love to take my sister if she actually came to visit.
The Number 1 Place I’d Take My Sister If She Actually Came To Visit – Haulover Canal, Merritt Island
An old canal dug by slaves to make it cheaper to ship the mail before Flagler’s railroad seems like an unlikely place, unless you have seen it for yourself, to take your dear sister, but Haulover Canal is my first pick. The Haulover Canal connects the Mosquito and Indian River Lagoons. The canal is like a super highway for sea life moving between the two lagoons. Dolphins, manatee, turtles, fish, birds, crabs, stingrays, alligators, and even an occasional shark travel the canal en masse. You can see it from the bank, an observation platform, and from the water in a boat, kayak or on a paddleboard.
Now, add bioluminescence to the canal and it is one of the truly greatest things to see – ever.
On dark, moonless nights between July and October the canal is brilliant with light from every moving critter. When a fish swims, blue light glows in the water. Kayaks moving across the surface make lines of light with their tiny bow waves. Dolphins give off a fireworks show of light when they jump from the surface. Manatee blow light from their snouts as they come up for air. It is truly more magical than any Kingdom lead by a mouse and my sister could see it if she actually came to visit.
The Number 2 Place – To See a Rocket Launch from the Water
Really, there is no need for a bunch of elaboration about rocket launches. Rocket Launches! We have ships blasting off into space on massive clouds of fire and smoke and blast sounds more often than Frontier Airlines takes off from Orlando on time. Now, to see the beauty of the launch, separation, and hear the sonic boom from the return rumble across the water from a boat deck with a cocktail in hand is amazing. My sister could see and hear all that if she came to visit.
The Number 3 Place – The Lone Cabbage Fish Camp
Alligators (to see and eat), long neck beers, and airboats make this fish camp a great place to relax and eat a West Virginia Burger. I would buy the first round at the Lone Cabbage Fish Camp if my sister came to visit.
http://www.twisterairboatrides.com/menu.html
The Number 4 Place – Surfing Santas
The coolest local festival outside of Mardi Gras is right here in Cocoa Beach. People dress up as Santa and his elves and go surfing and partying in the beach bars. If Surfing Santas ain’t worth seeing then just bah humbug your grinchy self alone at home. My sister is no Grinch and I would love to take her to see the Surfing Santas if she came to visit.
The Number 5 Place – Cruise Cocoa
If my sister came to visit I would take her for a boat ride to see dolphins, manatee, and all the pretty birds and wildlife we have in the Indian River Lagoon. She would leave knowing more about Florida fauna than any avid viewer of Nature on PBS and she would have a great time. If she came to visit I would inquire online about tickets.
The Number 6 Place – Sanford Airport or the Greyhound Station
I love my sister. I love my sister, but if she came to visit we would eventually get on each other’s nerves and she would need an escape plan. So, the number six most likely place I would take her would be a place from which to go home.
The Number 7 Place – Cocoa Village
If my sister came to visit and did not need to run away to home I would take her to Cocoa Village. Cocoa Village is a great little quarter of old shops and great restaurants, including the one which she will swear is named after me. If my sister actually came to visit I would let her poke fun at me while she shopped and we had craft beers sitting on the sidewalk outside the Village Idiot Pub.
https://visitcocoavillage.com/ and https://villageidiot.pub/
The Number 8 Place – Midway Airboat Rides
Midway Airboat Rides is the best airboat swamp tour operator I have ever had the pleasure of riding with. I took my cousin when he came to visit. It was fascinating. If my sister came to visit she too could fly across the swamp and see gators and herons and egrets and cypress trees like statues in a cathedral.
The Number 9 Place – Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
My sister is a dirt road girl and the Biolab Road would not disappoint. If she came to visit we could take a slow ride and see what Florida looked like before condos and hotels. It is one of my favorite drives in the country and my sister could see it if she came to visit.
https://www.fws.gov/refuge/merritt-island/visit-us
The Number 10 Place – Besides back to the airport or Greyhound station is Pozzi Brothers Pizza
There is a gas station along U.S. 1 in Sharpes, Florida with the best pizza you could ever fold up and shove in your mouth. Pozzy Brothers Pizza is in the back of the gas station serving up pure heaven. If you doubt me let me just say on my last trip to Titusville I had pizza grease running down my left arm to my elbow as I drove away savoring my pepperoni pie. If my sister actually came to visit she too could get the greasy elbow while savoring the glory of a great gas station pizza slice.
If my sister came to visit I would take her to all these places and probably a few more. There are so many great places from which to choose, but not all of them give you that unique view and feel of “Real Florida.” If my sister came to visit I would take her to my top ten list and maybe she would come back for more.
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