A Note From Greg: I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Florida twice in my life. Once in college, then again years later with my wife. Both times, I got around in a car…but never in a convertible. Guess I have to go there a third time and use this new post by Rakhi.

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“Sunshine, oranges and bliss. Cruising the Sunshine State in a convertible must be one of life’s simplest and best pleasures. There’s only one question: where to start?

 

The observation tower in Shark Valley, Everglades National Park, Florida
The observation tower in Shark Valley, Everglades National Park, Florida

 

The Atlantic East

Scenic A1A runs intermittently from Miami all the way to the Georgia border. The central stretch through Flagler and St. Johns counties even has a guided audio tour by cell phone (available from the ScenicA1A.org website).

At the heart of this route is St. Augustine, the oldest continuously occupied settlement in America. Founded in 1565, St. Augustine’s downtown is a National Historic Landmark District, full of cobbled streets, beautiful buildings, quaint cafés, and locals in period costumes. Cruise by in March or June and you might even witness one of the town’s pirate raid re-enactments. [ed note. I was there in September and saw the pirates]

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The Deep South

An arial view of the Florida Keys with Key West at the top of the photo, as take from 2 miles above the ground.
An arial view of the Florida Keys with Key West at the top of the photo, as take from 2 miles above the ground.

Unmissable in Miami are the historic art deco hotels of South Beach and the lavish Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.

Once you’ve had your fill of the city, head south to stumble upon the Coral Castle, a kitschy carved stone monument to unrequited love.

Continue south along Highway 1 and you’ll meet the beauty and quirkiness of the Florida Keys. While nature is the main celebrity here, the Old Seven Mile Bridge is the world’s longest fishing pier and if you want to know what it would be like to sleep with the fishes, you can finally find out at Jules’ Undersea Lodge (Key Largo), the world’s only underwater hotel.

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Central Loop

A gator Hides in the Florida Everglades
A gator Hides in the Florida Everglades

While you decide where to go first, the back roads of Central Florida make for some utterly relaxing, sun-kissed drives. This area sees the world-famous theme parks of Orlando (Disney World, Universal Orlando, and SeaWorld, to start) vie with the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral for size.

Astro-nuts will already know Kennedy as home to NASA, but fewer know it also as home to the world’s largest one-story building, the Vehicle Assembly Building, with a 3¼ hectare base and standing 160 metres tall.

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Go West, Young Man

Highway 98 meanders along the Gulf Coast, where Appachicola and Grayton Beach make good stops on your way to Pensacola. Appachicola is known for its charming old town and delicious oysters, while Grayton Beach is home to two pleasant sights: the beautiful dunes of Grayton Beach State Park and the colorful Dog Wall, a mural of dog portraits painted by their faithful owners.

Farther west, Pensacola has charm far surpassing its nickname of the “Redneck Riviera”. Explore historic downtown and see if you can find all of the Pelicans in Paradise. These parading public art pieces are pun-tastic, from “The Godfeather” to “Pelvis” (yes, an Elvis Pelican).

 

About the Author: Jenny Sanchez is a freelance travel writer from Oakland, California. She has spent the last two years driving around North and South America and writing along the way, but California will always be her home!