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Tags: Celeb Travel / Fourth Of July Travel / Beyonce / Miami / Viceroy Miami / Events / → All Tags

Beyonce Gets A Head Start On Fourth of July Weekend In Miami

Beyonce was spotted getting a head start on the Fourth of July weekend in Miami Beach yesterday, where she apparently went swimming with her clothes on. The singer does deserve a little R&R however, since it's been a busy week what with performing at the BET Awards and double dating with Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow in Beverly Hills.

According to the Miami-Herald, Beyonce isn’t the only one spending the holiday in Miami. Despite the economy, Miami’s hotels are filling up and are expected to be solidly booked for the weekend.

The Viceroy Hotel, a place to see and be seen in the city, is getting into the spirit of the weekend by offering a special package deal that includes a $100 spa credit, breakfast for two, preferred VIP seating for fireworks display, two free drink coupons, 10% off bottle service, VIP access to Club 50 and valet parking starting at $295 per night.

The hotel is also welcoming locals on Saturday by hosting the “Best 4th of July Fireworks Display in Miami”. The festivities include a pool party on their 2-acre pool deck featuring private cabanas and entertainment by top DJs, all beneath a canopy of the city’s best fireworks displays from Key Biscayne, Coral Gables, Miami Beach and Downtown Miami from 7 pm to 1 am. During the day, local families are welcome to enjoy the hotel’s pool from noon to 5pm. There will also a BBQ and drink specials, tickets start at $5.

Related Stories:
· Viceroy Miami To Debut on March 1st [HC]
· Gwyneth Paltrow & Beyonce: Double Date! [Just Jared]
· Despite economy, South Florida hotels fill up for Fourth of July weekend [Miami Herald]
· Celeb Travel [Jaunted]

[Photo: Just Jared]

Tags: Disney World / Nostalgia / Retro Travel / If You Had Wings / Eastern Air Lines / → All Tags

Does Anybody Else Remember the Old "If You Had Wings" Ride at Disney World?

The internet really is an amazing thing. Last week, for some reason, I was thinking about an obscure old ride at Disney World that I doubted many people remembered. Lo and behold, a quick search revealed not only extensive information about it, but a couple of first-person videos as well. The ride was called If You Had Wings, and it was essentially a big advertisement for Eastern Air Lines, which was, at one time, the official airline of Walt Disney World. My dad was a pilot for Eastern Air Lines, and so we made a point of riding the Claude Coates-designed Omnimover Dark Ride whenever we went to the park, and I loved it.

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Tags: Bernie Madoff / Yachting / Ponzi Travel / → All Tags

Ponzi Travel: Visit Bernie Madoff's South Florida Stomping Grounds

The gig is up for Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, who is currently in a lower Manhattan jail awaiting sentencing for defrauding investors out of billions of dollars. Unfortunately for his victims, most of the money disappeared into thin air, but authorities are doing what they can to identify and liquidate his remaining assets. The action last week centered on south Florida, where marshals seized his yacht, "the Bull," from Roscioli Yachting Center in Fort Lauderdale, and entered his $10 million Palm Beach Island home to inventory its contents.

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Tags: Maps / Travel Gear / Key West / → All Tags

Good Ideas: Key West Map Doubles as a Lens Cleaning Cloth

We're headed to Key West next month and I've been geeking out on the research, poring over all the travel guides I can find and lining up a few bars, restaurants and museums to check out while we're there. I wanted to pick up one of those Streetwise maps, but they don't have one for Key West yet, so instead I ordered a Rand McNally Fab Map for six bucks from Amazon, and I'm glad I did.

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Tags: Kayaking / Water Sports / Florida Keys / → All Tags

Kayaking Trend Going Strong Into 2009

We've spilled more than a few pixels on the subject of kayaking, but that's because it's just such a perfect vacation activity. It's cheap, it's fun, and it always provides a unique perspective on your destination. Last year might have been the year of the kayak, but the trend is showing no signs of abating, if a story in Friday's New York Times is any indication. It highlights a kayaking adventure in the Florida Keys, where the abundance of shallow water, mangrove swamps, and marine life make the kayak the preferred mode of transportation for those seeking to leave the highway behind. With so many kayak outfitters on either side of the Overseas Highway, "it is entirely plausible to go on three different types of kayak trips, in three distinctly different environments in the Keys, all inside of a single day." Sounds like a nifty challenge to us.

In Key West, for example, the Lazy Dog Kayak Company will ensure that your kayaking won't come at the expense of your drinking, as an open-air bar is located just 20 feet from the put-in area. Those looking for more action can join a kayak fishing expedition organized by Key Largo-based Florida Bay Outfitters. A sizable tarpon is strong enough to pull your kayak around for half an hour, giving you the ride of your life. And to really feel like you've left civilization behind, Reelax Charters on Sugarloaf Key will ferry your kayaks in a motorboat to remote beaches and mangrove islands about as far away from pavement as you can get in the Keys.

But whatever kayak journey you take, you'll be rewarded with spectacular views and that unique feeling of floating that somehow makes all your troubles seem smaller.

[Photo: The New York Times]

Related Stories:
· Florida Glide [The New York Times]
· Lazy Dog Outfitters [Official Site]
· Florida Bay Outfitters [Official Site]
· Reelax Charters [Official Site]
· Kayaking Coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Outdoor Travel / Active Travel / Wildlife / Wild Animal Travel / → All Tags

Green Cay Wetlands Preserve: The Place to Get Your Gator Fix in West Palm

We were recently in West Palm Beach, Florida, visiting family and looking for fun stuff to do. There's not much in the way of active pursuits beyond golf, tennis, and bridge in this part of Florida, but if you can peel yourself off the wicker for an hour or two, there is one suburban excursion that we heartily endorse. Green Cay Wetlands and Nature Center is located right in the middle of Boynton Beach, offering a snippet of beautiful wilderness amid the housing developments and shopping centers.

Created in 2005 from a farm that would have otherwise been turned into more housing, Green Cay (pronounced "key") attracts a surprising amount of wildlife, with birds like swallows, ducks, and herons and land-based animals such as turtles, marsh rabbits, and even the odd bobcat prowling around. As is always the case with Florida wildlife, everybody's on the lookout for one of the four alligators that patrol the marshy environment, like this adolescent beast (pictured) we encountered while taking a sunset loop around the 1.5-mile elevated boardwalk. We were hoping he'd chomp the oblivious bird who walked right past his snout, but he didn't move a muscle.

In keeping with the neighborhood, a "hike" at Green Cay is about as easy as hiking gets while still technically fitting the definition of a long walk for pleasure or exercise. That's just fine with us. Coming from New York, it's nice to take things slow and easy for a change.

[Photo: Victor Ozols]

Related Stories:
· Green Cay Wetlands [Official Site]
· Outdoor Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Restaurants / Food Travel / Pie / Key Lime Pie / → All Tags

Old Key Lime House: Big Fish, Sweet Pie, and Sunny Intracoastal Views

It's the portion size that wins me over. Coming from New York, it's hard not to be a little snooty about restaurants elsewhere in the country, but I'll admit to a fondness for the whopping American helpings you get when you venture beyond the five boroughs. I wasn't sure if the fish tacos I ordered at the Old Key Lime House in Lantana, Florida were going to be enough food, but that's because I was envisioning them served tapas-style, artfully presented on a saucer but expensive and not at all filling, like you'd get in the city. But the tacos were huge, and the foot-long whitefish fillets in each were perfectly fried and served with chipotle aioli, salsa, and guacamole. It was a splendid lunch, enjoyed in the shade of the dockside dining room as boats sailed by on the Intracoastal Waterway. The Old Key Lime House bills itself as the oldest waterfront restaurant in Florida, but even if it's not, it represents an earlier era of South Florida, before the franchise restaurants opened up along every coastal highway. It succeeds because it keeps things simple, with well-prepared beach pub food, affable servers, and a comfortable, thatched-roof atmosphere that's doesn't push the nautical kitsch too far beyond a plaster shark and a skeleton pirate mannequin. As far as the Key lime pie is concerned, it's quite good, but they overdo it with the whipped cream on top. Not to bring things back to NYC again, but I think the pie is better at Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pies in Red Hook, Brooklyn. It's okay, Steve's originally from Florida.

[Photo: Victor Ozols]

Related Stories:
· Old Key Lime House [Official Site]
· Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pies [Official Site]
· Restaurant Coverage [Jaunted]