After our visit to the Players Championship at  Sawgrass last year, we decided to pay a visit  Jacksonville. We had stayed in downtown Jacksonville for 2 nights for the golf and it was a short drive from the hotel to the city centre.

It was a beautiful May day and we arrived early to find a much quieter city than we had anticipated.  It is a large city, situated on the Johns River and only about 40km from the Georgia border. On a Friday morning we expected it to be busy with people and traffic as you would find in most British cities through the week. Not so, it was pleasantly quiet with hardly anyone around.

We knew nothing about  Jacksonville before we arrived but learned  about it’s history as we strolled around. We parked quite easily near to the Jacksonville Landings. This is situated right on the river and is a place for shopping and eating and where concerts are held. It was just opening up as we arrived and I imagine it would be better to visit in the evening. The restaurants have a lovely view of the river. There are walkways alongside the river and a few people out jogging or walking. This is where we found out about the history of the town from the information displayed along the way. We stopped and watched the Main Street Bridge open, the whole of the middle section slides up to allow the river traffic through. There’s probably a much more technical term for it but it was quite impressive to watch!

We then walked further in to the city and took a monorail across the river. We then walked back across the Main Street Bridge, given my fear of bridges over water this was quite a challenge for me! We really should have found out more before we arrived and it would have been nice to stay longer but we had a long day ahead and planned to visit the Jacksonville Beaches on the Atlantic coast too.

We try to do something new each time we visit Florida and Kelly park had been recommended to us so on a beautiful day in May we decided to visit. It was outside the school holidays so it was relatively quiet which was good for us as we had no kids with us!

The park is located at Apopka and is well sign posted and easy to find.  We stopped at one of the roadside shops to hire inflatable tyres which cost $5 each, when we got there we realised that any one of the inflatables we had in our pool, even the foam ‘spaghetti’ floats would have done just as a good a job.

There’s plenty of parking and a building with a café and changing facilities. We had gone prepared with fold up chairs, cool box with plenty of drinks and sandals to wear in the river. We didn’t really know what to expect, although we had read about it, it wasn’t what we imagined, it was better. The river runs through the state park and is very clear and slow and meanders through the trees.

We took our floats to the point to get in which is along a boardwalk, under the trees. The weather was glorious and hot and the water in the shade looked as if it would be freezing but it wasn’t actually too cold, once you were in. It’s quite rocky and takes a little bit of negotiation to get in, unless you’re really brave and jump straight in the deep bit.  After that it’s shallow and sandy and really slow moving. You just get on your tyre and relax and let the current take you down river. You can see turtles basking in the sun and although we were slightly alarmed when we heard a rustling off to the side, it turned out to be a deer coming down for a drink.

We spoke to some locals who had been going there for years, they assured us that there are absolutely no gators in there!  It’s a natural lazy river ride and we loved it. There’s a part where the river opens out into a shallow pool with a sandy ‘beach’ area to sit in the sun. There are also several barbecue pits and picnic tables. There are trails to walk through the state park as well.  I imagine it gets really busy in summer but the kids would love it. A great and cheap alternative to the Orlando water parks.

We returned to Sawgrass for the first day of the Players Tournament having learned lessons from the previous day. This time we were suitably equipped with a small bag and travel size sunscreens, no camera as we now knew for certain we couldn’t take it in and our foldaway chairs without the carrying bags. This made them a bit awkward to carry but those are the rules!

We were there for about 9.30, parking was once again made very easy and it was  another beautiful sunny day. We picked our spot between the 16th green and the 17th hole and settled down to watch the tournament. We were in an ideal position on a hill, with a great view of the famous island hole. We had binoculars with us which were allowed.  We were also close to the players as they walked between the 16th and 17th. We knew that Tiger Woods was on the course and were looking forward to seeing him play. At that point he was 5 under and the next news we had was that he had withdrawn from  the competition and left.  That was a little bit disappointing but didn’t spoil our day in any way.

We saw Luke Donald and also the ultimate winner, KJ Choi as well as Graeme McDowell, Padraig Harrington and Ian Poulter. Our favourites to win were Luke Donald and Ricky Fowler from California, unfortunately, Ricky didn’t make the cut.

We stayed in the same place until the early afternoon then went to watch at some of the other holes. We eventually picked up Graeme McDowell, Jim Furyk and Dustin Johnson on the 13th and followed them to the 15th. We then picked up Ricky Fowler on the 10th with Matteo Manassero Alvaro Quiros.

As a non golfer I learned a lot about the game and had a really enjoyable day, I would definitely go again and  it’s an experience I wouldn’t have missed. I have to say the Walmart chairs were worth every dollar.

On arrival we actually thought it was closed! It was about 10am on a weekday and there wasn’t a soul around. No problem for us of course. I was a little bit disappointed though, the mall wasn’t as big as I expected and there weren’t  that many stores.

There were the usual  Dillards, Sears, JC Penney which we could have visited closer to home. There were one or too quirky shops such as the Dogs Bow Wow where you could buy outfits for your canine friends, including wedding outfits! We decided not to inflict that on our two Labradors.

We spent most of our time in Sears where there was a sale on. I bought myself some LA Gear training shoes, the type that are supposed to get you into shape whilst you walk around. Maybe I’m kidding myself but for £25 I’ll give it a try and they were nice trainers anyway.

JC Penney always seem to have a sale on. I like the ladies sportswear in there which is very reasonably priced.  Then Pac-sun, Aeropostale and Rack Room shoes and we were done. 

I had hoped for an Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister but not there. There is a cinema there and if you have young children an old fashioned carousel.

There are plenty of places to eat and drink and after a coffee in the food court we decided to call it a day. Even by then there was hardly anyone there, the place was almost deserted. The mall is clean and airy and if you just want a shopping mall to yourself, it’s great.

One of the courses I play regularly is Remington at St Cloud, set amongst a housing development, it is a well laid out course with plenty of challenge for the better golfers (not me!) It has a particularly good package which includes a breakfast sandwich, a hot dog half way round,  and a substantial snack at the end. The staff are friendly and obliging and there is a nice clubhouse with a pro shop, bar and dining area. The course is located about 4 miles outside Old Kissimmee Town, just off the 192.

Another good course is Kissimmee Oaks which is on the 17/92 near Poiciana. Again set amongst a housing complex it is a picturesque course and you may get the odd sighting of a Gator in one of the many lakes and ponds.

I haven’t yet played at Reunion which is off Ronald Reagan Parkway, a relatively new course but with the character of a more established golf course. It is a beautifully set out course of championship standard with beautiful fairways and greens and has been the venue for many high profile Ladies tournaments, it can only get better with age. It can be a bit pricey depending on the time of year, golf tends to be more expensive in Florida in the winter due to the influx of Snowbirds.

In Key West there are the Conch Train and the Trolley Bus tours. We’ve done both more than once as we’ve gone with different people.

The trolley bus is a hop on hop off tour. You buy a ticket for the whole day then spend as much time as you like at different spots before jumping back on. You can buy tickets and join the tour at various locations. The drivers give a running commentary which is informative and usually amusing and it’s a good way to see the island.

The tour stops at all the well known tourist spots, Mallory Square, the Flagler Station, Ernest Hemingway’s House, the Southernmost Point where you just have to get off and join the queue of tourists waiting to have their photo taken at the buoy which marks the  most southerly point of the USA.

 It takes you past the beaches and the parks, along Duval Street past the bars where Hemingway used to drink including the famous Sloppy Joes. The guides tell you about the history of the island, the pirates and about the architecture and the hurricanes and also about the people who live there.

You can stop at La Concha Hotel. The tallest building in Key West which has a rooftop terrace where you can enjoy a Margerita and watch the sun set with views of the whole island. It’s much more relaxing than driving round and trying to find parking and you wouldn’t learn half as much.

If you really don’t want to wander about but just want to see the sights, then the Conch Train is the better option. This is a 90 minute guided tour which takes in all the same sights but there are only 2 or 3 stops. Ideal if you’re not feeling energetic or its just too hot, although be warned its very hot on the train!

There was free parking and free entry, a good start so we duly signed the visitors book and set off, not really knowing what to expect.  We arrived at the same time as a party of schoolchildren and could hear one of the teachers remonstrating with Tyler to be sure not to bring anything out of the woods! I wonder what he did last time! They went off the visitor centre and we set off along the boardwalk.

The preserve is part of a forest which has been restored and reading the information along the trail we learned that many species of animals, birds and insects have been returned to their natural habitat since the project began.  We saw lots of butterflies and birds but really it was more about what we could hear as much as what we could see. There were tall trees and thick vegetation on either side of the boardwalk and a cacophony of sound, none of it made by humans.  

There were plenty of information boards telling us what to look out for as we strolled along in the heat.

After about half an hour or so we came to an observation deck overlooking Lake Apopka and to our great delight we could actually see a couple of gators out on the lake. Not a place for a dip then. We could hear a loud noise which we assumed to be bullfrogs but try as we might we couldn’t spot them. 

There was lots of interesting information about the history of the Lake and the agriculture around it over the last few decades. The lake has also been brought out of decline and we stayed a while just listening and watching before meandering back.