Dallas to Florida

[asrivastava]

Hi,

I'm planning a trip to Florida next week with a 2 day stop over in Atlanta:

Day 1 -> Full day drive to Meridian, MS.
Day 2,3 -> Stay in Atlanta
Day 4 -> Drive to Jacksonville, FL.
Day 5 -> Visit St. Augustine, stay overnight in Ft. Lauderdale
Day 6 -> Sightseeing in Miami
Day 7 -> Drive to Key West
Day 8 -> Start around 4pm from Key West, overnight stay in Miami (Doral)
Day 9 -> Take US-98 (Tamiami trail) to Ocala. Stop at Siesta Key beach (if time permits)
Day 10 -> Continue on US-98 to Ft. Walton. Thinking of spending some time on the Panama City Beach and then continuing to Ft. Walton.
Day 11 -> Few hrs at Destin Beach. I've heard a lot about Orange Beach as well. Is that or anything else recommended in that area? Overnight in Covington, LA
Day 12 -> Full day drive to Austin, TX (have to meet a friend)
Day 13 -> Back to Dallas

Any recommendation for must-see, to avoid, etc?

Thanks

[Lifemagician]

You have laid out that trip pretty well. However, I know the road from Jacksonville to Ft Lauderdale relatively well, and there is much to see and enjoy along the way. It really is a lot to do in one day.

Have you been using good maps to plan this trip. It sounds like it, but if I am wrong, I urge you to get hold of some good maps such as AAA or get a good detailed road atlas such as Rand McNally. Then you might like to follow the suggestions in the following paragraph:

Start with maps. Not GPS, not software, not Google, but real honest-to-god paper maps that show you your entire route, that you can mark up (and erase), that you can stick pins in, and that show something about the land you'll be driving through. Those are your essential tool in any RoadTrip planning process. Start by marking all the places you know you want to visit. Then connect the dots. Then look for more places of interest and scenic routes along the lines connecting the dots. Repeat until you've got as many sites and roads as you think you want.

For instance, looking at the day to Ft Lauderdale, you have Daytona and Daytona beach, there is the Space Coast at Cape Carnarveral and the Kennedy Space Centre - which really deserves a full day (two is better) - then at Ft Pierce you have the great murals, the pinnacle of them being The Arcade Building at 101, US-1 N. Really quite spectacular. The rest of the way to Ft Lauderdale is best driven alternating between US-1 (The Federal Highway) and A1A, for scenery, access to the Atlantic Ocean and great seafood restaurants.

Other than perhaps restaurants (though you can find so many of them on the internet) you will find attractions along every route you plan to take.... and maybe on other routes you have not yet planned.

Consider Alligator Alley and Taimiami Trail including Big Cypress, the habitat of the highly endangered Florida panther.

On the Keys you have Big Pine and No Name Keys, the sanctuary of the smallest species of deer. Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Centre (93600 Overseas Hwy, Tavernier, Key Largo,) and the Marathon Wild Bird Centre.

Those are only some of the wonders of Florida which come to mind. Detailed maps will reveal much more to you. I have never come across anything in the US 'to be avoided'.

Lifey