Florida Archive:

Hiking The Old Fort King Trail

After driving by the entrance to the Old Fort King Trail on our way to the Hillsborough River State Park, my girlfriend and I decided to head back to check it out.

The Old Fort King Trail is approximately 6.7 miles long and runs just south of the Hillsborough River State Park. It also runs into the John B. Sargeant Sr. Park which is right along the 301. It’s great for hiking and also looks like it…

Hiking In Hillsborough River State Park

One of the best adventures I’ve had here in Florida happens to be hiking through the Hillsborough River State Park. The park is one of the oldest parks in the state of Florida and features hiking, canoeing, camping, and kayaking. Best of all, it’s located less than an hour outside of Tampa.

When it comes to hiking, the park has four different trails that you can choose from with a total of around 7 miles…

Hiking In Withlacoochee State Forest

It’s no secret that Florida is a flat state. There are no mountains and barely any hills from what I’ve seen. I miss mountains a lot more than I thought I would after leaving Arizona but I have not given up on finding some cool hikes here in the sunshine state.

The good news is that Florida does have a handful of state forests and parks that have some great hiking trails. A perfect example is Withlacoochee State Forest located near Dade City. My girlfriend and I made the drive up there from St Petersburg to check it out and were not disappointed.

The Honda Grand Prix

One of the coolest events I’ve attended so far here in Florida was the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. I’m not a huge fan of racing but since the main race was rained out on Sunday, they decided to make general admission free since it was pushed back to yesterday morning.

The other reason I wanted to check it out was because the race literally took place a few blocks from my house. The track was set up so close to my house that I heard the cars all last week while they were practicing and doing time trials (they’re louder than you think).

The Tampa Twilight Criterium

The Tampa Twilight Criterium took place this past Saturday and my girlfriend and I accidentally attended it. We were in downtown Tampa looking for the ECO.lution festival and ran right into it.

I wasn’t sure what it was but it turns out the event is a fast-paced bicycle race that features a ton of cyclists racing on a short urban course through downtown Tampa. Besides having a variety of different races, there were also a bunch of different vendors with products relating to cycling.

Cigar City Brewing & Whole Foods Market Cask Ale Tasting Event

This past weekend was the first annual Cigar City Brewing and Whole Foods Market Cask Ale Tasting event. The event featured twelve different beers from a handful of different breweries including Cigar City Brewing, Tampa Bay Brewing Company, Peg’s Cantina, and Dunedin Brewery.

I personally tried the Cigar City Brewing Cubano Espresso, which was pretty damn good. I’m a coffee fanatic and drinking a beer with a hint of coffee flavor was the perfect combination for me.

ECO.lution Tampa 2010

This is a quick announcement about a cool event that kicks off today. ECO.lution is an annual event that takes place here in Tampa to encourage everyone to make green and sustainable choices.

This year marks the third annual ECO.lution event and it consists of three difference events:

ECO.expo

The ECO.expo will feature displays from a wide variety of green product manufacturers, local businesses, design firms, local schools and government organizations. The main goal is sharing information about the products and programs to help the general public and design professionals be more sustainable.

The Saturday Morning Market in Downtown St. Petersburg

For the past few weeks, I’ve been checking out the Saturday Morning Market here in St. Petersburg. The market has been going strong since 2002 and is an awesome place to go and shop for a variety of different items. It’s also nice to get out and support small businesses and farms from the area.

What $100 Worth of Groceries Looks Like – Florida vs. Hawaii

The main reason I decided to migrate down to Florida is because I am a sucker for tropical climates. I love palm trees, warm weather, and beaches more than anything. While Hawaii is the perfect place for this, I didn’t want to return to the high cost of living that Honolulu had to offer.

After doing a few cost of living checks, I learned the most of Florida is relatively affordable. However, it wasn’t until the other day when my girlfriend and I were grocery shopping that the cost of living difference between here and Hawaii really hit me.

Sunday Market at Sweetwater Organic Community Farm

Since switching over to a natural diet, I have been spending a lot more time checking out various places to get fresh produce and organic products. This past weekend I went and checked out Sweetwater Organic Community Farm, which is an awesome little farm located in Tampa.

I enjoyed the farm and market so much that I wanted to do a quick review of it and help spread the word.