Florida Tourism and Travel

Tracks & Trails, providers of personalized, fly-drive RV vacations to the National Parks of the West since 1996, has just launched three new Florida RV trips. Designed for inexperienced campers, these trips allow couples and families to get outdoors and enjoy nature without the usual camping discomforts. Tracks & Trails staff members recently completed an extensive in-person survey of the region and have put together itineraries that emphasize the outdoor adventure that Tracks & Trails is known for, but with extra time for relaxing on the beach.

The first new trip is “Central Florida and the Space Coast”. Starting and ending in Orlando, this 7-10 day route includes time in St. Augustine, Daytona Beach, the Kennedy Space Center, and Cocoa Beach, Florida’s surfing center. Using an RV as a mobile base camp, travelers experience these destinations up close and personal. Learn about real pirates, take a surfing lesson, paddle with manatees, maybe even witness a rocket launch.

The second new trip is Florida Keys and the Everglades. Starting and ending in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale, this 7-10 day route includes one of the most beautiful drives in the USA: the Overseas Highway, connecting mainland Florida to the Keys, ending in Key West. Sailing, snorkeling, swimming with dolphins and sandcastle-building are all part of the program.

The third new trip is “Florida One-Way including the Florida Keys”. Starting in Orlando and ending in either Miami or Ft. Lauderdale, this 11-14 day route includes the best of both Florida regions. This longer trip includes all of the above, with extra time for visits to the Florida Marine Sanctuary and a sea turtle rescue hospital.

Many active travelers are discovering that RV travel allows them to commune with nature without giving up the comforts of home. And visiting Florida in an RV offers some special opportunities. Florida’s State Parks are some of the finest in the country, and many occupy prime beachfront real estate. But there are no hotels in these parks. When night falls, campers get the place all to themselves. More at www.tracks-trails.com.

Islamorada, Florida Keys - Islamorada’s rich sportfishing heritage is to be highlighted during the Islamorada Sportfishing Festival set for Friday, Sept. 26, through Sunday, Sept. 28, and based at Robbie’s of Islamorada, mile marker 77.5. Presented by Cheeca Lodge & Spa, the weekend event is to offer up a cornucopia of activities for offshore and backcountry fishing enthusiasts and their families, according to organizer Tammie Gurgiolo. “Islamorada is recognized as the Sportfishing Capital of the World,” said Gurgiolo. “The festival showcases the area’s natural resources and the sportfishing professionals who have formed the backbone of Islamorada’s reputation.” An exhibition of marine art, sportfishing industry vendors, angling seminars, lectures and a family fishing derby are some of the events on tap, she said.

Friday night’s kickoff begins the weekend with a meet and greet of artists and captains as well as the launch of the ESPN Outdoors Family Fishing Derby. Another featured activity that evening is an induction ceremony for the Islamorada Sportfishing Hall of Fame.

Saturday shapes up to be a full day of fishing seminars and the exhibition. A live auction of art and sportfishing merchandise, angling trips and hotels stays is set for late afternoon Saturday with proceeds benefiting various charitable causes.

Sunday is to conclude the fishing derby, which features merchandise prizes for top finishers and most outstanding single catch. A highlight of the festival is a driver’s license number match game providing the winner an opportunity to win $50 a week in gasoline for a decade.

Tickets to the festival are $10 per person for the entire weekend. Entry fee for the Derby is $100 per family with a maximum of four anglers, and includes four festival tickets. For more information, call (305) 852-9337.

Additional sponsors of the event include Island Villa, Islamorada Outfitters, Blue Marlin Jewelry, the Islamorada Guides Association and the Islamorada Charterboat Association.

Key West, FL - Internationally acclaimed pianist Andreas Klein and rising opera singer Yuriko Nonaka are to appear with the Key West Symphony during the orchestra’s final master series concerts of its 10th anniversary season.

The symphony is scheduled to perform at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 4 and 5, at the Tennessee Williams Theatre, 5901 W. College Road on the Florida Keys Community College campus.

During the symphony’s April concerts, Klein is to display his artistry on Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor.” The symphony also is to perform excerpts from Giacomo Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly” with Nonaka singing the role of Butterfly.

Nonaka recently won a prestigious European opera competition for her portrayal of Butterfly. She prepared for the challenge in part during master classes at an opera seminar presented by the Key West Symphony.

A native of Germany, Klein is a premier interpreter of works by Beethoven, Mozart and Robert Schumann, among others. He has performed as a soloist in leading venues including London’s Wigmore Hall, New York’s Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as well as with internationally acclaimed orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic.

For each concert weekend, the symphony’s nationally recognized conductor and musical director Sebrina Maria Alfonso brings together more than 70 professional symphonic musicians from around the country.

Alfonso’s musical credits include stints as guest conductor for the Prague Radio Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic, among many others. In addition, she was the first Cuban American ever invited to conduct and hold a permanent guest conducting position with Cuba’s premier orchestra.

In addition to the Friday and Saturday evening concerts, the symphony’s schedule includes two free daytime concerts for Florida Keys students. The young people’s concerts are a component of the symphony’s ongoing educational outreach program. Each season, the symphony provides up to 3,000 Keys students the opportunity to hear and explore the world of classical music.

Symphony fans that want to delve deeper into April’s featured musical selections are invited to attend a “Symphony Chat” with scholar and lecturer Dr. Edward Pitts. He is to speak at 7:15 p.m. both concert evenings in the grand foyer of the Tennessee Williams Theatre.

Following the symphony’s performance Friday, April 4, attendees can meet the musicians and the conductor at a reception in the theater’s grand foyer.

Concert tickets are $32 to $75 per person based on seat location. They can be purchased online at www.keystix.com or by calling the Tennessee Williams Theatre box office at (305) 296-1520.

For more information, visit www.keywestsymphony.com or call (305) 292-1774.

For lodging information in Key West, contact the Key West Chamber of Commerce at 1-800-LAST-KEY (800-527-8539) or visit the Keys Web site at www.fla-keys.com.