Florida A1A road
Discussion
Some Gump said:
Pain in the arse but the area is nice, esp st. Augustine.
Little fun driving to be had in the states, they just love traffic lights too much!
That's my point really, I'm guessing the proper Freeway (US-1) will be just that, a motorway. But the A1A looks like it could be a much more scenic drive, it's just that I don't know if it would be worth the extra seat time to do it or not?Little fun driving to be had in the states, they just love traffic lights too much!
garyhun said:
St Augustine is a lovely part of Florida, enjoy!
So we've heard. I had originally booked for two nights there but a little thing called an AtlasV rocket launch in January has got in the way of that. I've now booked us in for a night at Cocoa Beach on the off chance that the lift off will be around the time we're there. If it isn't then I'll go back to skipping Cocoa Beach and doing two nights in St. Augustine.But I REALLY want to see a rocket launch.
Adenauer said:
garyhun said:
St Augustine is a lovely part of Florida, enjoy!
So we've heard. I had originally booked for two nights there but a little thing called an AtlasV rocket launch in January has got in the way of that. I've now booked us in for a night at Cocoa Beach on the off chance that the lift off will be around the time we're there. If it isn't then I'll go back to skipping Cocoa Beach and doing two nights in St. Augustine.But I REALLY want to see a rocket launch.
I loved St Augustine, loads of history and lovely B&Bs, but a rocket launch would take precedence for me too
garyhun said:
Seeing a launch would be awesome so I understand your decision.
I loved St Augustine, loads of history and lovely B&Bs, but a rocket launch would take precedence for me too
Yep, if we're lucky enough to see one that would make the trip!I loved St Augustine, loads of history and lovely B&Bs, but a rocket launch would take precedence for me too
Here's the planned tour so far, into and out of Tampa airport. Anything on there strike you as a 'don't bother?'
We have been a few times but never really up the Atlantic coast apart from a day trip to Daytona, which I thought was a bit of a dump.
https://www.google.de/maps/dir/Tampa,+Florida,+USA...
Adenauer said:
garyhun said:
Seeing a launch would be awesome so I understand your decision.
I loved St Augustine, loads of history and lovely B&Bs, but a rocket launch would take precedence for me too
Yep, if we're lucky enough to see one that would make the trip!I loved St Augustine, loads of history and lovely B&Bs, but a rocket launch would take precedence for me too
Here's the planned tour so far, into and out of Tampa airport. Anything on there strike you as a 'don't bother?'
We have been a few times but never really up the Atlantic coast apart from a day trip to Daytona, which I thought was a bit of a dump.
https://www.google.de/maps/dir/Tampa,+Florida,+USA...
I used to always fly in and out of Tampa as my in-laws lived in Clearwater.
Naples is nice but it's more famous for being the cleanest town in Florida as far as I'm concerned. I would not go back but that's just me.
Miami I would miss and head straight for South Beach. Lovely art deco hotels and a great place to relax and eat and enjoy the latino nightlife.
Can't comment on the East Coast as I did my trip to St Augustine directly from Clearwater.
I was in St. Augustine a few years ago so cannot remember where I stayed but there are loads of lovely places to stay.
Ahh, sorry I should have made it a bit clearer.
Tampa is just the arrival/departure airport. I've limited it to maximum 300 miles per day which I think is very easy. The places we'll be staying for a day or two each time are Naples, South Beach (not Miami itself), Key West, Key Largo, West Palm Beach, Cocoa Beach, St. Augustine, and lastly St. Petersburg.
Actually, maybe I'll miss Naples and go straight from Tampa to South Beach
Tampa is just the arrival/departure airport. I've limited it to maximum 300 miles per day which I think is very easy. The places we'll be staying for a day or two each time are Naples, South Beach (not Miami itself), Key West, Key Largo, West Palm Beach, Cocoa Beach, St. Augustine, and lastly St. Petersburg.
Actually, maybe I'll miss Naples and go straight from Tampa to South Beach
Adenauer said:
Ahh, sorry I should have made it a bit clearer.
Tampa is just the arrival/departure airport. I've limited it to maximum 300 miles per day which I think is very easy. The places we'll be staying for a day or two each time are Naples, South Beach (not Miami itself), Key West, Key Largo, West Palm Beach, Cocoa Beach, St. Augustine, and lastly St. Petersburg.
Actually, maybe I'll miss Naples and go straight from Tampa to South Beach
Sounds good to me in that case. Don't get me wrong, Naples is nice but in my eyes it's just that, nice.Tampa is just the arrival/departure airport. I've limited it to maximum 300 miles per day which I think is very easy. The places we'll be staying for a day or two each time are Naples, South Beach (not Miami itself), Key West, Key Largo, West Palm Beach, Cocoa Beach, St. Augustine, and lastly St. Petersburg.
Actually, maybe I'll miss Naples and go straight from Tampa to South Beach
Have a great holiday!
Many years ago we had a holiday at Daytona Beach. We knew there was a launch of a Saturn 5 that weekend so we sent to spectate it in the area. We were on a bridge in Titusville along with some locals including cops. We were all tuned in to the NASA countdown. Beautiful sunny early morning and WOW what a launch and what a noise even though the launch was about 10 miles away. Saw the side tanks jettison etc. Unforgettable.
R.
R.
Many years ago we had a holiday at Daytona Beach. We knew there was a launch of a Saturn 5 that weekend so we sent to spectate it in the area. We were on a bridge in Titusville along with some locals including cops. We were all tuned in to the NASA countdown. Beautiful sunny early morning and WOW what a launch and what a noise even though the launch was about 10 miles away. Saw the side tanks jettison etc. Unforgettable.
R.
R.
The Leaper said:
Many years ago we had a holiday at Daytona Beach. We knew there was a launch of a Saturn 5 that weekend so we sent to spectate it in the area. We were on a bridge in Titusville along with some locals including cops. We were all tuned in to the NASA countdown. Beautiful sunny early morning and WOW what a launch and what a noise even though the launch was about 10 miles away. Saw the side tanks jettison etc. Unforgettable.
R.
Perfect, if I can manage anything close to that it would be amazing!R.
Adenauer said:
garyhun said:
Seeing a launch would be awesome so I understand your decision.
I loved St Augustine, loads of history and lovely B&Bs, but a rocket launch would take precedence for me too
Yep, if we're lucky enough to see one that would make the trip!I loved St Augustine, loads of history and lovely B&Bs, but a rocket launch would take precedence for me too
Here's the planned tour so far, into and out of Tampa airport. Anything on there strike you as a 'don't bother?'
We have been a few times but never really up the Atlantic coast apart from a day trip to Daytona, which I thought was a bit of a dump.
https://www.google.de/maps/dir/Tampa,+Florida,+USA...
South Beach was a nice area when I stayed there back in 2001 on my first trip to Florida, no idea what it is like now, Naples is really nice and so are the Keys, 300miles a day is easy to do but very boring.
Saleen836 said:
Except for not going up further than Cocoa Beach your route is almost identical to mine from a few years ago (in and out or Miami though) watching a launch is a must but most are cancelled and rarely launch on the scheduled date/time.
South Beach was a nice area when I stayed there back in 2001 on my first trip to Florida, no idea what it is like now, Naples is really nice and so are the Keys, 300miles a day is easy to do but very boring.
Cheers Saleen, we'll be breaking the 300 miles up a lot, we'll be leaving by around nine each morning and not aiming to get to our destination until around five in the afternoon, so there will be lots of eating/drinking/looking at stuff breaks along the way. South Beach was a nice area when I stayed there back in 2001 on my first trip to Florida, no idea what it is like now, Naples is really nice and so are the Keys, 300miles a day is easy to do but very boring.
I'm aware of how rare those things take off 'on schedule' but have a few days flexibility either way just in case. The real pisser would be if the launch is the week after we were there. We'll just have to wait and see, it's scheduled for January but no date yet so it's in the lap of the Gods anyway.
Where are you staying on the Keys?
I stayed here... https://www.hawkscay.com/ and did a day trip down to Key West, the further south towards Key West the more expensive accommodation gets!
I stayed here... https://www.hawkscay.com/ and did a day trip down to Key West, the further south towards Key West the more expensive accommodation gets!
Adenauer said:
That's my point really, I'm guessing the proper Freeway (US-1) will be just that, a motorway. But the A1A looks like it could be a much more scenic drive, it's just that I don't know if it would be worth the extra seat time to do it or not?
US-1 is NOT a 'Freeway', nor is it anything like a motorway. Get that thought right out of your head. For Freeway-like driving on the Atlantic coast take Interstate 95 or The Florida Turnpike.A1-A hugs the coast and barrier islands - it is slow going, but quite pleasant in places. It is less busy that US-1 because it doesn't pass trough commercial districts of the coastal towns and cities, as does US-1. US-1 is murderous in comparison - endless strip malls, traffic lights every other intersection and passing trough many featureless and uninviting places along the way. If time is not pressing on you and you like the beach, take A1-A. If you need to get a move-on, it's easy to jump onto I-95.
I would also suggest deviating from I-75 between Naples and Miami and opting for US 41 (Tamiami Trail) a little further south - much nicer Everglades experience - plenty of interesting stops en-route.
As for accommodations in St Augustine FL, push the boat out and stay at Casa Monica Resort/Spa - it's not crazy expensive, but is truly fantastic - and perfectly situated in the heart of town, directly opposite the wonderful buildings of Flagler College.
With regard to rocket launches from the Cape, Jetty Park, in Port Canaveral is where most head to - below is a shot taken by a friend of the Falcon Heavy-Lift launch that took place earlier this week. This launch got scrubbed from its original plan - hence the modest crowd at Jetty Park - ordinarily it is rammed with people - even in the middle of the night.
I am very lucky to have lived in this part of the world long enough to witness the latter part of the Shuttle program. The launches we saw always made the hair stand-up on my neck - quite visceral experiences. Orbiters returning to KSC often flew directly over us and the sonic booms were quite formidable.
I took this crappy launch pic of ill-fated STS 107 - Columbia, from my back yard in Orlando - even from 50 miles away they were something to behold.
Most memorable for me was STS 132 Atlantis, toward the close of the program. My next door neighbor works for Lockheed Martin and had credentials to get us a lot closer to the action. This was taken from KSC visitor center. If you've ever been close to a top fuel dragster when it leaves the line - the ground vibrates as does the air inside your lungs - a close quarters shuttle launch did the same thing - only multiplied ten-fold.
Atlas V launches are not quite as dramatic - but still spectacular. Also, most wave-offs are due to inclement weather, which tends to be less of an issue during our dry winter months - so a launch in Jan is less likely to be nixed, if history is any measure.
I've seen more launches than I can remember - if you want any specific info or tips, I'm happy to share my experience.
I am very lucky to have lived in this part of the world long enough to witness the latter part of the Shuttle program. The launches we saw always made the hair stand-up on my neck - quite visceral experiences. Orbiters returning to KSC often flew directly over us and the sonic booms were quite formidable.
I took this crappy launch pic of ill-fated STS 107 - Columbia, from my back yard in Orlando - even from 50 miles away they were something to behold.
Most memorable for me was STS 132 Atlantis, toward the close of the program. My next door neighbor works for Lockheed Martin and had credentials to get us a lot closer to the action. This was taken from KSC visitor center. If you've ever been close to a top fuel dragster when it leaves the line - the ground vibrates as does the air inside your lungs - a close quarters shuttle launch did the same thing - only multiplied ten-fold.
Atlas V launches are not quite as dramatic - but still spectacular. Also, most wave-offs are due to inclement weather, which tends to be less of an issue during our dry winter months - so a launch in Jan is less likely to be nixed, if history is any measure.
I've seen more launches than I can remember - if you want any specific info or tips, I'm happy to share my experience.
Edited by Matt Harper on Tuesday 14th August 18:51
Matt Harper said:
With regard to rocket launches from the Cape, Jetty Park, in Port Canaveral is where most head to - below is a shot taken by a friend of the Falcon Heavy-Lift launch that took place earlier this week. This launch got scrubbed from its original plan - hence the modest crowd at Jetty Park - ordinarily it is rammed with people - even in the middle of the night.
I am very lucky to have lived in this part of the world long enough to witness the latter part of the Shuttle program. The launches we saw always made the hair stand-up on my neck - quite visceral experiences. Orbiters returning to KSC often flew directly over us and the sonic booms were quite formidable.
I took this crappy launch pic of ill-fated STS 107 - Columbia, from my back yard in Orlando - even from 50 miles away they were something to behold.
Most memorable for me was STS 132 Atlantis, toward the close of the program. My next door neighbor works for Lockheed Martin and had credentials to get us a lot closer to the action. This was taken from KSC visitor center. If you've ever been close to a top fuel dragster when it leaves the line - the ground vibrates as does the air inside your lungs - a close quarters shuttle launch did the same thing - only multiplied ten-fold.
Atlas V launches are not quite as dramatic - but still spectacular. Also, most wave-offs are due to inclement weather, which tends to be less of an issue during our dry winter months - so a launch in Jan is less likely to be nixed, if history is any measure.
I've seen more launches than I can remember - if you want any specific info or tips, I'm happy to share my experience.
That first photo is a great one I am very lucky to have lived in this part of the world long enough to witness the latter part of the Shuttle program. The launches we saw always made the hair stand-up on my neck - quite visceral experiences. Orbiters returning to KSC often flew directly over us and the sonic booms were quite formidable.
I took this crappy launch pic of ill-fated STS 107 - Columbia, from my back yard in Orlando - even from 50 miles away they were something to behold.
Most memorable for me was STS 132 Atlantis, toward the close of the program. My next door neighbor works for Lockheed Martin and had credentials to get us a lot closer to the action. This was taken from KSC visitor center. If you've ever been close to a top fuel dragster when it leaves the line - the ground vibrates as does the air inside your lungs - a close quarters shuttle launch did the same thing - only multiplied ten-fold.
Atlas V launches are not quite as dramatic - but still spectacular. Also, most wave-offs are due to inclement weather, which tends to be less of an issue during our dry winter months - so a launch in Jan is less likely to be nixed, if history is any measure.
I've seen more launches than I can remember - if you want any specific info or tips, I'm happy to share my experience.
Edited by Matt Harper on Tuesday 14th August 18:51
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