Lance Around Orlando

What to do when your vacation money lives here

Central Florida, with its world class theme parks, has become the vacation capitol of the world.

The major theme parks include the four at Walt Disney World: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios (formerly Disney-MGM Studios) and Animal Kingdom; Two at Universal Orlando:  Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure; Sea World and its sister park in Tampa, Busch Gardens.  In addition there is Discovery Cove, Cypress Gardens, Kennedy Space Center, Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, Aquatica, Wet and Wild, Old Town and Fantasy of Flight.  This does not even include the plethora of mini golf courses; minor attractions such as WonderWorks, Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum and the Water Ski Museum; or cultural venues such as the Orlando Science Center, Museum of Art, Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, Mennello Museum of American Art and the list goes on from there…

But let’s face it, these places are EXPENSIVE.  Yes, they are worth the price of admission.  But when you have to pay $75 per person for one day in a theme park (not to mention all the food, souvenirs and beverages) it can take a huge chunk out of your vacation budget.

Yet, amidst the chatter and shouting of the major attractions, Central Florida has so much more to offer–And you might be surprised to learn how much of it is free or very low cost.

The primary purpose of this blog is to expose the underrated or off-the-beaten-path destinations that get drowned out in the clutter of the major attractions of Central Florida.  These are often wonderful vacation spots that many guests don’t find because of the sirens‘ calls of the big boys.  Still, you can vacation to this area on a shoestring if you want.  And since there are so many major attractions, it is relatively easy to have a fabulous vacation with world class accommodations and service on a very limited budget.

Here are just a few ideas of things to do.  There are many others.  And I have (or will) devote entire blog posts to most of these off-the-beaten-path attractions:

Rent a vacation Home with a private pool–No, I’m not just saying this because I own the vacation rental home company, I own the vacation rental home company because I sincerely believe it is the best way to vacation.  If I thought a hotel or RV park was better for my guests, I would sell this business and buy one of those.  Taking a day to relax by the pool in your own, private vacation home is a real treat and a real money saver!

Caladesi Island State Park–This pristine island beach is ranked as one of the top beaches in the entire USA!  Perhaps it retains its natural serenity because no vehicles are allowed on the island–It can only be reached by boat or ferry.  It is on the gulf coast, near Tampa, so there are not many waves.  But there are white sand beaches, kayak trails, picnic tables, shelters and Florida wildlife.

Ocala National Forest–Huge springs, twisting streams, lakes for fishing and water skiing plus you can walk the trails that will remind you of Gregory Peck’s classic role in The Yearling!

Cocoa Beach or Daytona Beach–Located on the Atlantic Ocean side of Florida, these popular tourist destinations are perfect for all the usual beach-loving activities (and better waves than you find on the gulf coast!)

Wekiwa Springs State Park–This huge spring provides the perfect, old fashioned watering hole for a cool dip in year round 72 degree water.  Or enjoy a kayak or canoe trip down the Wekiva River.

Spook Hill and Bok Tower–Spook Hill is a curious anomaly–An optical illusion makes it seem as though your car is rolling uphill.  Nearby Bok Tower is a beautiful Carillon built by Edward Bok and set in a colorful garden where peace seems to emanate from every corner.

Geohashing–This is not indigenous to Florida.  You can geohash anywhere.  But this link to my blog post will explain how I found an unexpected vacation that cost nothing and helped me to de-stress when Number One Son introduced me to the concept of geohashing.

West Orange Trail–This 22 mile “rails to trails” biking or walking trail goes from Clermont to Apopka passing through quaint towns, like Winter Garden.

These are only a few of the many excellent vacation choices available to the well-informed traveller, on a budget, who is looking for “more than a mouse!”™

The Spot

I had a very rough day yesterday.

It was so rough, that early in the morning I finally just threw down my office phone, walked five miles home (Mrs. LanceAround had the car) and laid on my bed and cried.

After a few hours, I asked Number One Son if he could go out with me.  “Where?,” he asked.  “Don’t care,” I replied, “I just want to go on a walkabout.  You can take us wherever you want.”

Turns out Number One son has been reading about “geohashing.”

Geohashing was invented by Randall Monroe who writes a webcomic called xkcd.  Using a complex algorithm randomly based on the opening value of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, it creates a set of coordinates for each one degree by one degree graticule in the world.  (Wow, our Grammy didn’t understand any of those words at all!)

So, let me translate for Grammy:  Randall’s system gives you the geographic coordinates (longitude and latitude) for a single point somewhere within 50 square miles of where you live.  There are thousands of these specific points throughout the entire world.  So everyone is within 50 miles of a point.  This point changes every business day, based on the stock market opening.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to physically go to that geographical point within the graticule (50 square mile area) where you live.

What are you looking for?  Nothing.

Where are you going?  Often, to the middle of nowhere!

Using his trusted Tom Tom GPS, Number One Son drove us to a dirt road 30 miles from home and approximately one and a half miles from the location of the coordinates within our 50 Sq. mile graticule.  There, we encountered a locked gate.

Ignoring the geohashing’s guideline to not trespass, we climbed the gate and walked down the dirt road until the reference point was about three quarters of a mile due west through the wild.

We had to ford a stream, jump several barb wire fences, orienteer through cow pastures, through several wooded areas and past a lot of undergrowth.

Finally, the marker on the Tom Tom indicated that we had reached our coordinates.  We opened the bottles of water we brought along and toasted our success.  We had managed to get to nowhere and found nothing.  I was tired, hungry, sore and felt as though I was going to faint.

But I also felt better than I have in a long, long time.  Number One Son and I just smiled and laughed as we gazed around at the open pastures, woods and cow herds.

On the way back, we found truck tracks that made it easy to navigate to our van.  The adventure took so long that the sun was setting, sending pale streaks of vivid tangerine across the horizon and revealing the bright planet Venus in the southwestern sky.  We also encountered a roving skunk and heard the increasingly loud cow calls from the neighboring fields.

My business is to help people have the vacation of a lifetime.  But how do I vacation?

Usually, I don’t.  But thanks to Randall Monroe and Number One Son, I discovered a wonderful, quick and no cost vacation by seeking nothing in the middle of nowhere.

It was just what I needed.