Central Florida Bucket List

You mention Florida, and I imagine most people instantly picture Disney World. However, Florida is much more than just amusement parks. My husband and I moved to the Sunshine State from Colorado in June 2011. We suffered a bit of culture shock at first, but we are slowly learning to embrace all that Florida has to offer. That doesn't mean we're not terrified of the upcoming summer and its heat though.

The lack of winter still has us confused, but that only means we get to enjoy things that most people miss out on during certain months of the year. (I would know. I grew up in northern Michigan.) Sometimes we really miss the mountains, dry air, snow, and skiing. Those things have made way for charming small towns, palm trees, beaches, endless entertainment, and a large selection of state parks.

My husband and I put together a Florida bucket list last year, but we need to amend it since we live in a different part of the state now. We did cross a few things off of our last list. It may be easier to start over instead of changing the last list, so here we go.

.: our new central Florida bucket list 2013 :.

visit St. Augustine and see the Castillo de San Marcos

experience a sunrise on the Atlantic coast

spend a day at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

see Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba at Downtown Disney

kayak the intracoastal or Wekiwa Springs or both

drive to Key West and spend at least one night there

visit the antique markets in Mount Dora

go deep sea fishing

take part in an art deco architecture tour of Miami

eat our weight in food at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival

see an Orlando Magic or Solar Bears game

I'm sure my husband would still like to kite surf (not me)

visit downtown Orlando

eat at as many local restaurants as we can (a post in itself)

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Some things in our list are not found in central Florida,

but that doesn't mean we can't take a two-day trip eventually.

We obviously have lists of restaurants we'd like to eat at, music venues for a night out, and various other little things. This list is really just the tip of the iceberg, but I think it's a decent start. It's fun having goals. I'd hate to move away and wish we had done more Florida things, because there are still things I wish we had done while living in Colorado. For instance, we never made it up the Pike's Peak cog railway. Major regret! We don't want to miss out on any special Florida experiences.

Anyone out there have suggestions

of places to eat, things to do, etc..?