shoreline boasts some of the finest, whitest
ADVENTURE LANDING/JACKSONVILLE BEACH • VISIT FLORIDA®
sand in the world. Off the upper northeast coast, Amelia Island is a place where families can ramp up the fun with guided horseback rides on the beach—one of the few places in America where this sport is allowed (ameliaisland.com).
SKY HIGH Forty-five minutes east of Orlando on Florida’s famous Space Coast, The Kennedy Space Center (kennedyspacecenter.com) is the only place on Earth where kids can tour launch areas, meet a veteran astronaut for lunch, observe giant rockets, train in space-flight simulators and even view an actual launch (spacecoastlaunches.com). The center also features a recently redeveloped Children’s Play Dome, an area where junior astronauts can “lift-off,” climb a moon-rock wall, crawl through tunnels and slide to the “surface of the moon.” In addition, adults and children alike will be entertained by the story of the Hubble Space Telescope documented in the THE FLORIDA AQUARIUM/TAMPA BAY • VISIT FLORIDA®
new IMAX film, Hubble 3D, narrated by actor, Leonardo DiCaprio. Nearby the Kennedy Space Center, families with teens can literally take to the skies at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum in the C-47 Tico Belle, a Second World War aircraft used in the Normandy Invasion (vacwarbirds.org). The flight lets passengers imagine what it must have been like flying in the pre-dawn hours of June 6, 1944, toward the beaches of Normandy as part of the largest aerial invasion the world has ever seen. About halfway between Tampa and Orlando, vintage aircraft are also a huge attraction at Fantasy of Flight (fantasyofflight.com). The facility features a comprehensive museum containing more than 40 rare and vintage aircraft, flight simulators and guided tours. Replicating the earlier days of flying, family members can book 15- or 30-minute sightseeing flights in a vintage biplane. 2011 TRAVEL GUIDE TO FLORIDA
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