An airboat ride is one of those classic Florida experiences people imagine before they visit the state — speeding across wetlands, skimming through marsh grass, and searching for alligators somewhere in the swamp. During a hot May afternoon at Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures outside Orlando, we found smooth rides, loud engines, plenty of birds, a few small gators, and one unexpected cloud of swamp flies.
Most of Florida’s old roadside attractions disappeared years ago under subdivisions, chain restaurants, and master-planned communities. Showcase of Citrus somehow didn’t. It’s still out there on US-27 in Clermont — a 2,500-acre working cattle and citrus ranch that’s been in the same family since 1989. I live next door, close enough that when the tour guide does his “where is everyone from” bit, Jon and I just laugh and gesture vaguely through the treeline.
Architecture cruise. Gangster bus tour. An underground speakeasy with 550 bottles of whiskey. Deep dish so garlicky we were still thinking about it two days later. And Wrigley Field. I pulled our whole Chicago trip into one guide — everything you need to plan it yourself.
Game day in Wrigleyville: cheezborgers, ice cream at Gallagher Way, a Zachary Old Fashioned on the Alma terrace, and Catalina Club seats for the Cubs vs Angels. Jon woke up excited. He didn’t stop.
Day two in Chicago: SUE the T. rex, a gangster bus tour with a guide who moonlights at Wrigley Field, and a deep dish pizza so garlicky we were still breathing it two days later.
I fell in love with Chicago within the first few hours — the architecture, the history, the energy. Day one was a river cruise past some of the most remarkable architecture in the world, a sports museum we stumbled into by accident, and an underground speakeasy with the largest collection of American whiskey in the world. It was a busy day, but wow!
If you’re going to start a stadium bucket list, you start somewhere that means something. For us, that was Wrigley Field. Getting there involved weather delays, a cancelled dinner reservation, and a last-minute pivot that ended with one of the best old fashioneds of my life.
When Shula’s Steak House closed at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin after nearly 30 years, we were sad. It was our place. Then Bourbon Steak by Michael Mina moved in. How do you replace an institution? Turns out, pretty well.
I’ve been to Hawaii, attended a real luau, and watched a Māori hāngī. The Polynesian Fire Luau in Orlando is none of those things — but if you can’t get to the islands, having the islands come to you makes for a fun night.
I went to Gatorland to see leucistic alligators — the rarest genetic variation of alligator, with white skin and blue eyes. I stayed for the monster truck ride, the boardwalk, and the alligator jumping out of the water for bait. Gatorland is better than it sounds.