Smart Car Tour of Florida Part 1 - April 19th

[Wdhitch]

Smarties,

I thought it would be fun to schedule a few road trips to explore Florida and spend a day enjoying our cars. In the upcoming months I’m going to try to break up different areas of Florida into one day trips. With stops at local restaurants and attractions as well as off the beaten path roads that a lot of people don’t see too often my hope is that we can spend a relaxing day enjoying our cars. The only costs will be gas and any food or souvenirs you might pickup along the way.

There will be a need for registration for these events. I’m going to try to setup discounts at restaurants we may stop at and I’ll also need to advise them of the size of the group we have coming so they can be prepared. Registration is as easy as emailing me at bill@suncoastsmarts.com to let me know your coming and if you’ll have a passenger.

Part 1 – East Central Florida April 19th – 230 miles (drive time with stops about 7 hours)

Our first day trip will start in Temple Terrace. We’ll meet for an optional breakfast at the IHOP at Fowler Avenue and Morris Bridge Road starting at 8:30. At 10:00am we’ll head out in a group up 301 toward Zephyrhills. The route will then cut through the south side of Zephyrhills and over to US 98. We’ll jog east to one of the more interesting roads in Florida, State Route 471. Route 471 is known by local truck drivers as “The Run”. It’s has almost no curves and is minimal traffic lights as it provides the quickest route from Lakeland to northbound Interstate 75. Wildlife is abundant on this road… deer, bobcat and armadillos are commonly seen. At the north end of 471 we’ll pickup Interstate 75 north to exit 356. We’ll cut over to US 301 and take a nice ride through horse country. Our next stop will be The Orange Shop in Citra, FL. This is a neat little place that’s been around for years and is actually located in an orange grove. From Citra, well head west to Williston, FL and pickup US 41 South. We’ll head south on 41 passing through small town Florida including Dunnellon, Inverness and Brooksville (which isn’t so small anymore). Our day will end with dinner at Hungry Harry’s Famous BBQ in Land O Lakes, FL. Harry’s is a local landmark and is routinely voted as some of the best BBQ in Florida… the owners are also heavily involved in local charity work such as Habitat for Humanity.

The current plan is to stop about every hour for restrooms and fuel if needed. We will also stop for lunch at some point along the way. I’ll be running the route in the next couple of weeks to plan locations for these stops and I’ll have maps available on the day of the run. I look forward to seeing everyone and enjoying the ride.

Here’s a map link to the route as it currently stands:

<from:28.054934,-82.361557 to:Chancey Rd to:Branchborough, FL to:Tarrytown, FL to:NE 185th St to:SW 7th St/SR-121/SR-45/US-41 to:Inverness, FL to:3116 Land O Lakes Blvd, Pasco, Florida 34639 - Google Maps>


Hope to see you on the 19th
Bill Hitchcock

[gizimo]

oo idea camping cuz nicole loves camping!!! i was looking at caves do discover kinda like luray caverns in virginia...and i found something in the panhandle area near panama city...

Florida State Parks - FLORIDA CAVERNS STATE PARK

the site said theres a lot to do there...

its about 5 hours according to mapquest and like 341 miles from tampa... again my 2cents

[NCC1701]

gizimo, not to rain on your parade, But ... Marianna Caverns is a 218 mile detour from the described route ... nice place for a picnic though.

[gizimo]

i tried... i used mapquest and all... oh well...

[NCC1701]

Originally Posted by gizimo

i tried... i used mapquest and all... oh well...

Oh, don't get me wrong! I live about 50 miles from the caverns and have spent many pleasant days there. The guided tour is very interesting, the nature trails are fantastic, especially in the Spring when all the plants are fresh and green. There's a swimming hole, picnic areas, camping.

But, using MS Streets & Trips, I calculated the distance from this route's closest point (at Williston) to be 436 miles round trip. That's nearly double the proposed tour's distance.

Maybe there will be a tour in the Panhandle which could include Marianna?

[gizimo]

Originally Posted by NCC1701

Oh, don't get me wrong! I live about 50 miles from the caverns and have spent many pleasant days there. The guided tour is very interesting, the nature trails are fantastic, especially in the Spring when all the plants are fresh and green. There's a swimming hole, picnic areas, camping.

But, using MS Streets & Trips, I calculated the distance from this route's closest point (at Williston) to be 436 miles round trip. That's nearly double the proposed tour's distance.

Maybe there will be a tour in the Panhandle which could include Marianna?

i didnt do round trip... i did one way... but ill do a special trip up there just for that...another day another time...lol its on my summer todo list... it looked beautiful in the pics and i loved seeing lauray caverns so im sure id love seeing this one... thanks for bringing me to reality

[nprsmart]

The Florida Caverns State Park is definitely worth a visit, just not on a day trip like the one described for April 19th.

I've got this trip penciled in on my calendar. I need to check for schedule conflicts.

[gizimo]

I was thinging more of a weekend trip sometime in the future... nothing right away, it would need a lot of planing and such...

[NCC1701]

Next weekend. No posts since 2/24. Is this going to proceed as planned? Much interest?

I've got an appointment for this Tuesday (4/14) to have some upgrades to my car. A road trip like this would be a good shakedown for my new Nav unit and cruise control. Would be a 3 day-2 night trip for me ('cause I don't drive at night), meaning I'd be taking the following Moanday off work.

[Wdhitch]

Sorry I didn't post this.... Yes the event is most certainly happening and we'd love to have you. There's a decent Ramada Inn next to the IHOP we'll be meeting at if that's convenient for you. Hope to see you there!!!

The schedule, route and stops for our the first part of our Smart tour of Florida is now in place. Here’s the schedule… once on the road the timing could change but I actually ran the route today so the times should be pretty close:

8:30am to 9:30am – Optional breakfast at International House of Pancakes at 11710 Morris Bridge Road, Temple Terrace, FL 33617

9:30am to 10:00am – Welcome, distribution of maps and staging of the cars.

10:00am – Hit the road!!!!!

10:45am – Stop 1 – Subway/Shell Fuel Station at the corner of SR471 and SR50 in Tarrytown, FL. Fuel and clean restrooms… also has a subway if you want to pickup lunch for down the road.

11:15am – Back on the Road!!!!

12:00 noon – Stop 2 - Northbound Rest Area on I75 around mile marker 343 (just south of Ocala). We’ll be joined here by smarts from Orlando and The Villages as well as having a picnic lunch here. Lunch is whatever you would like to bring. There’s a large picnic area on the north end of the rest area that we’ll try to use.

12:45pm – Back on the Road!!!!

1:15pm – Stop 3 – The Orange Shop in Citra, FL. This is a quirky little shop with everything citrus!!! Restrooms are also available.

1:45pm – Back on the road!!!!

2:30pm – Stop 4 – McDonalds in Dunnellon, FL. Quick stop for restrooms and a stretch.

2:45pm – Back on the road!!!!

4:30pm – Stop 5 – Dinner at Hungry Harry’s Famous BBQ in Land O Lakes, FL. Enjoy a conversation with your fellow smart owners and some of the best BBQ around. Stick around down by the lake or head home if you like!! 

I’ve had some computer issues lately so if you are planning on attending this event please reply and let me know. I will need a count to give to Harry’s so they can be ready for us. As I said, I ran the route today and it’s a great time. I hope you can be there!!!

Bill Hitchcock
Suncoast Smarts