Since Solivita is a Resort Style Community, surrounded by beautiful ponds, lush conservation, wildlife, golf courses, gyms, pools, restaurants, and a plethora of activities, living in Solivita is life on vacation; but it is still fun to plan and experience a new place, even if only for a few days. Florida offers lots of spots to make a quick escape to. Do you enjoy hiking, the natural environment, beaches, or are you a lover of cites? However, and wherever you like to vacation, Florida offers something for everyone.
If it is a cityscape you are looking for, a trip to Miami may be your ticket. Miami is a great place to spend a few days and now you can hop a train to Miami. Grab a cab to the Poinciana Train Station and in Kissimmee change from the Sun Rail to the Amtrak Train and ride to Miami. A direct train from Kissimmee will land you in Miami after 6 hours of train travel. No driving, no traffic, just an enjoyable day of riding the rails. When you arrive in Miami, a quick cab to your hotel will have you enjoying dinner and a cocktail before sunset. Miami is fun, lots of nightlife, restaurants, and people watching. After a few days in the city you can hop back on the train and return to the beauty and peace of Solivita. If a city escape is not your thing, how about a camping trip to a Florida dark sky park to view the stars.
Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park is surrounded by 54,000 acres of prairie and is located about 25 miles north of Okeechobee, FL. This park is internationally recognized for its lack of light pollution, the night sky above the prairie is inky black and campers can spot the milky way without using telescopes or binoculars. If you wish to star gaze, you will need to make camping reservations. Camping in the Park is not glamorous, and sorry to say but, GLAMPING accommodations are not available here. Camping at the Prairie Preserve State Park is basic, but a beautiful night gazing at stars, planets, and other celestial bodies in incomprehensible numbers, will make for an amazing experience. Jupiter and Saturn are both clearly visible in the night sky, or you may witness the International Space Station making its orbit around the earth. In my book, a beautiful evening dominated by a dark starry sky is an unforgettable experience and worth one night of sleeping in a tent. Of course, if camping is not your idea of a night away, visit the park in the daylight and enjoy the largest remaining tract of Florida dry prairie that exists. Many rare, threatened, and endangered species call this park home and you will have ample opportunity to catch sight of a grasshopper sparrow, crested caracara or a burrowing owl. During the fall and winter, the park offers ranger led prairie buggy tours to the remote areas. You will see spectacular scenery and abundant wildlife on the 2 – 3 hour adventure. Tours are offered from the first weekend in November to the end of March on Weekends. To avoid disappointment, please call ahead to reserve this tour.
After an evening in the woods, it is time to hit a hotel, enjoy a nice hot shower, and lay my bones on a beach. Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park is not too far from the east or the west coast beaches of Florida, so you have lots of options. There is just so much to do in Florida, I hope I do not run out of retirement and my adventurous spirit before I have ticked off every box on my Florida Bucket List.
