Florida bound, Spacecoast holidays

Q: Our children are eight and nine years old and we’re planning our first driving trip on the I-75 route to Florida during March Break. Our plan is to break the trip up with two overnight stays and to stop at other points of interest on the way. Any suggestions on what to see?

A:The route along the I-75 from Detroit to Florida takes in the entire lengths of Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia. Driving straight through is usually anywhere from 20 hours-plus, depending on your speed and destination once in Florida. Two overnight stays, therefore, could break the driving into six or seven hours per day. Or add a third night if you want to see a little of the sights along the way.

One of the best tools for this is the award-winning guidebook, Along Interstate 75, written by Canadian-born author Dave Hunter. The book is updated yearly and is available at all major bookstores. Not only does it offer such information as locally recommended accommodation, restaurants, sites, RV parking, emergency facilities, banks, playgrounds, and 24-hour Superstores, it also offers tips on discounts and saving money. Perhaps best of all, the book is so interesting in contents and design, it’ll keep your kids busy for hours.

To order a copy ($24.95), call Mile Oak Publishing at (905) 274-4356.

Q: Our next visit to Florida will include the Kennedy Space Center with hopes of seeing a shuttle launch. We’re a family of four and would like some suggestions on reasonably priced accommodations in that area.

A:The 'Spacecoast' itself includes the cities of Cocoa Beach, Titusville, Melbourne and Palm Bay, all of them in close proximity to the Kennedy Space Center and all with a number of hotel and motel accommodations and efficiencies. You’ll find this region refreshingly low-key where the Canaveral National Seashore is one undeveloped beach after another, and a main refuge for dozens of seabird and mammal species.

It can be lively, too, however, with lots of activity on Cocoa Beach for example, plus good restaurants, outlet shopping and family attractions. Within ten minutes of the space centre on Cocoa Beach is the Oceanside Inn, right in the heart of the action, next to landmark Cocoa Beach Pier. With nightly rates of around C$100, you’ll have everything you need, including a roof-top observation deck to watch shuttle launches.

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