The coasts may be more exciting for city folk and tourists, but Florida's interior includes many fascinating natural and cultural attractions of its own. Not to mention, Disney World is here!

Joe and Paul Tour Central Florida

	Occurred: 7/15/1968 Posted: 1/30/2024		Page Views: 1,798
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Photos and story about the time my friend Joe McGrath and I went on our first vacations without parents.
Estimated reading time: 8 minute(s) (1786 words)

The summer of 1968, I had left high school a junior and would return a senior. We had moved from St. Augustine Beach to St. Augustine itself, into a house on Sevilla Street that, coincidentally, had previously belonged to my classmate Joe Oliveros and his family. (To further illustrate the coincidental nature of this relationship, the Oliveros family moved into a house two doors down from my girlfriend and future wife, Mary Steinberg. It is, as they say, a small world.)

1972: Tommy Bartlett's Deer Ranch

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A visit to the old Tommy Bartlett's Deer Ranch in 1971.
Estimated reading time: 3 minute(s) (641 words)

The "Deer Ranch" was actually a petting zoo with a somewhat limited array of species. But it did give kids, tired of looking at the placid gardens of Silver Springs, a place to go and burn off some energy. It also included "Santa's South Pole", which was most interesting in that it seemed to think that "reindeer" and "deer" were the same species or, at the least, interchangeable.

1997 Disney World Vacation

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A vacation taken at Disney World in 1997 with my kids, Mom, and Michael
Estimated reading time: 2 minute(s) (407 words)

My favorite ride was the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror—a six floor elevator drop! Michael and I rode on it over and over—although, the first time, Michael was so terrified he actually bit my shoulder!