OT-Florida beaches

[la79al]

We are heading to FL next month and while I have managed to talk hubby into one day at Epcot, that is all we have planned so far. He is hoping to do a ton of fishing, which I don't mind as long as DD and I have something to do during that time. So we are looking for FL beaches with boardwalks or plenty of other stuff for DD and I to do. Also, any good fishing spots with something to do nearby. I am also looking for a good mall, because I am under the illusion that a mall in FL would be more fun than a mall in PA Any suggestions? TIA

 

[jenrein]

There is Millenia Mall in Orlando, it is really nice. Also the closest beaches would be Daytona, or Cocoa probably and they will still be a hike. Fishing...saltwater or fresh?

 

[Artist]

I am always recommending Cocoa Beach. LOTS to do there, fishing off the pier, or perhaps in Cape Canaveral (there is a state park there). Shopping- Cocoa Village, Merritt Island Mall and a ton of strip malls in Merritt Island.
My Mom lives there and we go two or three times per year. You could also visit Kennedy Space Center, "The Dinosaur Store" and stroll around Cocoa Beach. You can even do one-day cruises- there are some casino boats that are free, fishing charters, etc.
HTH!
-Danielle

 

[NotUrsula]

So we are looking for FL beaches with boardwalks or plenty of other stuff for DD and I to do.

I've never seen a beach in Florida that had a real NE-style boardwalk such as you might find at the Jersey Shore. The truth is that in Florida most people value the opposite in a beach; the less developed the better. The point for most folks is to either swim, snorkel, play in the sand or surf-cast.
At the very least you'll probably find the amusements on the opposite side of the coast road, so that you have to cross traffic to get to them from the beach itself.

Are you driving, and how long do you have? I ask because in March, you'll need to be pretty far south to actually get into the water; probably no further north than Ft. Myers or Palm Beach. Those communities are WAY south of Orlando; most people fly from Orlando if possible. On parallel with Orlando or north of it the water is going to be no warmer than about 70F in March; too cold to do more than wade for most people.

If you want shopping, then the area around Ft. Lauderdale and Palm Beach is probably your best bet. Palm Beach has some of the most exclusive boutiques on the East Coast, along Worth Avenue. http://www.worth-avenue.com/ For folks with less rarified tastes, there is also Sawgrass Mills just outside Ft. Lauderdale; it is the world's 4th largest outlet mall, and also contains a nice children's museum called Wanadoo City.

The only Florida beaches I have been to that have a whole lot of other amusements within a couple of blocks have been Ft. Myers, the north end of Daytona, and Panama City. I'm sure there are others, though; because I admit that I rather hate kitschy beaches -- I prefer the sort that have no businesses at all, where all you can see for miles is sand and sea.

What kind of fishing does your DH plan to do? Different areas specialize in different types of angling and different species of fish. If he is after Tarpon, he'll want to be down in the flats near the Keys at that time of the year, they migrate through the Keys in March. (If you don't fish, I should tell you that Tarpon are not edible. Enormous, and a great challenge to catch, but they taste like a bottle of rancid oil. No one will ask you to clean one for dinner.)

 

[la79al]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. DH doesn't seem to care what kind of fishing, though he will probably prefer saltwater. The only fishing they are doing around here is ice fishing so anything is better than that. I am only looking for a beach with something else to do because he could fish all day, and I will encourage him to do that but I don't anticipate being able to entertain a baby on a beach all day (in fact the thought of that much sand and her current er, eating habits, makes me cringe), so even him dropping us off at a nearby mall or similar would work. We are actually not staying in Orlando, but in Ocala so pretty much everything we do is going to involve a decent car ride. Maybe I'll just try to talk him into letting DD and I spend the week at Disney while he goes and tortures fish .

 

[NotUrsula]

We are actually not staying in Orlando, but in Ocala so pretty much everything we do is going to involve a decent car ride.

That's not a decent car ride; that's a fairly prohibitive car ride. What on earth made him pick Ocala as a fishing destination? Any fishing he'll be doing in Marion Co. (Ocala) is going to be freshwater, mostly bass in Lake Delancey and Lake Bryant. The major tourist attraction in Ocala is the Silver Springs park; which is mostly glass-bottom boat rides and a zoo. Shopping isn't a big activity in Ocala, though they do have a mall.

It's around 90 miles from Ocala to WDW. The nearest saltwater fishing to Ocala is going to be at Ormond Beach, on the East Coast about 75 miles from Ocala; it's just north of Daytona. Ormond itself is pretty residential and does not have an oceanfront fishing pier (they do have some small inlet piers, though); you would have to go further south to Daytona for most attractions, and for offshore fishing charters. The best inshore saltwater fishing in the general area is on the Mosquito Lagoon, part of which is in southern Volusia county, down around Merritt Island near the Space Center. (The Lagoon is a fisherman's paradise, but it's definitely the middle of nowhere for any other tourism purpose.)

It would make more sense for you to be dropping him off, if he's fishing. He's going to want to be out on the water at dawn, so I don't know where he would be dropping you at that time of the morning.

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

That's not a decent car ride; that's a fairly prohibitive car ride. What on earth made him pick Ocala as a fishing destination? Any fishing he'll be doing in Marion Co. (Ocala) is going to be freshwater, mostly bass in Lake Delancey and Lake Bryant. The major tourist attraction in Ocala is the Silver Springs park; which is mostly glass-bottom boat rides and a zoo. Shopping isn't a big activity in Ocala, though they do have a mall.
It's around 90 miles from Ocala to WDW. The nearest saltwater fishing to Ocala is going to be at Ormond Beach, on the East Coast about 75 miles from Ocala; it's just north of Daytona. Ormond itself is pretty residential and does not have an oceanfront fishing pier (they do have some small inlet piers, though); you would have to go further south to Daytona for most attractions, and for offshore fishing charters. The best inshore saltwater fishing in the general area is on the Mosquito Lagoon, part of which is in southern Volusia county, down around Merritt Island near the Space Center. (The Lagoon is a fisherman's paradise, but it's definitely the middle of nowhere for any other tourism purpose.)

It would make more sense for you to be dropping him off, if he's fishing. He's going to want to be out on the water at dawn, so I don't know where he would be dropping you at that time of the morning.

And its not even a very good mall(Paddock Mall owned by Simon). I gotta say, if my parents were not there, Ocala is not a place I would choose to vacation. Fresh water fishing is available but as was mentioned already salt water is a good drive.
Silver Springs is nice for a day at best, especially with a small one.

 

[la79al]

He has family in Ocala, so free lodging. We know we are going to have a car ride to anything. We just need to make sure it is worth the car ride.

 

[NotUrsula]

I thought that it might be something like that. I'd say get yourself your own vehicle, or the odds are that you'll be trapped with the womenfolk, who will probably try to talk you out of going anywhere out of town alone with the baby.

In your situation I would consider Pricelining a room somewhere closer to a beach or in Orlando for at least one night, if not two. Daily three-hour plus roundtrips to get anywhere you want to go are going to suck all of the fun out of the vacation really fast.

 

[la79al]

We really need to sit down and figure out what we want to do. We have a budget we are trying to stay within so I might have to see if a hotel will fit. DH does not often ride with DD in the car but I have a feeling he is going to be in for a shock at how well she does not do on long rides. I think the 18 hour one there is going to push us all over the edge. No one is going to try to talk me out of going out with the baby. If anything, they will be giving me suggestions on where to go with the baby, which is another issue altogether...

 

[jenrein]

Haha, I live in Ocala. Yes our mall stinks! Its tiny! I love living here because its peaceful and full of fairly quiet people- but I dont love it when I have the urge to get out and do something! We visit the beaches at least once a month. Its about an hour and a half to Clearwater and the same to Daytona or Ormond. Not that bad as long as you are spending most of the day there. Fishing- there are a lot of parks for freshwater around here. Willoughby Park is one, there's Lake Weir too.

 

[NotUrsula]

OP, one other thing re: your budget. If your DH wants to go saltwater fishing, does he already have the tackle for it (or can he borrow it from someone?)

Saltwater tackle and freshwater tackle are somewhat different in most cases; for one thing saltwater fish are generally a lot larger than most freshwater species, so you need heavier line and larger rods/reels. The best bait for saltwater fishing is normally live saltwater baitfish, which necessitates wading out with a cast net to catch your bait before getting serious about the actual day's fishing. To do this you need a cast net and a bait bucket in addition to your rod, reel and line, or you can use a sabiki on your rod to catch the baitfish that way, though that usually takes longer. Of course, you can also purchase live bait, but that gets pricey, especially if you are fishing in an area that has a large crab population (they snatch bait with annoying regularity.) Most saltwater fisherman run several lines at a time when fishing off a pier.

If he's coming all the way from PA and he's an avid fisherman, it would be a shame to stick to freshwater angling at this time of year in Florida, when with a little planning and effort he could have the experience of catching a tarpon that might weigh around 100 lbs., or at least a 30 lb. redfish.