Tips for Visitors and Residents
We offer here a collection of tips, advice, precautions, and opinions relevant to the region of South Florida. This collection will be based mostly on knowledge acquired from decades of residing in and traveling around this unique region but may also note anything of major importance that we hear about or run across in the "breaking news" of the area.
Directly below is an index to most of, but not all, the tips. The left "tip subject" column is meant to generally categorize the tips, with the more specific tip descriptions (which are clickable direct links to the tips) in the rightmost column.
Index to Tips (clickable links)
| Tip Subject | Tip Description (clickable links) |
|---|---|
| Tech Tip: | If you are using the Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer browser... |
| Everglades Advice: | The Everglades, if you go... |
| SoFla Advice: | Insect Repellents |
| SoFla Advice: | The Sunshine State and the State of Vitamin D |
| SoFla Advice: | A Precaution on Sunscreen Lotions |
| SoFla Warning: | A Rare Danger found off the Beaten Path, or on it - the Florida Scorpion |
| SoFla Weather: | Florida is said to be the "Lightning Capital of the World" |
| SoFla Weather: | How to NOT be a Lightning Rod |
| SoFla Weather: | Trying to Reason with Weather Radar Season |
| Visiting SoFla: | The Dangers of Beach Dune Overwalks |
| Visiting Hollywood: | North Beach "Facilities" |
| Driving SoFla: | Speed Traps, Camera Traps, and Canals |
| Driving SoFla: | Avoid South Florida Thoroughfares at Rush Hour |
| Visiting here: | Tip on Florida's micro-climates, where to stay in summer... |
| Visiting here: | THE Organic Market in Hollywood |
Using a live tropical webcam as a desktop screensaver
If you enjoy "screensaver" slideshows of your favorite picture collections, you might want to consider the following suggestion for an interesting alternative once in a while. Click on this link to the live Marco Island beach webcam, then on the webcam page, click on the "full screen" button on the rightmost side of the bottom menu bar. The resultant webcam image may be a little "grainy" up close, but walk across the room to observe a better visual effect... Note that this webcam is only good during daytime hours (GMT - 5), and of course any other webcams that have full screen capability can be employed in the same fashion...
Go Back to IndexFlorida is said to be the "Lightning Capital of the World"
Lightning is the #1 weather killer in Florida, killing more than all other weather sources combined. Florida leads the U.S. in lightning deaths and injuries -- we already have there deaths this year at only the start of the season. Of the statistics that you do not see, note that lightning inflicts severe life-long debilitating injuries on many more than it kills. Most importantly, if you are unfamiliar with Florida, during thunderstorm season, lightning can strike miles away from those huge thunderheads, and this can happen on a (sunny) beach since a human being is often the tallest object in the area. If there is a thunderstorm in the area, if you can hear thunder, it's wise to just get out of the water and off of the beach... If you would like to peruse a great live lightning strike map of Florida, click on this link to the SOFLA weather site. Note first that this site provides toggle buttons at the top of the map to invoke timed loops, zoom in and out, like that -- all very valuable if you want to get an idea of what might be coming at you, or not coming at you. Note that the lightning strikes are color coded according to how recent they are (there is a key to the right, "CG" means cloud to ground strike, "IC" means intracloud lightning). Of course, if there is no lightning in the entire area (pretty rare on summer days), then the map will be devoid of strikes.
Go Back to IndexHow NOT to be a Lightning Rod
If you do get caught in an area where there is a possiblity of lightning striking, some signs of potential danger to watch for are that if any of your hair "stands on end" (electrostatically) to any extent, or if you feel unusual tingling sensations (the video guy says he does ALL the time), or if you sense a buzzing sensation from nearby rocks or metal objects (especially wire fences), take immediate action. Some actions would be to get away from the buzzing objects (even if it is your partner -- seriously, if in a group spread out, away from the potentional strike zone) to a lower area if feasible, then crouch down (do NOT lie down flat on the ground NOR should you put your hands on the ground [maybe put them over your ears instead?]), close your eyes, and if you have any significant amount of metal on you get rid of it (before you put your hands over your ears of course...). In case you somehow arrived at this topic without first noting the previous topic on Florida being the lightning capital of the world, this is a link to a great online live lightning strike map of Florida which you can check before you go outside.
Go Back to IndexTrying to Reason with Weather Radar Season
Every year at the start of our local monsoon season, we tend to get caught outside in a cold torrential downpour, which serves as a very strong reminder to get our local weather radar bookmarks back to the forefront and check out what is new and better. This year, we were delighted to find some real innovations and thought we should tip you off to the best one to come along in quite a few years. The Weather Underground site has made a major breakthrough on animated weather radar with all the capabilities of Google Maps, to include zooming and click-on to "dragging" of the map -- this eliminates the need to check out several different weather maps for the same info that you can get with this single map. They also have options that you can set and save your preferences for your personal map. Click on this link to our Wundermap to get a visual of it -- if there are no storms in the area when you click on this link, then it will just look like a Google Map (in which case you could click on "region" or "continent" in the upper left to get a wider view and then continually click on a stormy area to zoom in to see the details [clicking on an area does an automatic zoom]...). Note that you will have to set your own options for the map, like the desired location, zoom level, type of map ("hybrid" is best), animation, and so on, then be sure to select save. Suggested starter "preferences": click OFF "weater stations", click ON the "nexrad" box, then click ON the "storm tracks" box (under display options), then click on the rightmost side of the "animate" bar (such that 6 frames per second is set), then click on "hybrid" (upper right), then on the zoom bar to the top left click on the plus sign to zoom in to the desired level, and just hold down left click and move the cursor to drag the map to where you want...then be sure to hit "save wundermap prefs" to lock in your settings (you should also "bookmark" at that point). Note that if you have some stormy weather on the map, that there might be little circles and squares within the heavier storm areas -- click on these and a popup will provide details about the storm. Also, note the directional cones provide speed and time of arrival (see "key" to the right). Ain't it cool? Would be interesting to see what a hurricane would do to the map, although I would really prefer to never find out (lost my enthusiasm for experiencing hurricanes back in '05 with Katrina, Rita, and Wilma hitting our area [yes, Katrina hit here first])...
Go Back to IndexDriving thru Florida and "Lovebugs"
This is a tip for anyone driving to South Florida for the first time in the late spring or early fall that might be unaware of the "lovebug" dilemma.
Long story short, traveling the turnpikes and interstates at high speeds during those times you may encounter "flights" of the insects called lovebugs, which will gum up your vehicle's front end and windshield. Lovebug flights can number in the hundreds of thousands. The slow, drifting movement of the insects is almost reminiscent of snow fall. Two major flights occur each year, first in late spring, then again in late summer. The spring flight occurs during late April and May, the summer during late August and September. Flights extend over periods of four to five weeks.
If you suspect that you might be subjected to this ghastly phenomenon, we recommend outfitting your vehicle with a front end "screen" to keep the radiator from being adversely affected. The other main consideration is that you need to remove any remnants of these bugs from your vehicle before it dries -- the Florida turnpike has vehicle washing stations at their rest stops for this purpose. Lovebugs are also found from all areas bordering the Gulf of Mexico as well as into Georgia and South Carolina.
Alert! Parking on Hollywood Beach
If you might happen to be going to Hollywood Beach on a busy weekend/holiday looking for a parking place, you might want to first peruse the article at this link, Hollywood Beach Quagmire
Go Back to IndexThe Sunshine State and the State of Vitamin D
Most everyone knows that when their skin is exposed to sunshine, vitamin D3 is formed on the surface of your skin. But we have found that not everyone knows that complete absorption of the vitamin through your skin takes up to 48 hours. And, that if you shower with soap before that 48 hours is up, you will simply wash much of the vitamin D away -- so you need to delay washing as much of the sun exposed parts of your body, as is reasonable, with soap for about two full days. You can still take showers, just use soap only on "areas where the sun don't shine", but avoid as much as possible using soap on the majority of the sun exposed areas (such as arms and legs). The exception would be, unless exposed to bacteria from beach sand or ocean water... Also regarding vitamin D, check the tip below on sunscreens.
Go Back to IndexA Precaution on Sunscreen Lotions
Reliable sources indicate that four out of five sunscreen lotions do NOT adequately protect consumers and may contain harmful chemicals. For more information and a list of the least damaging sunscreen lotions, click on this link to a CNN article on the subject. In summary, note that sunscreens with UVB "protection" reduce vitamin D production by as much as 99.9 percent. Also, the UVA rays are the most damaging and are the primary cause of sunburn and carcinogen production, so if you must employ a sunscreen, ensure that it has UVA protection. Lastly, two non-toxic ingredients that protect against both UVA and UVB rays are titanium dioxide and zinc oxide -- they have been used for over 75 years as reportedly safe sunscreens.
Go Back to IndexRecent Findings on Vitamin D
Before we get off of the subjects concerning vitamin D, we feel compelled to point out that this nutrient has recently been acknowledged to prevent many types of cancers, and therefore absorption of the natural form is very important (as is supplementation if you have limited sun exposure). We will not attempt to document this subject here, but will provide a couple of links on recent scientific reports confirming the findings of the studies. The actual report is on the Annals of Epidemiology site, which is by subscription only. So if you do not subscribe to that site and prefer not to join, click on this link for free information on the study. Click on this link to the Annals of Epidemiology report.
Insect Repellents
Wherever you may venture that you may encounter an abundance of critters such as mosquitoes, deer flies, ticks, or no-see-ums, you should consider using insect repellents. However, note that most commercial products contain "DEET". Many folks are unaware that DEET will not only repel insects, it will actually kill them dead. And DEET will not only melt plastic, but has been found to impair human brain function, muscle control, and behavior (the video guy has been known to use a DEET spray as a breath freshener)... This is a vast subject, so you might want to do your own research on it, as we will not attempt to cover it all here, and will just pass along advice to not use any DEET products -- you might also want to avoid anything that lists "inert ingredients" unless you trust the maker of the product, but these days, better to be safe. We recommend that if you must use a repellent, go with natural ingredients such as citronella, lemongrass oil, peppermint oil, garlic, and vanillin (not vanilla, but vanillin) -- again, do some research and good luck with that. Note that garlic does come in a spray form for use as a repellant, but oral ingestion is (also) recommended for the other health benefits...
Go Back to IndexThe Everglades, if you go...
This is just another "placemark" where we will post an initial blurb on the subject as a reminder to expand upon it down the road, so do not look at this as thorough. And we should first interject a disclaimer that the Everglades is a vast region with many entry points and we have not personally visited all areas encompassed by "The River of Grass", but we do have some knowledge of Shark Valley, Everglades National Park, and Fakahatchee Strand State Park. Of those, we recommend the latter, Fakahatchee Strand, known as
“the Amazon of North America” (and is adjacent to Big Cypress Preserve). Fakahatchee is located in the southwestern corner of the Everglades and is at least a day-trip from the east coast but likely best as an over-nighter (accommodations of Marco Island, Sanibel Island, Captiva Island, and Everglades City are nearby). Shark Valley might be your choice if you want to bike, or walk, or take the tram to the observation tower, and maybe have your picture taken near live alligators (which are hopefully sedated or at least well fed?) in their natural surrounding (NOT fenced in). Outside of that Shark Valley is just an expanse of flat sawgrass prairie, not much to see or do (certainly no sharks), without the hardwood hammocks of the park or the strand. The national park might be less than anticipated also, altho they do have extensive boardwalks, canoeing, camping, a lodge, guided tours, all that... Lastly for now, since the 'Glades is just a big (but a one of a kind) swamp, if you visit during the peak of summer months you will encounter not only maximum heat (highs in the 90's) and humidity (ditto 90's), but mosquitoes and biting fly populations will be at their height (consequently, not many people).
Note that if you do take in the Everglades, invasive non-native Burmese pythons have grown to a significant population in the watery regions -- so if you let your pet out to potty, you might want to keep it on a short leash (pets are allowed in the park but they are NOT allowed on any park trails). Footnote: although the pythons are predatory to wildlife (even alligators) in the park, no humans (or pets) have been reported to be endangered. But, if you run across a tabloid headline that a child was killed by a python in Miami (FloriDUH), that report is true -- but it was a privately owned "pet" within the owners residence, not in the wild, not in the Everglades... Still, we would advise against wading through any deep waters of ANY part of the immense swamp (some people actually do that...).
The Dangers of Beach Dune Overwalks.
If you are new to the beach broadwalk, areas of Hollywood Beach north and south of the central part of it have natural dune vegetation, a.k.a. sea grape and sea oat habitats, which are populated with dense vegetation of all types, inhabited by some insects as well as critters like maybe scorpions (see next tip), snakes, and various reptiles of the miniature komodo dragon type. So, at various points along the broadwalk, access to the beach is provided for via "overwalks", some with steps, some that are just ramp inclines without steps. The potential for danger is incurred by the fact that the beach broadwalk "bike path" abutts directly up to the dune habitats with the overwalks. Consequently, if you are biking or blading or running or even just walking in the "path", be aware that "children" tend to jump off of the steps directly onto the bike path, without looking of course. The other danger is that bikers, especially the little three wheeled "recumbents" that are low to the ground and difficult to see, tend to go joyriding down the overwalk inclines directly into the path at speed (wheeeee - crunch!). Of course, the local hospital emergency rooms, orthopedic surgeons, and the physical therapy rehab specialists think this is great for business, but if you prefer to avoid meeting them all, be aware of this danger and be very observant when approaching an overwalk at speed. One more problem that we have noticed, is that if you have been on the beach, have on sandals, with sand on them of course, and are walking down one of the steeper slippery overwalk ramp inclines, be aware that many folks have been observed to have their feet slip out from under them in such situations -- if not painful, very embarassing, and possibly em-bare-assing if wearing a bikini.
Go Back to IndexA Rare Danger found off the Beaten Path, or on it - the Florida Scorpion
Florida is home to three different types of scorpions, which typically are rarely sighted, but that depends on location. First, scorpions are NOT venomous, but their sting can range from irritating to very serious depending upon the sensitivity of the stingee. Secondly, the chance of seeing one of these critters is rare, but be cautious in bushy, brushy, wooded areas. The video guy used to live two blocks over from our current residence, and whereas they were found quite often there (even inside his kayak), we have not seen one in five years of living at this location, just two blocks away and a very similar residence to the old one. Note that if you venture into dense seagrape habitats (see next tip below), be aware that we have observed an increasing number of scorpions squished on the pavement next to these areas (so, if you are walking the pavement barefoot, be observant...). If you do not know what a scorpion looks like, click on this link for a picture and some info on Florida scorpions.
Go Back to IndexHollywood North Beach "Facilities"
There is about a one and a half mile stretch of Hollywood's North Beach where bathroom/restroom facilities are (seemingly...) non-existent. This pottyless stretch runs from the Turtle Cafe in North Beach Park all the way up to Dania Beach (there is a pier at the north end of Dania Beach for a location marker). The suggestion we offer is to avoid that section for a day at the beach. If you find yourself unable to avoid it, there are two solutions. The first and most common is to venture into the seagrapes, but watch where you step, obviously, and keep an eye out for scorpions (see prior tip). The second solution is to go for a little walk to the west (about 100 yards), across AIA, and there you will find the intracoastal waterway broadwalk with interspersed picnic areas and bathroom facilities. Our bottom line on this, again, is to avoid this area, as well as the North Beach Park picnic area on the weekends in summer -- if you just have to do a picnic gig for some reason, go on up to John U Lloyd State Park.
Go Back to IndexCruising South Florida via Google Street View
If you are planning a South Florida trip with the idea of using this area as a relaxing home base centrally located to all regional attractions and convenient to major thoroughfares and all types of transportation you might want to consider using Google Maps Street View to go check out potential destinations. We are going to add some links to specific street views, such as the Everglades, the Florida Keys Overseas Highway, Coconut Grove, Fort Lauderdale Beach, South Beach, Alligator Alley, Key West, downtown Hollywood (sorry you cant check out the broadwalk that way, but you can take a stroll on the North Surf Road broadwalk extension), like that...
Go Back to IndexSpeed Traps, Camera Traps, and Canals
Try to keep in mind that if you are driving around South Florida, it is very easy to be distracted and lose sight of the fact that you may be traveling at what seems to be a very reasonable rate of speed for the road that you are on and not notice that the posted speed limit is well below what it would seem that it should be. Two areas where the speed limit is a little low in the Hollywood area are Dania Beach Boulevard east of US 1/Federal Highway and AIA/South Ocean Drive just south of Hollywood Boulevard. 'Nuff said...
Also be aware that most cities on the Gold Coast have installed "red-light cameras" at intersections with traffic lights. The intent of the cameras is to capture the license plate number of any vehicles running a red light and then send out a traffic ticket to the license plate holder. The catch here is that some yellow lights tend to be much too short, and the precaution is to pay close attention to (and slow down for) "stale" green traffic lights. As an aside to this subject, never assume because a traffic light is green (or because there is a four way stop sign intersection), that cross traffic will stop......
Lastly and most importantly, canals and waterways run parallel and very close to many roadways in South Florida. With a preponderance of distracted tourists, old folk on medication, young folk on drugs, any age on alcohol, road ragers, people in a hurry, and so on, that this area experiences a high number of vehicles ending up unexpectedly in said canals, and in some cases the vehicle occupants are unable to get either the doors open or windows down to escape the fast sinking hunk of metal which promptly fills up with unbreathable water. Locals being aware of this potential situation, keep a hammer or other heavy object under the seat to break out the window should they find themselves in this situation. So, try to stay out of the canals, but pick up one of those coral rocks from the beach and keep it in the car just in case - you can always add it to your rock garden back home when you find it under the seat next summer.
Avoid South Florida Thoroughfares at Rush Hour
Since it is of significant importance, we are going to duplicate a driving tip here that originated and still resides on the "Visit Here" page of this website. A precaution if you are new to the area and choose to drive, it is best to avoid the major thoroughfares during "rush hour", particularly down in the Miami area. If you must travel north/south at those times of day the Florida Turnpike is usually your best bet, although in southern Dade county even the pike is often very congested at rush hour, and parking-lot-like sometimes. So, if you're coming back from the keys late in the day, just plan to stop for a long leisurely dinner on Key Largo at Sundowner's and relax and enjoy the sunset while the traffic clears on the mainland). We should also point out that I-95 down toward Miami can be very rush-hour-like on weekend afternoons -- and if you are not familiar with the area and assume you can take I-95 to the Florida Keys, be aware that I-95 actually ends south of downtown Miami turning into U.S.1/Dixie Highway (which also tends to be parking-lot-like, just about any time...). There are many other transportation related tips over on the "Visit Here" page, just click on this link to the "Visit Here" page if you would like to peruse them.
Go Back to IndexFlorida Desktop Wallpaper (downloadable, free)
If you would like to put a beautiful scenic sunset on your desktop as "wallpaper" or maybe add a bunch of them to a tropical "screen saver", try this link for Florida Desktop Wallpaper. This is a great site for that kind of thing, and checks out as safe, we have even uploaded one of our own pictures as a sample sunrise to this site. Footnote: the link provided above was soon reported as "broken", and it was gone along with the one that we uploaded, so if you encounter a "not found" condition when clicking on the link, you will still arrive at the site, so just click on a category to the left, such as "beaches", and peruse the "thumbnails" to find something that you like, as they do have a preponderance of excellent tropical wallpapers...
The best Desktop Wallpaper ever
While on the subject of the wallpaper, check out the picture at this Redbubble link -- one of those "why didn't I think of that?" shots...
North Surf Road Broadwalk Extension Re-Paved
A tip for you south beach locals and in-landers that stopped blading the north Surf Road broadwalk extension because the road surface was getting a little rough, it has finally been repaved and is now as smooth as smirnoff ice -- but watch out, there tend to be patches of small black gravel in places that are hard to spot on the black surface. Further, for newcomers that venture out on North Surf Road, there is a "dogleg" turn about a quarter mile north which you should always enter very cautiously due to some others that enter it with absolute DISregard to caution at high speed -- be ready to dodge oncoming idiots...
Go Back to IndexTip on micro-climates, where to stay in summer...
Florida has numerous "microclimates", differing in various aspects. This is a vast subject which we do not attempt to cover here, but there are important points that we will mention for the benefit of potential vacationers that might be unaware.
If planning a summer vacation on Florida's east coast, it is best to stay on the beach and avoid inland accommodations. It is much cooler on the beach, and conversely much warmer inland. Also, with the ocean breezes prevailing easterly directions, the air is nice and fresh, free of automobile exhaust pollution. We should also mention that it is also warmer on the beach in winter, which can be significant during a "cold snap" (15 to 20 degree differences noted in article linked to below)...
If you are considering a summer vacation on Florida's west coast, be aware that you should check ahead to determine if there might be an occurrence of "red tide". Click on this link to a search on the subject for more information.
If interested in information on the local microclimates, click on this link to an article on the subject.
Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer, a.k.a. "IE" (iiiyyyeeee!)
This is important if you use Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer for your browser and especially if you are NOT using the latest version, which is version 8. If you do not know what version of IE you are using, click on the "Help" button and select "About Internet Explorer" and that will show you the version. If you are not on version 8, you need to upgrade, especially if you are still on version 6 (or below). Version 6 dates back to 2001, the stone age of digital media on the internet when computers had only a fraction of the speed and memory of today's computers. The world wide web/internet has changed dramatically since then and there are some major changes in process right now, and you need to upgrade your browser or you will start getting a message to the effect that your outdated browser does not support the features of this website (then we can truly call it Internet Eploder instead of Internet Explorer). Not to mention, that old version 6 of the browser is very slow and unsafe nowadays (not the newer IE versions are much better...).
For emphasis, many IE users are unaware of the following "critical vulnerability" alerts that are much too frequently generated about Windows/IE. Take the time to read this and if you have any sensitive information on your PC or if you do any type of online transactions that requires secure connections, we strongly advise you to click on the link below to check out alternate browsers.
ZDNet News: Jul 27, 2009 4:26:12 AM
In a rare move, Microsoft on Friday said it would be releasing security updates on Tuesday--outside of its monthly patch cycle--for a critical vulnerability in Internet Explorer... The vulnerabilities affect Windows 2000, Windows XP, Vista, and Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8
Now, consider that if you use IE, even if you have automatic updates enabled, known vulnerabilities such as these can go unpatched for days if not weeks, and hackers often exploit them... Click on this direct link to the browser problems post on the "Posts" page for recommendations on upgrading to an alternate browser.
Hollywood's Organic Market
On Sundays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm there is a sensational outdoor (under a tent) Organic Market (with juice bar) consisting of local produce as well as produce shipped from other regions around the states. The assortment is vast and the quality of the fruits and vegetables is superior. The taste of this organic produce is phenomenal compared to what now seems like the cardboard taste and texture of regular store bought commercially grown "stuff". The market is located on the beach broadwalk at the south end of the Ramada resort (at Hollywood Boulevard and AIA/Ocean Drive). Also, it's a fun visual and sensual trip, as the staff is energetic and entertaining and the freindly customers are a mix of beautiful scantily-clad beach-goers, eccentric tourists, and loco locals, with a high concentration of bohemian types, ex hippies, and "progressives". They have seating at the juice bar and even a "porch swing" -- many folks hang out just to watch the hubbub and the beautiful people.
Go Back to Index---------
Note that there is NO "copyright" on these tips, contrary to what might be implied by the "all rights reserved" wording at the bottom of this page (we have to get rid of that someday...). We welcome anyone to feel free to use any or all of these tips in any way that might be beneficial to the world, but would suggest a typical "disclaimer" of some sort...
.If you have questions or recommendations you may either send us an email at jeb@lifesacoast.com or leave a comment at the bottom of this webpage.
.If you are interested in visiting the area, click on "Visiting Here".
.If you would like to help us out with a contribution in the interest of improving the performance of this site and the quality of the videos, click on "Donate".
.Links to video pages: Sunrises, Sunsets, Flora, Fauna, Nature, Beach, Broadwalk, Clouds, Boats, Archives, Best Sunrises, Best Sunsets.
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