Henry Plant: The Florida Legend You Never Knew
Henry Plant didn’t just build the original iteration of the hotel that is now The Belleview Inn. He’s the little-known individual responsible for kick-starting the development of Florida.
Read moreWhether you're planning where to go next or what to do on an already‑booked vacation, discover the travel destinations with Opal
Where to Stay: Opal Grand Oceanfront Resort & Spa
Tropical trees reaching up to a circular skylight flanked by flowing water walls, living green walls, and swinging chairs welcome guests at the main entrance of the newly transformed Opal Grand Oceanfront Resort & Spa. The shoreside sanctuary, which went through a…
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4 Landmarks to Live Up Key West’s Literary Past
The history of Key West has been marked by the comings and goings of many literary greats, from Ernest Hemingway to Judy Blume. Here’s how you can walk in their footsteps…beyond just a visit to the oh-so-obvious Hemingway House on Whitehead Street.
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Your Best Key West Fest
For such a small island – sizing in at just 8 square miles – Key West sure knows how to go big when it comes to parties. That’s perhaps best demonstrated in the never-ending merry-go-round of eclectic annual festivals that call this southernmost outpost home. Here’s a look at the upcoming conch-blowing contests, Hemingway look-alikes, and mind-blowing masquerades to frame a future visit around.
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Behind the Brushstrokes: Belleview Inn’s “Queen on the Gulf” Still Life
There are some 50-odd items and artifacts packed into this 72- by 60-inch still life hanging in the lobby of Belleview Inn by master Florida artist Christopher Still that pay homage to the inn’s illustrious history. While we can’t cover all of them in this one blog post, here are a special few to pay attention to.
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Places of the Past: Belleview Inn’s Nods to the Gilded Age
While Belleview Inn is obviously not the same as it was when it was first built in 1897, there is still a head-spinning amount of preserved portions and unique nods to the past scattered throughout. You just need to know where to look.
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A Photographer’s Guide to Seeing the Best of Bar Harbor
Maine-native and photography-guru, Greg Hartford offers up some of his favorite places to wile away a day in Bar Harbor and beyond.
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A Primer on The Porcupines Islands of Bar Harbor’s Frenchman Bay
At the top of the list of things to do in Bar Harbor, Maine, for kayakers looking to experience some rugged Downeast mother nature, The Porcupine Islands clustered around Bar Harbor are a curious collection of evergreen-spiked domes with a unique history, to boot.
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Street Smart: Rockland’s Main Street
When it comes to things to do in Rockland, Maine, there’s no better place to explore than the town’s Main Street, a one-mile stretch through downtown that feels perfectly warm and familiar to New Englanders and outsiders alike.
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The Hunt for the “Grey Ghost:” How to Catch a Bonefish in the Florida Keys
May and June signal the start of bonefish season in the Keys. But this coveted sportfish isn’t nicknamed the “Grey Ghost” and “Silver Bullet” for no reason.
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