yogagirl's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member yogagirl on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/yogagirl en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 28 Dec 2007 21:34:03 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com Now entering Port Charlotte — Port Charlotte, Florida, United States http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/yogagirl/1/1198290660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/yogagirl/1/1198290660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/yogagirl/1/1198290660/tpod.html Fri, 28 Dec 2007 21:34:03 -0500 Merry Christmas from Florida!
Port Charlotte, Florida, United States

My brother's family lives in Port Charlotte, FL and I had the pleasure of navigating some crazy "shortcut" in the dark on my way from the Tampa airport.

It's a nice little area near the southern gulf coast. It was a little chilly while we were there so we didn't get to go to the beach very often, but the house they rent has a pool so that worked for me!
]]> The sands of Siesta Key — Sarasota, Florida, United States http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/yogagirl/1/1198376640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/yogagirl/1/1198376640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/yogagirl/1/1198376640/tpod.html Fri, 28 Dec 2007 21:31:09 -0500 Merry Christmas from Florida!
Sarasota, Florida, United States

Sarasota is a beautiful city!

We checked out Siesta Key Beach which has the whitest, softest sand ever. If you're ever in the area definitely give it a look!

After visiting the beach, we went to St. Armands Circle to have lunch and browse the shops.

Sarasota isn't a bad drive from Port Charlotte either, only about an hour. I was hoping to make it back there for Christmas Day but we didn't quite make it.
]]> Tampa to Port Charlotte — Tampa, Florida, United States http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/yogagirl/1/1198191600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/yogagirl/1/1198191600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/yogagirl/1/1198191600/tpod.html Fri, 28 Dec 2007 21:22:05 -0500 Merry Christmas from Florida!
Tampa, Florida, United States

My brother's family lives in Port Charlotte, FL, and instead of flying into the closer Sarasota airport I decided to fly into Tampa to save some money. It was actually cool, though, because I got to drive over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and that was quite the view.

I actually flew in on the 20th after dark so I didn't see much, but I had to drive back the next day to pick up my parents so I got to see quite a bit more on that trip.

In addition, I made a point to go hunting for a good restaurant to visit while in Tampa and I found a lot of recommendations for The Laughing Cat in a Latin historic district called Ybor City. The area was very neat with lots of interesting shops. It's known for handmade cigars so I made a point to pick up some of those for friends and family. The Laughing Cat was fantastic and I'm glad we made the very quick side trip to check out Ybor City instead of heading directly back to the highway and onto Port Charlotte.
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