(upbeat electronic music) - [Colleen] I've traveled many places over the past few years, but one state I've made quite a few pit stops is Florida.

Florida is a place where families can go to find incredible seaside cuisine, sunny beach views, and plenty of family friendly activities for all ages.

It's time to take a tour of the Sunshine State on this best of episode of "Family Travel."

Welcome to Panama City Beach, Florida.

Welcome to Clearwater, Florida.

We're about to dive into Tampa Bay.

Welcome to Pensacola.

(upbeat rock music) Welcome to the Emerald Coast.

Welcome to the Florida Keys, I'm Colleen Kelly, and this is "Family Travel."

(upbeat electronic music) I've explored haunted theaters, sailed on dolphin cruises, parasailed over the ocean, ate freshly caught fish, and so much more.

(upbeat rock music) My name is Colleen Kelly, and when I was single, I lived abroad and traveled the world.

Then I became a parent and wondered how would I ever travel again?

So I set out to find a new way to travel and get back to exploring the world family style.

I'm here to guide you on how to get the most out of your family vacation.

Pack your bags and join me, Colleen Kelly, we're going on vacation.

"Family Travel with Colleen Kelly" is sponsored by... (serene orchestral music) - [Announcer] "Family Travel," brought to you in part by Ted Tetzlaff Law, attorneys for your personal and business needs.

- [Colleen] My family and I found ourselves diving head first into many adventures.

Florida's known for its water sports and the thrilling ocean experiences that we've had has brought us even closer.

One of my personal favorites was Flying High in Pensacola, where I went parasailing with my girls.

Woo.

Woo, I'm gonna explode.

Here we go.

Woo.

(boat engine roaring) With smiling Bob helping us reach high in the sky, the girls and I were able to enjoy the views.

(upbeat rock music continues) We decided to play a game and look for sea creatures below.

Oh, a turtle.

No way.

- I found one.

- It's tiny.

- You guys (indistinct) don't ever touch the Stingray.

- [Shea] I saw a Turtle.

- [Colleen] Did you see a turtle?

Woo.

(upbeat rock music continues) - [Bob] Gonna hit it standing up just like superheroes, right?

- [Colleen] Yeah.

(upbeat rock music continues) - [Bob] Beautifully done.

- That was fun.

- What'd you see?

- A turtle.

(Colleen laughing) - Nice.

- What an amazing experience with my daughters.

That might just match the time we went deep sea fishing for the first time in Panama City Beach.

You can find good fishing almost anywhere in Florida, but this particular trip was a pretty lucky one for us.

I would say this is a really good thing to do for all ages pretty much.

- It is.

- I mean, maybe not two year olds.

- Yeah.

- But six and above.

- Well, you know, family outing.

- Yeah, it's a great family thing.

- Get everybody together and get out here.

- Beautiful water.

- Get 'em active out here on the water.

- Yeah, get out to nature, that's what it's all about.

- I'll show you here.

You want to take your thumb, and put your thumb on the line, and this lever, you pull it back to release it, and then your thumb's kind of got control now.

You just loosen it up, you kind of use your thumb with a little bit of pressure, kinda like a break pad, it's gonna put a little bit of break on.

Let it go all the way to the bottom.

- Before we know, it seems we a nibble.

- Ready?

We got a fish, gonna reel that sucker in.

- Oh my gosh.

- Reel it in, girl.

Reel that sucker in.

That was quick, huh?

No squealing, just reeling.

Keep on reeling.

A little further.

- It's a family effort here.

- Teamwork.

Teamwork.

What we got here?

You got two, three of 'em.

- [Colleen] Oh.

- [Speaker] All three of them.

- [Colleen] Oh my gosh.

- You got three fish.

- Three trigger fish.

(people cheering) Look at that.

Three at a time, that's why it was so hard, huh?

- Yeah, that was (indistinct) - [Speaker] Three at a time.

- [Colleen] How did you get three at a time?

Oh my gosh, that was fun.

I've never seen anyone catch three fish.

That was great.

Since the fish we caught is off season, we release him back to his home and prepare for another catch.

Oh, got it.

- [Speaker] Now more reel in, put more reel in.

- You did it.

How was it?

And another.

Woo.

- There's another trigger.

These triggers are very abundant.

- [Colleen] Wow.

- And another.

- There they are.

- [Colleen] Woo, Look at it.

You caught... Oh my gosh.

Another great activity for all ages to partake in is cruising, and this gives you plenty of opportunities for dolphin watching, like when we travel to the Emerald Coast.

- Welcome aboard the Southern Star.

Would you like to see the dolphins today?

(people cheering) - [Colleen] Before we even leave the harbor, there are some other natives to the area who want our attention and our food.

These birds are a little more determined than I'm used to.

Oh.

Oh my gosh, you let us do this here?

We get to feed the birds?

Yeah.

- You can either throw it at them, or you can, if you feel really brave, you can hold your hand out and they might come get it.

- Okay.

(birds chittering) (Colleen giggling) - Did he grab it?

- It scared me.

- Oh.

(Colleen laughing) He got it.

Dolphins are extremely social animals, which is why they're often seen swimming in groups or pods.

(upbeat rock music) They also enjoy performing for an audience.

- [Speaker] All right, the dolphins are coming this way.

Everybody show them a little love.

Let's turn them on, clap, sing, cheering, let's do it.

- [Colleen] The more you clap for them, the more photo ops you'll get.

(people cheering) Oh my gosh it's right there.

(people cheering) - [Shea] Shea look for him.

- [Colleen] What's that, Shea?

Look.

- Oh, here it comes, here it comes.

(people cheering) This is so unreal.

I mean, they're right here.

This is really special.

It's really cool.

(upbeat rock music) (people cheering) We have front row seats to the best dolphin show in town, but there's one more seat we still need to check out.

Captain Shea reporting for duty.

- She's actually gonna be driving also.

There's no autopilot, so you ready, Shea?

- I mean, this is real.

- Yes, this is all for real.

So crank it to the right and you gotta turn it fast, okay.

It's all about speed and force with this boat.

It's a big old boat.

Faster, crank it.

- Faster, faster, Shea.

And these kind of adventures are the perfect way to learn about the sea life in the area.

- So when I was out there, you mentioned that dolphins actually have names.

Is that true?

- Yes, scientists have concluded that they have sound signatures, also known as a name.

I mean, when you think about our names, basically just a sound signature.

- [Colleen] Yeah.

- So yes, they have concluded and proven over time that they have sound signatures for each other, yeah.

- [Colleen] That's really cool.

- [Speaker] And they call each other by name.

- [Colleen] Isn't that interesting?

Just think that we learned today, it was just awesome.

- [Speaker] I think that the more I research it, the more amazed I get all the time, you know?

- What can we learn from dolphins?

- Well, you know, if I was gonna just put it in a nutshell, how to live in absolute harmony with our environment.

I mean, they've got a larger brain than ours, and they use 20% of it, and they live in absolute harmony with their environment.

- [Colleen] Families come from near and far to catch a glimpse of these dolphins in the wild.

(upbeat rock music) - This was absolutely the most fun we've had since we came down to the Emerald Coast.

When my daughter was a little girl, she wanted to train dolphins and now her daughter, because she came down here and has seen the dolphins, she wants to train dolphins now.

- Dolphins, can hold their breath up to 15 minutes, but they usually hold it up to one or two.

- I learned a lot while we were out there, so we had fun.

- [Colleen] We have so much more to learn from and about the dolphins.

For the thrill seekers of the family, you might wanna try something that's a bit more action-packed, like jet skiing.

- Right?

- Ready girls?

Punch it, let's go.

(jet ski engines roaring) - Woo-hoo.

Oh my god.

Whoa.

Oh, we're going fast.

(upbeat electronic music) Or perhaps you might like kayaking and the Florida Keys.

(upbeat electronic music continues) (upbeat electronic music continues) Captain Bill Keogh of Big Pine Kayak Adventures took us for an adventure along the water.

Kayaking the back country is a perfect group activity.

The waters are peaceful and there's not a lot of boat traffic.

Just go at your own pace and enjoy.

Plus the prices are reasonable.

Just make sure to bring your own towels and pack extra sunscreen and bug repellent.

Bill has lived in the area for decades and is the perfect tour guide.

Plus he's a really nice guy.

- Progress you moving forward.

Keep paddling, yeah, that looks good.

- [Colleen] Sea kayaking is tough to get the hang of, and he treated my daughters with lots of respect and kept them very entertained.

The area is unspoiled and full of fascinating wildlife.

All right, so this is the very common mangrove tree crab.

They live in one tree their entire life.

- [Colleen] Really?

- But as you can see behind me, it's hard to tell where one tree begins and one tree ends.

So you gotta just hold onto my hand, right?

And then I'm gonna kinda coerce him to crawl onto your hand.

- Ooh, oh.

- You gotta use your other hand so he doesn't crawl up your arm.

- Well, I don't want him crawling up my, nope, no.

- So use the other hand to cut him.

- Look at him.

- Yup.

- Okay, use my other hand, so he... Oh, so he jumps?

- Well also, they'd like to crawl up your arm and on your shoulders, up and over the water.

(Colleen and Bill laughing) - Oh, he jumps.

- Oh, what a jumper.

That guy's a jumper, all right.

Oh.

(water trickling) - [Colleen] What do you think?

Shea's backing up.

- [Bill] You'll see it.

Its bell is on the bottom, and these are its eight arms.

- [Colleen] Uh-huh.

- [Bull] And it will pulse a little bit.

- [Colleen] What kind is that?

- It's called the upside down jellyfish.

- [Colleen] Oh.

That makes sense.

- Most of the food just drops down out of the water column into one of 40 mouths.

Each of these arms has five open waiting mouths to collect plankton that falls down.

- [Colleen] Ooh, I never knew.

Ready?

- It's just gonna slip in and.

- Woo.

- They're far more beautiful at that angle.

- [Colleen] That's pretty.

Yeah.

Every city in Florida is unique, so take time to explore each and every town.

And I always recommend using public transportation as you'll get to know the destination better and ride like the locals do.

The Jolly Trolley in Clearwater was just one example of the many ways you can get around, while also having a little bit of fun.

My daughter, Shea, my niece, Keelin, and I certainly enjoyed it on our Clearwater trip.

Are you guys ready for a jolly good time?

- Nice try.

- I dunno, I'm trying, okay?

I thought it was pretty good.

The Jolly Trolley is free to the public and runs seven days a week.

To hop on, just look for the Jolly Trolley Street signs around Clearwater.

So not only does the Jolly Trolley get you where you need to go, it also doubles as a tour of Clearwater.

Not bad.

Each ride is like a tour of Clearwater, with a knowledgeable driver who doubles as a concierge on wheels.

And as a parent who does a lot of driving, it's nice to be chauffeured once in a while.

Oh, that's is so pretty over there.

Don't forget to tip your driver.

(upbeat music) but the greatest view we ever had of a city was on a helicopter ride in Panama City Beach.

- [Pilot] Now we're gonna turn everybody's headset on.

Everybody's headset on?

- Can you hear me?

- [Speaker] Yeah, I think I can hear.

- Are you excited?

- [Shea] Yeah.

- [Colleen] Yeah?

Here we go.

Woo-hoo.

Let's wave.

Shea, wave.

(upbeat music) Here we go.

(helicopter whirring) We're going.

Oh my God.

- [Shea] Whoa.

Do you feel like you're flying?

- [Keelin] Yeah, I do.

- Well, you are flying actually Shea, you having fun?

- [Shea] Yeah.

(serene music) - A helicopter ride is the perfect way for my girls and I to see beautiful Panama City Beach, and to look back on all the fun we've had on our vacation.

(serene music continues) Look at girls, it's like... Abby.

And look at the colors of the water.

It's been a fantastic flight, but what goes up must come down.

(serene music continues) Our feet may be back on the ground, but after that amazing ride, our heads are still in the clouds.

(upbeat jazzy music) When considering multi-generational travel, Florida has sites and museums that are perfect for both kids, adults, and grandparents.

The National Flight Academy in Pensacola was not just interesting for the adults, but it was also a fun educational experience for the kids.

- The National Flight Academy is the world's only landlocked aircraft carrier, so what you're about to see, you will see nowhere else but here.

Glad you're here.

Would you like to come aboard?

- Yeah, let's go.

- I'm ready.

- Okay.

(upbeat music) - The Flight Academy is best suited for older kids, and the experience inspires interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

- And this allows us, when we plan the mission, we can go anywhere in the world and go Look.

- That would be cool.

- Would you like to learn this way, girls?

- Yes, this is cool.

- We find that teaching someone a math skill by having them plan a mission using math is much more effective and memorable than saying go to page 42 of your math book and do problem 12.

- Oh, I would've liked that as a kid.

What about you girls?

Would you prefer to have this?

No more textbooks?

- Yeah.

- [Colleen] During the summer, kids can sign up for Flight Academy camps.

They can experience theme park style thrills, advanced technology, flight simulators, and virtual reality games that ignite imagination and encourage learning.

Wow.

Oh my gosh.

You can actually fly these.

What you're looking at right now are 30 network simulators.

What that means is when you're down here flying, remember the rooms we just left upstairs?

You plan the mission, you talk about the mission, and we had the room where the people are kinda air traffic control for the mission.

- Yeah.

- Well, you're on a headset and you're talking to the people in that room and they're gonna be the ones to guide you through your mission.

(Colleen gasps) - Oh my gosh.

- [Speaker] You ready?

Let's take off, pull it gentle.

Oh, look at that.

Look at that.

- [Colleen] Wow.

- Touch the gear so you can bring the gear up for her, okay?

There you go.

I think you practiced.

Let's do a flip.

Let's do it, whoa.

Now we're flying upside down, yay.

Perfect.

I don't know, I think we've got a future blue angels here, possibly.

- [Speaker] I think you do.

How was it?

- That was fun.

- What did you do that was really cool.

- I flew into space.

- [Speaker] You flew into space, and you were flying just like the Blue Angels.

- Thank you.

This was so great.

They loved it.

Didn't you love it?

- Yeah.

- [Colleen] Another great tour for older kids is the Tampa Theater.

Not only a look back in time, but it's also haunted.

Let's take a look.

One of Tampa's oldest and most historic buildings is its namesake movie theater, The Tampa Theater.

First opened in 1926 as a silent movie palace, the theater was part of a wave development across downtown Tampa in the 1920s.

Built by a famed theater architect, John Eberson, the inside was designed to feel like a Mediterranean courtyard, complete with a starry sky overhead.

The theater was considered one of the most elaborate in the country at the time, and 90 years later, it's one of the best preserved.

- In the nine decades we've been here, a lot has changed, and of course a lot has stayed the same.

The architecture that you see behind me with the beautiful columns and the the gargoyles and all the ornate decorative plaster work around the stage, that's all original.

- [Colleen] Not only is the Tampa Theater one of the most popular historic theaters in the country, with over 600 events a year, it is also considered to be the most haunted building in Tampa.

Around Halloween every year, the theater offers haunted tours, which center around the story of the theater's longtime projectionist, Fink Finley.

- Fink was our projectionist here back in his life about from about 1930 to about 1965.

Now, he did not die in the building, he fell ill here and died about two weeks later at home.

But ever since then, our projectionist have told us that they think Fink might still be coming to work every day.

Every projectionist we've had up there has had experiences from doors feeling like they're being pulled open behind them, things falling off counters when there's nobody up there, and specifically when they're projecting movies and watching the screen for their next cue, feeling like somebody's tapping them on the shoulder to get them to pay attention.

- [Colleen] Although haunted tours are only offered to visitors around Halloween, the theater has hundreds of events and movie screenings year round.

So in you are in Tampa Bay, make sure to pay a visit to Tampa Theater and say hi to Fink.

Of course, if you're in Tampa, you'll need to take the whole family to Cuba as well.

That's right, you can stand in Cuba in Florida.

The historic Latin quarter of Tampa is known as Ybor City.

In the late 19th century, Cuban born Don Vicente moved to cigar business from Key West to Ybor City, which drew immigrants from Cuba, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Romania.

By the turn of the century, there were more than 200 cigar making factories throughout Ybor City in West Tampa, and the area became known as a cigar capital of the world.

More than a century later, Ybor City is still a hub for Hispanic culture and is a popular area for locals and tourists alike.

We start our tour of Ybor City and Jose Marti Park, where we meet local historian, Manny Leto.

Not only am I in Ybor city in Tampa Bay, but I am standing in Cuba right now.

- You are.

- Is this right?

- Yeah, you're on a little piece of Cuban soil right here in the Tampa Bay area.

You know, Ybor City is this really fascinating part of Tampa's history filled with Cuban immigrants, Italian immigrants, and Spanish immigrants, who came to Tampa to roll cigars in the late 19th century and early part of the 20th century, and they came here not only to roll cigars, but also to escape a revolution that was happening in Cuba, and that's really how we end up with this little piece of Cuba right here in Tampa.

This site was a boarding house that was owned by a Cuban family and they transferred the ownership of the land to the Cuban government and it has stayed in their ownership ever since.

- [Colleen] That's fascinating to me.

What could families today do in Ybor City?

- Well, Ybor City is such a special part of Tampa.

The architecture and just the cultural flavor of this neighborhood is something you really don't wanna miss.

- I love all the culture and history here in Ybor City, and I had no idea Tampa Bay had this much going on.

- Cuba, America, Cuba, America.

- Hey girls, are you ready to go see the rest of Ybor City?

- We're leaving you in Cuba.

- Okay, leave me in Cuba.

Goodbye.

See you later.

Part of any traveling experience is trying new cuisine.

Florida's best known for its fresh seafood.

It's a great place to introduce your picky eaters to something new.

Clearwater is the grouper capital of the world, so there's no better place than to start there.

- Hey guys.

- Oh, hey, you're here.

Oh my gosh, great to meet you.

- Oh, you too.

- Okay, this is great.

This is my daughter.

- Hi.

- And my niece.

- Good to meet you.

- Yeah.

- Good to meet you guys.

- Oh my gosh.

- Welcome to Clearwater.

- Thank you.

- We are in the grouper capital of the world here in Clearwater, so I went offshore about 20 miles today and caught some amazing red grouper, and we're gonna have a really good dinner tonight.

It's gonna be awesome.

- Oh my gosh, that's awesome.

- Best fish you can ever eat.

- So what did we do with this though?

I don't know.

- Well, I hand it over to our amazing server, and she's gonna take it into the kitchen and cook it up like three different ways, and give us a great dinner.

- Wow.

Thank you.

That is great.

- I know.

- Don't even have to cook.

This is like a mom's dream.

- I know.

No cooking.

You get to have fun and go catching.

- Yeah.

- But you don't have to do any cooking or cleaning.

- When I grew up, I saw a lot of men fishing on all the channels.

I don't think I ever saw a woman, but my dad taught me and took me fishing.

So how did you start this?

- You know, my dad actually took me fishing as well, and that's really what created the love of just being in outdoors and going fishing because we would camp out on the beach and fish all night overnight.

I love living here in Clearwater.

I was actually born and raised here.

- [Colleen] Okay.

- So it's really just a natural fit to be a fisherman, and you know, not only go out and catch fish for myself, but take other girls and other ladies with me to experience the joy.

- Oh wow.

That looks good.

Is this what you caught?

- This is the grouper that I caught today and it's a great tasting fish.

It's very mild and flaky, so you're hard pressed to find anybody that doesn't love grouper.

- Yeah, this is a grouper capital of the world.

- It is.

- More grouper are caught here than what?

- Than anywhere else in the world.

I mean, right in here to clear water in Pinellas County.

- [Colleen] For a bit more variety, try oysters in the panhandle.

And Pensacola is actually where I learned to shuck oysters myself.

When you're in Pensacola, you're right on the Gulf Coast, and the one thing you gotta try are oysters and I'm gonna try to shuck one and eat it, so I'm ready.

- All right, you're ready?

- Okay.

- I'll show you how to shuck an oyster.

Slide along the top.

You want to cut that muscle.

- Oh, I can.

Okay.

- Just keep going.

- I did it.

- There you go.

- All right.

Woo, look at the that.

- Top shelf.

Now, what you gotta do is cut the oyster off that bottom shell, yeah.

- Okay, I can do that.

- You just shucked your first oyster, now eat it.

(person laughing) - I have to?

- Everybody eats their first oyster, you just... - Okay.

- Put your mouth on it, just slurp it.

- How do you eat it?

- [Speaker] Suck it down.

- Slurp it down.

Actually, I've shucked oysters for eight years, I've never eaten an oyster.

I'll eat one with you.

- Really?

- This'll both be our first one.

- This is your first one, all together.

It's our first one.

- Honesty, goodness.

- [Speaker] Right now.

- Cheers.

- A little slippery.

- Two days ago this little oyster was sitting in the bottom of the ocean.

- Wow.

- Now it's in the bottom of your belly.

What would be a tip to get kids to try oysters?

Because they don't exactly, you know, look kid friendly, but they are.

- There's a lot of people who are fans of eating just raw oysters, but you can also eat your oysters steamed, can also put ingredients and toppings on it.

Oyster Rockefeller, Parmesan cheese, and you could stick 'em in the oven, bake 'em for a little bit, and that kills all the germs, and it's really safe and really tasty.

- Okay, I think think that'd be a great way to get kids to try it.

Just kind of add a little something on top.

- Absolutely.

- I'm gonna get my daughters to try oysters.

- [Speaker] Okay.

- It might be not an easy feat, but I think I'm gonna do it.

- What do you think?

(Colleen laughing) That concludes our best of family travel tour of the Sunshine State.

From water sports to sight seeing, to seafood, Florida has so much to offer.

Different regions offer new activities and unique cultural spots, which gives you endless possibilities when planning your next trip to Florida.

I'm Colleen Kelly, thanks for watching "Family Travel."

Enjoy making memories on your next family vacation.

Hi, buddy.

Hi.

Wanna be in a show?

(upbeat rock music) (upbeat rock music) (upbeat rock music) "Family Travel With Colleen Kelly" is sponsored by... (serene orchestral music) - [Announcer] Ted Tetzlaff, attorneys for your personal and business needs.

-For more information on upcoming destinations and projects, visit family travelck.com.

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