With the wonderful snow filled weather here in northern va, a friend of mine mentioned (jokingly at first I think) about packing up and going to Florida for a few days for some warm(er) weather, cigars, and possibly some golf. (priority, for me, in that order.)

The only problem is, I've only been to florida once (orlando 13 years ago, which means I was 10) and I have no idea where we should go.


Tampa? Ft. Lauderdale? Miami? Just camp out and wait for the next EPIC herf?


Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We are only looking at going for 4-5 days, possibly at the end of February.

Thank you!
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I dig the West Coast....Sanibel Island, Ft. Myers, Clearwater...but there are a lot of great Inmates on the East Coast to herf with.
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Feb 20 is the Great Smoke in West Palm Beach http://www.thegreatsmoke.com/

or looks like there might be a south east florida herf that day as well http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=27541

Not too far from Miami either.

But what do I know, I am looking out the window at snow here in MD :-)
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Well if you're looking for beaches the west coast is the way to go. If you're looking for cigars that would be Miami or Tampa. Hard to come to Florida and not make it to Ybor City (Tampa) if you're looking for some great cigar heritage. Besides, from Tampa you have some nice beaches close by as well with Clearwater, Fort De Soto and Indian Rocks along with some great golf courses (or so I've heard, not a golfer myself).

If you like theme parks we also have Busch Gardens. But if you're really looking for theme park fun, Orlando is your best bet. :-)
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Hey...we got great beaches on the east coast too...there's always Ft. Lauderdale Beach, and South Beach in Miami...and the lower end of South Beach is topless...you won't see that on the west coast...:-)
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Good point! :-)

Also if you are looking for waves, you won't find them on the west coast.
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I'd say Orlando, and meet up with the crew there. And you can go to Corona Cigars there, too. Though I know there are other good shops in FL to go to, since my wife's family is in the Orlando area, I have a soft spot for Corona. I think we DO need to get out and explore more of FL next time we're there, though. :-)

Abe at Smoke Inn (where The Great Smoke is) is a good guy and a longtime poster over on Cigar Family.

And of course there is Ybor over in Tampa. :-)
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I like the west coast better too.:-)
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Corona???

OK, nice shop to hang out BUT if cigars is what you seek, how can that compare to Pepin's factory, or Ernesto's (LGC), or Padron, or Padilla, or Perdomo? All of them in Miami. All of them great hosts.
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Maybe not...legally.
:-)
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If you drive you and are on I-75 and go through Ocala I am just a few miles from there. You are welcome to stop by for dinner and a smoke!!
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If he stops by your place Brent he wont want to leave.:-)
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Only because you would be here too!!!
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Like said, we DO need to branch out from Orlando and visit other shops. For me, of those, I'd hit the Padron and Pepin factories. :-) Pete (Replicant) was wondering if we'd be able to entice you to come up for the herf when we were down there for Christmas.

And remember, I'm coming from MN, where we have nothing even close to what's down there. :-)
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Southeast Florida Herf at Blueface's (Carlos) joint Sat., Feb 20th...theres a thread about it...
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I will definitely try to make it.
Is it a definite trip for you guys?
Depends on dates. If tight around Christmas, will be tough to get my wife or even me for that matter, to part from grandson.
Let me know with time.
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It was this past Christmas. :-) I don't know the next time we'll be down there, but will let you know as soon as something is planned. I like escaping MN in the winter, but it is a bit of a haul to get there (we drove this past year) and flights for all 5 of us gets expensive.
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For me if you have the time you can't go wrong in the Keys. IMHO heaven on earth!


:-)


Chris.....
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I gotta agree!
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Thank you for all of the advice!

It looks like we are leaning towards tampa or miami. And we might be driving instead of flying. (15 to 17 hr drive)

My friends priority is golf, and mine is cigars, so we will see where we actually end up!

We will be leaving the 22nd or 23 and returning to VA the 27th.
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