2/09
Heading To Florida? Get These Books
GPS, iPhone apps, and audioguides are all great, but sometimes you just need to have the facts you need written down on paper. Here are a couple of books that will provide you with more details than you’ll ever need as you head south to the Sunshine State.
**Hidden Mickeys: Depending on your frame of mind, this could be either a book about drinking or maybe clandestine activities concerning Mickey Mouse. Or worse…
In truth, it’s neither. Author Steve Barrett defines a Hidden Mickey as “a partial or complete image of Mickey Mouse that has been designed to blend into the surroundings of Disney World in such a way that its presence is not immediately obvious.”
For instance, he points out where Mickey is hidden in a mural, an outline of his head on a shop fixture, his side profile appears on a weather vane. It’s rumored that Hidden Mickeys got their start as private in-jokes by the designers and artists involved in the construction of Epcot Center who incorporated them into the design because Disney corporation decreed that the new “adult” park should contain no cartoons. Artists being artists, they couldn’t resist. And though travelers to Disney World had passed around lists of the concealed Mouse for years, Barrett finally decided to do something about it. This is the 4th edition, and with each subsequent edition, he manages to find even more. You can buy it here: www.IntrepidTraveler.com
**Speaking of subsequent editions, it’s a given that any travel guide that is on its 15th edition is doing well and that readers and travelers continue to find it valuable.
The first edition of Along Interstate 75, by Dave Hunter, of Missisauga, Ontario, appeared way back in 1992, and Dave and his wife Kathy have focused on providing travelers on the 958-mile-long stretch of Interstate between Detroit and the Florida border with a wealth of information, driver-friendly maps that are color-coded and easy to follow, and loads of details and history on the places and sites you’ll pass along the way.
In a way, there’s almost too much information — including construction delays and recently closed public and private establishments — and you may be tempted to extend your trip by a few days just to take some of the detours and visit the places the Hunters describe in the book. To get the same detailed information about traveling within the Florida borders, pick up the second edition of Dave’s guide, Along Florida’s Expressways.
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