Since 2012, author Kristen Hare has filled weekends and vacations with adventures around the state. Her book 100 Things To Do In Tampa Bay Before You Die is now in its third edition. It took about that long for her to realize she still wasn’t quite living up to her motto, “don’t let the tourists have all the fun.”

Why? Because the tourists were getting to enjoy Florida’s historic hotels, motels and inns, and she only sometimes wandered in for a cold drink or a look-see.

The book based on that work, Hotels, Motels and Inns of Florida: Historic and Beloved Places to Stay in the Sunshine State tells the stories of more than 60 properties around the state that are still operating. It includes a section on the once-thriving hotels, motels and inns owned by Black Floridians through the Jim Crow era. And you’ll find a handful of modern marvels. (Who has a guitar-shaped hotel and a tiny village of Pyramids? Florida does.)

Kristen’s latest book, 100 Things to do in Florida Before You Die, is a collection of more than a decade of adventures, family trips, frantic side quests and happy accidents. Brunch with mermaids in Ft. Lauderdale. Kayak through bioluminescent waters on the Space Coast. Shop for something special at the Skunk Ape HQ in Ochopee. Sip a cafecito in Miami’s Little Havana. And ride in a school-bus-turned-monster-truck in Clermont.

Pictured above: Gatorland (Photo courtesy State Archives of Florida) Pictured on About The Books: Venetian Pool, Coral Gables (Image courtesy Digital Commonwealth)