Located on San Francisco Bay, Oakland is a major port city for the state of California.  Featuring nearly 400,000 residents, Oakland serves as the county seat in Alameda County and is part of the region known to locals as the ‘East Bay’.

Vacation homes in Oakland provide an ideal climate for visitors twelve months of the year because the area possesses a lovely Mediterranean climate that features about 300 sunny days during an average year.  This leaves only about 65 days for inclement weather, making Oakland a prime vacation spot for both Californians and for others who stream in from across the United States.

There is also much to do and see in Oakland.  Lake Merritt, which is technically a large estuary located somewhat to the east of the downtown area, was actually the first place in the United States to be designated as a wildlife refuge.  To this day, tourists can go to Lake Merritt to see a little haven of the original ecosystem of the area.  Another popular site to visit is Jack London Square, named after the author who wrote such beloved and seminal works as White Fang and Call of the Wild.  London once lived in Oakland and many of his works feature the local San Francisco area as a primary setting.   The square is located on the waterfront, which also features businesses targeted to provide goods and services to those who are visiting Oakland.

Palatka may sound like it ought to be a place in Greece, but in actual fact it is a city located in Putnam County, Florida.  A small town, the population consists of fewer than 15,000 permanent residents, though the surrounding local area boasts almost 75,000.  In its region, Palatka is the most important city, and it is here that important Florida institutions such as St. Johns River State College are located.  For tourists heading toward their Palatka holiday rental homes, however, a bigger draw is the schedule of local festivals, which includes the Blue Crab Festival and the Florida Azalea Festival.

The Florida Azalea Festival

This is an event not to be missed by flower lovers or nature enthusiasts.  The festival dates as far back as the 1920s and in fact is one of the oldest festivals in Florida.  It is no accident that the festival takes place each year during the first weekend in the month of March; this is when the azaleas begin to bloom.

The main venue for festival activities is downtown Palatka, but the nearby Ravine Gardens State Park also welcomes many visitors at this time since there are a great many azaleas growing in the park.  Activities during the festival include an arts and crafts show featuring booths put on by local residents as well as fellow visitors to the festival, entertainment, and vendors selling their wares out of historic residences on Lemon Street in Palatka.

The festival also offers visitors a chance to see a beauty pageant and participate in a golf tournament.

Ozello is a community located in Citrus County, Florida.  It lacks the formal status of a city, because it is situated on unincorporated county land, but this adds rather than detracts from one of its great charms, which is the Ozello Trail.  Contrary to its name, this winding roadway is not precisely a nature trail since it is paved and popular with motorcycle riders as well as nature enthusiasts.  However, it does offer outstanding wildlife scenery and is one of the major reasons why Ozello vacation homes are popular with tourists traveling to the northern Gulf Coast of Florida.

The Ozello Trail

Technically, Ozello is made up of several keys, or islands, which are connected by C.R. 494, also known as the Ozello Trail.  This twisting road is unique among roads in Citrus County.  There are steep turns and curves as well as unexpected dips, making driving along the road somewhat akin to riding in a roller coaster.  Two things are certain: drivers need to pay attention every second, and it will be a driving adventure they never forget.

The road is two lanes and connects Ozello to U.S. Highway 19, but its true attraction is not the final destination drivers reach, but the drive itself.  Meandering along the Gulf Coast, the road features tides lapping right up to the edge of the pavement in places.  In some senses, it is like a nature trail on steroids since rolling down the car windows will give drivers and passengers alike the chance to watch fish and sometimes even dolphins leaping out of the Gulf waters while the car speeds along.

Ormond Beach is located in Volusia County in the state of Florida.  A medium-sized city, Ormond Beach boasts fewer than 40,000 permanent residents and is located just north of its famous racecar-circuit neighbor, Daytona Beach.  This places it along the upper half of the Atlantic coastline of Florida.

Tomoka State Park

One of the outstanding attractions that draws people to stay in Ormond Beach vacation rentals is Tomoka State Park, which occupies 1800 acres and is situated alongside the Tomoka River.  This places it three miles north of Ormond Beach proper, making it an ideal destination for a day trip or even a morning or afternoon activity since travel time is negligible.  However, there is definitely enough to do in the state park to keep tourists occupied all day long!

Wildlife watching is a major activity for park visitors.  Tourists who are quiet and patient can expect to see a variety of native fauna including birds of prey such as the Northern Harrier, the Peregrine Falcon, and the Bald Eagle.  Other birds are more commonly seen wading in the river eddies; these include wood storks and herons as well as egrets and the beautiful white ibis.  Apart from birds, West Indian Manatees, a marine mammal, and American alligators can be seen in Tomoka State Park.

Although a state park since just after World War II, the parklands have actually been significant for far longer; the site was inhabited by Native Americans a thousand years earlier.  In recognition of this, Nocoroco, a Timucuan village in the park, has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Orlando is the number one tourist destination in the state of Florida, attracting almost 50 million tourists every year.  Most of them arrive by plane, making Orlando International Airport the thirteenth busiest metropolitan airport in the nation – it is even among the top 30 busiest airports in the world.  All of these tourists arrive in Orlando for very good reason, since this city of almost a quarter-million people is the home of major theme park venues.  These include the Walt Disney World Resort, which itself encompasses several amusement parks: the Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Adventure, Epcot, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

More than Disney

Although Disney is without a doubt the single most famous attraction in Orlando, and most likely all of Florida, there are plenty of other reasons for visitors to book days or even weeks in Orlando holiday homes. Sea World is one such reason.  Here, visitors can learn about sea and other aquatic life by visiting habitats suitable for species as diverse as sharks, dolphins, killer whales, sea turtles, and penguins.  Many of the animals are also trained performers who put on several shows daily, with each show designed to teach visitors about the natural behavior of the animal, as well as promote healthy fishing practices and other issues related to conservation and environmentalism.

Tourists most interested in the American alligator should try nearby Gatorland, and for those who want to get wet themselves, there are water parks such as Wet ‘n Wild.

Okaloosa Island is an interesting name since there is no formal island of that name.  Instead, the term “Okaloosa Island” generally refers to a portion of Santa Rosa Island, a barrier island situated in Okaloosa County in the state of Florida.  Because Okaloosa Island features a great many residential homes and condominiums in high-rises, many of them unoccupied by permanent residents, there are plenty of places to stay in the form of Okaloosa Island vacation homes.

Okaloosa Island is considered part of Florida’s “Emerald Coast” which puts it far north in the state, along the relatively thin strip of land known as the “panhandle of Florida”.  Beaches on Okaloosa Island are characterized by fine white grains of sand known as “sugar sand.”  When set off against the brilliantly-hued waters of the Gulf of Mexico, these beaches look spectacular, particularly to tourists who have never seen the ocean before or who are more used to the typical “tan sand” beaches of California.

Santa Rosa Island contains some land that is not in Okaloosa County, but all of the Okaloosa County land that is on the island is generally considered to belong to Okaloosa Island.  This portion features a full three miles of coastal frontage along the Gulf of Mexico and provides visitors and locals alike with many opportunities to go boating, fishing, swimming, and surfing.  Other water sports such as jet skiing are also popular in the area, which is known for being a veritable paradise of sun and surf.

Ocala is a city located in the great peninsula that makes up Florida, but instead of being situated on the Gulf or Pacific coasts, it is located inland, in the north-central area occupied by Marion County.  A mid-sized city, Ocala boasts some 53,000 permanent residents, yet it is the main city in its region and also serves as the seat of county government.

Ocala Symphony Orchestra

One reason tourists come to stay in Ocala vacation rentals is the wealth of fine arts available in the city.  Ocala plays host to the Ocala Symphony Orchestra, a rather remarkable achievement for a city of this size.  The Ocala Symphony Orchestra is an Ocala tradition, having been started as far back as the 1970s by a group combined of interested citizens and professional musicians.  It exists today as a non-profit corporation and offers four concerts per year, with subscriptions available.

Ocala Civic Theatre

There is more than music to attract visitors to Ocala.  The city also features a theatre troupe that performs at the Ocala Civic Theatre, providing during most seasons 12 or more productions each year.  In addition, visiting touring companies sometimes put on productions in the venue.  Tickets are considered affordable for these professional live and fully staged productions.  The volunteer wing of the Theatre provides fine arts instruction through a community theater organization, working with more than 1000 students each year.  This too makes Ocala unique, as it is one of the largest community theaters Florida state offers.

Wales is a small constituent nation of the United Kingdom.  One of the most fascinating aspects of staying in Wales holiday homes is the opportunity to spend time in the land reputed to be both the birthplace and last resting place of the legendary King Arthur.  The red dragon, related to Arthur’s surname of Pendragon, is today the national symbol of Wales.  Tourists can wander the green, hilly landscape and wonder if they are walking in the footsteps of such famous figures as Arthur’s evil half-sister Morgan le Fay.

Another charming bit of Welsh lore is the lure of Welsh gold.  Although gold is no longer commercially mined in Wales, gold mines still dot the hills and the Dolaucothi Mine, now run by the National Trust, an organization that promotes the preservation of historic buildings and locations, permits visitors to try gold panning.  Those who are lucky enough to find a flake of Welsh gold will appreciate the rosy glow that comes from a relatively high percentage of copper.

Castles are another popular attraction in Wales.  Great castles scattered across the land here were originally constructed to protect the Welsh from invasion by the English, who lived in the lands farther east.   One of the best preserved castles in Wales is located in the village of Beaumaris, which is located in the Anglesey region in the north of the country.  Many ancient castles have long since had their moats filled in, but at Beaumaris, tourists can see a castle as it existed during the Middle Ages: with tall circular towers surrounded by a moat to stop invaders.

The Kingdom of Spain is located on the Iberian Peninsula and has major borders with Portugal and France, as well as coastlines along the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.  A member of the European Union, Spain is located both in the Eurozone and the Schengen Area, meaning that it uses the Euro, the common currency of most of continental Europe, and allows borderless travel with other nations in the Schengen Area.

Spanish tourism centers around several major cities scattered across the nation.  In the capital city of Madrid, tourists can visit the world-famous El Prado museum, which showcases the works of Old Masters such as El Greco.  Another popular Madrid attraction is bullfighting demonstrations.  Spain is one of the few nations where this ancient art is still practiced for public crowds.  The main Plaza de Toros (bullring) in Madrid is called Las Ventas and dates from 1929.  It can seat nearly 25,000 tourists.  Visitors staying in Spain holiday vacation homes who wish to see courageous matadors battling with huge bulls are advised to book their vacations between March and October, which is bullfighting season.

Further to the north, tourists can visit Barcelona and dine on a wide variety of fish and shellfish, including the national dish of paella, which is composed of a layer of seafood served on saffron-infused rice.  Also in Barcelona is La Sagrada Familia, a world-renowned church designed by architect Antonio Gaudí, who also designed many of the parks in Barcelona.  Gaudí’s signature style includes blobs of cement work that look freeform and organic, making La Sagrada Familia one of the most unusual-looking churches in the world.

The nation of Scotland is part of the UK.  It occupies the northern portion of the main island in the British Isles, but also includes almost 800 islands scattered across northern regions of the Atlantic Ocean.  Scotland shares a border with England to the south.  Although a member of the EU, Scotland, like England, does not use the Euro for currency but has elected to continue use of the pound.

Two of the largest cities in Scotland are Edinburgh, the capital, and Glasgow.  In the latter city, tourists can visit the oldest public museum in the country, the Hunterian, which appropriately displays artifacts from the era of Roman occupation of Britain.  Glasgow also features Kelvingrove, a recently renovated art gallery and museum that specializes in modern works.  In contrast, the National Galleries of Scotland feature works from the Old Masters and present a continuous picture of the art world through the early decades of the 20^th century.

Tourists staying in Scotland vacation rentals can also visit the town of Paisley, famous for its influence on textiles, particularly with its development of the paisley pattern commonly used on wool shawls.

Castles are another popular attraction in Scotland.  The earliest castle site can be found on the island of Wyre in Orkney.  Known as Cubbie Row’s Castle, it dates from about 1145 A.D. and is the oldest surviving castle in the country.  More popular still is Castle Sween, found on the mainland in Argyll.