Secret Orlando: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure

Book excerpt: Orlando is one of the top travel destinations on the planet, now welcoming over 60 million people annually. Most of these visitors come on vacation to experience the world-famous theme parks like Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. But many of them venture no farther than International Drive, never discovering the secret face of the City Beautiful and the many hidden gems within the Milk District, Lake Nona, Winter Park, Maitland, Kissimmee, Altamonte Springs and other areas that reveal so much more than meets the ears. Authors John Brown and Joshua Ginsberg have teamed up to take curious travelers on an adventure that begins where the monorail ends. Join them for a ride down a forgotten brick highway, on a citrus safari in a monster truck bus and in a kayak through bioluminescent algae at night. Find your way through a library into a swank urban speakeasy, have coffee with a stuffed ostrich at a curio shop, pay your respects at the grave of painter Bob Ross, catch a film festival (and maybe a ghost) at the Enzian theater, decode the binary message on the wall of a parking garage and let the spirits be your guide at the “Psychic Capital of the World.” From unique monuments and artworks to natural wonders, modern ruins, NASCAR racing and death metal, Secret Orlando is your ticket to discovering the weird, wild and wonderful that awaits you beyond what's listed in the typical travel blogs, brochures and hotel lobby rack cards.