Miami to Gainesville
 

Hello! Will be traveling to Gainesville and need to break up the trip. Can anyone suggest a cute or interesting town to stay overnight ? Will be joined by my husband & two kids (8 & 10) . Definitely do not want to stop at any of the theme parks. Are there any hidden gems with nice parks, biking, maybe fishing? Anyplace with a small town feel to it with something to keep the kids busy. Thanks. Mabella

If you stick with I-95, lots of things to do in Daytona Beach.
http://daytonabeach.com/whattosee.cf...FYhxQgodGhAAKg
If you use the Florida Turnpike you could stay in Kissemmee.
It is only 5.5 to 6.5 hours to drive all the way from Miami to Gainesville in good weather. I hope you are not driving this on Sunday or Monday in Isaac.

Thx Tom, yes, we'll probably take the turnpike. But Kissimmee is not what I had in mind, way too crowded and close to the parks. Main reason I'm breaking the trip up is because there is a game on Saturday and accomodations are ridiculously over priced. So I figured it'd be a good time to 'discover' a hidden gem. There's got to be some no?

Mt Dora is a charming little town. Not sure what it would offer to the kids, but I love to browse around the shops.

Our kids still fondly remember their visit to see the manatee at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park

It's west of I-75 (north of Tampa) but it sounds like you'll have plenty of time available.

http://www.floridastateparks.org/homosassasprings/

By the way, just came across this post and thought I'd mention that we ended up driving to Lake Wales and visiting the Bok Tower. We had never been there and found it quite interesting. The kids enjoyed running around in the incredible gardens, feeding the fish and the squirrels(one of which practically attacked me!) The grounds were pretty neat and the breeze from the highest point in the peninsula was amazing. I wouldn't hesitate going back if I was ever in the area. We also checked out spook hill which the kids loved. We then drove about an hour north and stayed in Mt. Dora. While the kids weren't as fond of the shops as I was, they enjoyed the fireworks by the lake, and the art festival we stumbled apon in the morning. After breakfast we drove another 2 hours to our final destination in Gainesville.