All of us in the Southeast have experienced a winter to remember, should I say forget!

Those of us who live in Florida have not been spared the rash of El Nino.

And those Northerners and Canadian escapees have complained “bitterly”” about the cold weather, which was not supposed to follow them to Florida.

Nevertheless, fighting the cold is still a breeze in Florida compared to the northern outposts.

Last week, we made a quick swing through parts of the Panhandle, the northern Gulf Coast, northern central and north Atlantic coast of Florida. While the cold weather followed everywhere we ventured, many snowbirds, honeymooners, families and groups were enjoying the great natural and fabricated attractions, which the state has to offer.

Many tourism studies have pointed to the many reasons for travel to the state. Florida offers great beaches, beautiful natural heritage, fabulous entertainment venues, a multitude of wonderful resorts, unique cultural and sports experiences.

All these attributes are available in some degree no matter what the weather brings.

As we drove the back roads through the Panhandle from west to east, we saw the magnificent rivers, lakes and streams that wind their way through that area.

This is the part of the state with those famous Apalachicola oysters. Near the bay, you have sweeping panoramic views. More inland, you see forests of palmettos, pine and palm trees. These destinations attract hikers, bird watchers and boaters.

As we followed Route 19 south along the Gulf Coast, we found areas such as Crystal River, and Homosassa Springs filled with golfers and anglers. These visitors are not there for the beaches or Mickey Mouse.

The first night we stayed in the Bella Oasis Hotel, right next door to the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park on South Suncoast Boulevard. The Oasis is an old-fashioned style Florida motel, but offers in-room microwave and refrigerator and a good breakfast included in the reasonable rate.

The wildlife park is where you might see manatees, swimming in the springs. You will definitely see fish and aquatic life. On the nature trails, you can also spot various wild animals including deer, river otters and maybe even a black bear.

Still further on down the road (US 19) a visit to the quaint village of Tarpon Springs and its sponge docks is a favorite of all ages. The town, with its many shops, Greek and other restaurants was packed. There are several tourism attractions, but a view of the town’s beautiful St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church should not be missed.

From Tarpon Springs, we continued on Route 19A (alternate) to arrive at our next night destination, Clearwater Beach.

For those of you, like me that had not paid a visit to this area in awhile, you are missing something now.

Located smack in the middle of this mile-long island now is an outstanding resort by the name of Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach. Opening just a few weeks ago, it is the centerpiece of an outstanding revitalization of this beachfront community.

From the hotel, it is just a hop, skip and a skateboard run to Pier 60 (fishing) with its tourist attractions and the Clearwater Marina.

The hotel does have an idyllic location with one side facing the Gulf of Mexico and its newly revitalized beachfront and the other side overlooking the truly picturesque Intercostals waterway.

So now, visitors can have the best of either worlds----or many different worlds.

You can stay in a ocean-view suite (all rooms are basically suites, with beautiful full kitchens) swim in beautifully appointed and landscaped swimming pools with their own poolside cabanas built into the side of the hotel or enjoy rooftop sunning terraces which offer privacy while overlooking the Intercostals waterways.

The hotel is state-of-the-art and yet, at the same time, not stuffy or formal.

The welcome throughout from within the very magnificent and large full-service spa (with its spectacular indoor water wall) to the hotel’s casual seafood restaurant Shor was genuine and friendly.

The staff is young, accommodating and out to please. I had one of the best spa experiences anywhere with a facial by Katsura, in the Sandava Spa.

When totally completed the hotel will offer a private club, which will be an upgrade for resort guests, along with its own residential tower.

This new resort was developed in conjuction with new beachfront pathways, a public parking garage, landscaping and pedestrian-friendly streetscapes. This multi-million project, one of the largest beach revitalization projects in the United States, has spurred the construction of new sidewalk cafes and more upscale dining.

“Basically Beach Walk has transformed Clearwater Beach into a premier resort destination,’’ said Nancy Longstreth, director of sales and Marketing for the Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach.

Mrs. Longstreth, who has experience with many fine resorts throughout the state of Florida, is proud that in its 2009 edition, the Fodor’s Guide to Florida voted “Clearwater Beach its best family beach.”

The resort is well designed for families, offering 250 guestroom suites, including 77-one-bedroom and 40 two-bedroom suites, complete with 2 baths and granite-countertop kitchens.

Most impressive are the large balconies, which provide stunning views, especially of sunsets.

Couple all this with Camp Hyatt, a children’s pool with a secure gated enclosure and a 24-hour Stay Fit gym and it does not matter if the weather is not perfect.

We were perfectly happy to stay within the resort.

The one thing that made us unhappy was the leaving the resort.

We headed west, first following the Gulf to Bay Boulevard (Route 60) and then crossing the W. Courtney Campbell Causeway to Tampa for a quick lunch at the famous Columbia Restaurant in the historic Latin Quarter Ybor City area of Tampa.

Before lunch, we did a quick tour of Tampa highlights including the Channelside area of the city with its cruise ship docks, restaurants and St. Pete Times Forum Convention Center, home to the Tampa Lighting hockey team, concerts and other sporting events.

We passed the Tampa Bay History Center and the Florida Aquarium, which sits right next to the cruise docks.

With all those attractions, families need not ever venture outside the city to keep kids busy.

Tampa is home to Philadelphia Phillies spring training, as well.

After a delicious lunch, we headed northeast following Interstate 4 to Interstate 95 toward our next destination, the oldest city in the United States, St. Augustine. For part of this driving segment, we opted to leave Route 95 for Route 1, (a highway which parallels it) so that we could again get a look at an older more rural Florida with many trees, large farms and tracts of land, less commercialization.

Ten miles outside of St. Augustine, the 21st century comes into quickly into view once again. Lots of fast food, big box stores, and retail establishments.

Almost as quickly, you are back many centuries as you enter the old city of St. Augustine. Here there are still shops, hotels, restaurants, but almost all are tastefully in keeping with the historic nature of the city.

I visited St. Augustine as a child and many decades later it is still a magically unique city, combining old world charm and authenticity with a lot of new world accruements.

In 2015, the city, founded by Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles will celebrate its 450th Anniversary.

St. Augustine, the nation’s oldest continuously settled city, is still old buildings, cobblestone streets and unique gardens.

Either a walk, carriage, or trolley ride through the city offers centuries of European history and lots of charm in every direction. Many photos are taken outside the Castillo de San Marcos, which was constructed between 1672 and 1756 of coquina, a local shell-rock formation.

Most visitors head for Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth, the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum, Florida’s Oldest House (Museum Complex) and the Oldest Wooden School House (Historic Museum and Gardens) which I visited as a child.

To experience the city in as authentic a way possible, we choose to stay at the historic but completely updated Casa Monica Hotel, located in the heart of the historic district across the street from Flagler College and the Lightner Museum, all of which are housed in older structures converted to modern day use.

The Casa Monica Hotel is located within an 1888 Spanish-style building, which was once owned by Henry Flagler and operated as the Cordova Hotel until 1932. For a time the building remained vacant. In the late 1990s, Richard C. Kessler of the Grand Theme Hotels purchased the property and returned it to luxury hotel once again.

The hotel is not only strategically located, it is also completely restored, featuring beautifully furnished and outfitted rooms with large, cable TV, in-room safe, coffee maker and refrigerator.

We noticed many families, several with three and four small children enjoying the property.

Once you parked your car, you could walk to most attractions. Parking in the city is difficult and expensive.

While it was too cold to use the magnificent second-floor outdoor pool and deck (it is heated), the setting of it is perfect place to read a book or take afternoon nap. The hotel also has a small fitness facility and a large restaurant. The hotel has AAA Four-Diamond designation and is a member of the Preferred Hotel & Resorts.

In warmer weather, hotel guests are able to partake of the Serenata Beach Club, which is located about 10 minutes from the hotel along the Coastal Highway A1A in Ponte Vedra Beach. There are adult and children’s pools, a fully equipped fitness center and oceanfront dining.

Currently St. Augustine is in its peak tourist season. During the summer, like many Florida resorts, rates go down.

The last destination on this journey was the city of Gainesville, home to the University of Florida and those well-known Gators.

To reach it, we had to head south and west again. It is located less than two hours from St. Augustine in north central Florida.

Besides the Gators, this area is Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings country. She wrote The Yearling and her Cross Creek, which features this part of Florida with its hiking paths and uncrowded country roads.

We viewed some of these time-warp communities as we traveled Florida Route 207 south, Florida 20 west and US 17 north.

We did four days of travel, covering a 1,000 miles in Florida and never did the weather stop us from having a good time.

For Your Information:

Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach, 301 South Gulfview Boulevard, Clearwater. (737) 373-1234. www.clearwaterbeach.hyatt.com

Casa Monica Hotel, 95 Cordova Street, St. Augustine, (800)-648-1888. (904) 827-1888 CasaMonica.com. In mid-March, the CasaMonica Hotel will be part of the Marriott reservation system.

Bella Oasis Hotel, 4076 S. Suncoast Blvd., Homosassa Springs, (352) 628-0650. www.bellaoasis.com.