However hot it is here in Florida, I’m still happy to live here all year around. Now that school is out, there is SO MUCH for us to do all within an easy driving distance. Yesterday, my daughter and I went to the beach for the morning. We got in the car and within 15 minutes were were comfortably ensconced on Honeymoon Island, surrounded by white sand and starling blue water.

We have season passes to Busch Gardens over in Tampa, because it’s too close to not have season passes. We also like to go a few times a year to SeaWorld over in Orlando. It only takes an hour or so to get there and they have such reasonable day pass and season pass prices for Florida residents. You can even get passes that let you into all of the Busch parks.

In fact, right now they have one of the best amusement park deals you can find in all of Florida. You buy a ticket for one park and get into another for free. For example, buy a ticket to SeaWorld and get a free ticket to Aquatica or Busch Gardens. I know you are probably looking at your budget this summer the same way I am looking at mine – getting the biggest bang for your buck. That’s why this kind of deal is just right for this summer.

I went in May to Sea World with some of the biology students at the high school. It was before Manta had officially opened and I was disappointed on the way over, because I was upset I would be missing out on riding such an exciting new attraction. I was thrilled when we got there and found out the Manta was on a “soft open”, which means that they were running the ride off and on all through the day. We happened to wander over when the line was shorter than usual and we got to ride. It was flat out incredible.

When I told him we had been picking berries all morning and still did not have enough for a pie, he took us up the hill and showed us the Vineyard’s lovely cultivated blackberry patches. In the end, he and I had made an agreement that I could come out and pick berries anytime I wanted and all I needed to do in return was leave half the berries in the vineyard’s freezer.

That was an amazing summer, filled with amazing blackberry pies and blackberry ice cream. I remember, in particular, hosting a blackberry ice cream party at my apartment for a bunch of my friends.

Anyway, today as my dad and my daughter and I were driving back across the state from my grandmother’s house to my dad’s place on the Shenandoah, we made a little side trip to the Vineyard. A few years ago my dad stopped and bought some of their Bad Cat and Airmail Jones (both sweet whites). He wanted some more and I wanted to pick up a bottle of their Niagara. She tasted it that day when we had been out picking berries and tells me often that it reminds her exactly of the grapes that used to grown in front of her childhood home.

Of course, I ended up with two bottles for myself – Reisling (my favorite) and a bottle of their Schwarzer Bär, which they categorize as an off-dry white. Both were outstanding.

The Forks of the Cheat Winery has changed a lot, but the wine is just as great as I remember. Now the grounds have terraced gardens and areas to sit and look out over the mountains. Apparently they have a lot of food and wine events there now. No wonder, it’s one of the most lovely places in the area.

Now, the challenge will be to get all of the bottles safely back to Florida in my suitcase, because the winery is unable to ship to Florida.

My dad took me to a little place in Charles Town, WV today called John’s. It’s right up the road from the old Rainbow Room bar, where Patsy Cline used to perform. It’s unassuming to look at and advertises country cooking, but it is anything but. The menu is expansive and everything on it is high quality and absolutely amazing.

My epiphany is basically this – I have no business dining out at all unless the food I am paying for is at least as good as the food at John’s, and that is not something you are going to find all that often in the price range of John’s. Therefore, I really have no business spending my money of food that is only mediocre when I am really rather a good cook on my own.

John’s is no particular style. It’s just skillfully prepared food at about the same prices you might expect to pay at any given chain steakhouse. I had an almond crusted chicken tonight that actually had me scraping the pan-drippings off my platter. The crab cakes and breaded shrimp were better than any seafood I have had in all my years of living in Florida. My daughter had vegetable soup that was more like a stew and a meal unto itself. I could go on and on, because I shamelessly sampled from everyone’s meals to make sure I had a taste of everything. I kid you not, if you are within 50 miles of this place you need to take the time to give it a try.

I’m looking for a good link now, but they must not have a website. So, here is the information:

John’s My Pappy’s Place
U.S.340S (south of Charles Town)
Rippon, WV 25441
Map
304-725-4348

I went to Sea World as a chaperone with some of the kids from my high school. It was mostly Biology and Marine Science students and this particular trip had an overload of people volunteer to chaperone initially. I’m not sure what happened, but about a week ago they ended up with too few chaperones. I was not even going to ask to go, but I’m thrilled it worked out. I’m not sure I will ever have another opportunity to go to Sea World for free. ?

Anyway, I’m sure you are much more interested to hear about Manta. It is amazing. I am a roller coaster fan and have never really played on anything quite like this. Besides that jolting second loop, the ride is smooth, freeing, and made me laugh with pure glee the entire time. I rode Manta with a couple of other teachers, one of which was dead set against going when we got to the park that morning. I think she just experienced so much enthusiasm throughout the course of the morning that she got all caught up and in the end she was the most excited person in our group.

I know Sea World is not known primarily for the thrill rides, but I think they made a brilliant move when they brought this one on board. It’s worth the entire price of admission. Well, that and those super cute puffins.

Amazingly, one of the most popular vacation destinations in the world is just about an hour from my house – Kissimmee. My daughter and I make the Disney parks a part of our time together as often as I can manage. It’s not the time or the distance that keep us from going more often. It’s the cost. The theme parks can get expensive.

Right now there is an exciting contest going on that means anyone can enjoy Kissimmee without having to shell out the cash. When you enter the Kissimmee Freedom Sweepstakes, you could win one of three weekend getaways (3 days/2 nights) for two people or one of two weeklong vacations for four people. Those vacations include airfare, car rental, theme park tickets, golf vouchers, and dining certificates. No matter if you live right here in Florida or across the nation, this is a worry-free prize package.

Go ahead and enter. You can do so by using your mobile device, by visiting the Kissimmee Freedom website, or by collecting game cards when you visit a participating Kissimmee destination.

A group of friends is talking about getting together in Vegas, where several of my old high school friends now live. Of course, if too many of us gather there we won’t be able to stay in homes, but will have to book some Las Vegas hotels to fit the whole gang. Nothing wrong with that, since rates there are generally more reasonable than many other locations.

I was also surprised at how many of us made our ways down here to Florida. I did not list any of the Florida cities I could visit, because many of them would only be day trips for me.

So, when I am looking for something to do with friends, I am often taken aback by my own habit of staying so close to home. So much is available with what amounts to a pretty short drive, over bridges and around the Bay, as well as up and down the Gulf coast. We tend to forget Tarpon Springs and Westgate, Kenneth City and Citrus Park, and the other tens upon tens of little Bay area towns and regions that offer restaurants and clubs and festival pretty much every weekend.

I need to motivate my friends to take the challenge to do something in a different city every weekend. I can hardly wait to see what we discover.

While a vacation in Kissimmee very well may mean fun trips to family theme parks, some world class golfing, and dining in restaurants helmed by famous chefs like Emeril. However, you have to round out the pricey side of your vacation with the plethora of fun, free things Kissimmee has to offer.

Yes, I said free.

You don’t always have to have a pocketful of money to have a memorable time in Florida. You can meander along the brick-lined streets of Old Town and discover shops, vintage car shows, and amusement park rides – not to mention the free concerts. There are parks and other venues for viewing Florida’s exciting wildlife. Hanging out at Downtown Disney is free and for us that always means spending some time at the outdoor section of the Legoland Store.

One of my favorite low-cost options for fun here in Florida is going to see Spring Training games. Both the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves train in Osceola County.

Whether you’re headed to Kissimmee to take advantage of al the free or nearly-free attractions, or if you’ve been budgeting all year so you can spend freely in the theme parks and dinner theaters, there is always something to do. And, right now you can enter the Kissimmee Freedom Sweepstakes.

Since the best things in life are free (in my opinion) Kissimmee is giving away three (3) weekend getaways (3 days/2 nights) for two (2); and two (2) weeklong vacations for four (4). Those getaways include airfare and a rental car. Drawings will be held on or around 4/15/09 and 5/21/09. Can you think of a better way to threat yoru family to some amazing fun in these unsure economic times? I can’t.

Ah, dolphins. My sister has always had an affinity for them. She moved to Florida about four years before I did and one of the first things she did was locate a handful of dolphin rehabilitation centers where she could donate funds and be involved in supporting research, like programs that allow sick and disabled children to swim with dolphins as a form of physical therapy.

Once I moved to Florida and was able to see dolphins all round me near the Gulf beaches, I was won over as well. I started looking around at how many programs there are here in Florida dedicated to dolphins. They range from rescue and observational study to more interactive programs like the one at Sea World.

Because my daughter is so young and patience is not one of her more finely tuned personality traits just yet, I prefer a setting like Sea World where we’re guaranteed an interactive experience filled with a chance to learn everything our brains can retain about the dolphins. Plus, there is no way that by looking at dolphins in the wild I would have ever been able to see them playing with bubble rings. You have GOT to take a look at the dolphin bubbles video that Sea World has on their dolphin blog that shows their dolphins playing under water with bubble rings. If you cannot imagine what I am talking about, imagine a time when you have watched someone blow a smoke ring and apply that to air bubbles. It’s almost unbelievable – but, of course, you can see it yourself and seeing is indeed believing.

However, that was a few years back. I’m past my partying days and more concerned with finding fun family activities to do with my daughter this weekend. I have had it in my head all week to go over to Apollo Beach tomorrow. Another cold snap hit town and that means another good time to go over to the Manatee Viewing Center.

I mentioned my plan to one of my friends last night and she asked to come along. The more, the merrier. I mentioned the plans to another friend this afternoon and she reminded me that the traffic in Tampa is horrific right now. This weekend is just going to be insane with the additional people in town for the game and the parties. An awful lot of out-of-towers are clogging up the roads in rental cars. It’s not pretty.

Unfortunately, the quickest route to Apollo Beach is across the causeway and through Tampa. Apollo Beach is just a little south of Tampa. And while it is just across the Bay from me as the “crow flies”, I’m no bird and need to use a bridge. Someone suggested heading south, taking the Skyway and coming back up the other side of the Bay. Yikes, I hate taking the Skyway – it sways!

So, right now I am in flux. I need to call the friend going with us and see if she has any input. The thing is, she rarely does.

It pains me to think of missing this opportunity. The next time I have my daughter for a weekend is two weeks away and I cannot know now if it will be chilly enough to attract the manatees.

*sigh*