Cliff and Leah Patton went camping on Lion Country Safari's grounds with their two granddaughters thanks to the annual passes they just bought. As Palm Beach Gardens residents, they own almost all major Florida theme park passes including Sea World, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Busch Gardens, Aquatica and the recently acquired Lion Country Safari.
The lobby has mesquite driftwood floors and an aquarium with a rare red-carpet anemone from the South Pacific. One spa wall is textured to look like ocean waves. And the rooms feature marble bathrooms, designer furniture and fine Egyptian bedding.
Nov. 13-14: Quilts and Tea Festival, Davenport. Free. 863-258-7800; www.davenportfl.org. Nov. 13-15: RibFest, St. Petersburg. At Vinoy Park. 727-528-3828; www.ribfest.org.
Nov. 6: American Indian Arts Celebration, Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation. At Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum. 877-302-1113; www.ahtahthiki.com.
With tourist season still about six weeks away, Miami attractions are hoping to draw in local residents with two-for-one and other discounted admissions. You could consider a visit an early scouting mission for friends and relatives from up north.
Kids tired of experiencing the same old roller coasters have a new ride to tackle. Walt Disney World's ''Sum of All Thrills'' is the first ride in Epcot's Innoventions pavilion, where businesses sponsor educational attractions and hawk their brands.
Oct. 30-31: Great Southern Tailgate Cook Off, Fernandina Beach. Sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society. 904-277-0717; www.ameliaisland.com.
My postman's eyebrows popped into his hairline as he handed me a lavishly painted coconut affixed with a postage stamp and my address. ''Wow!'' he mouthed in awe. ''Wow, wow, wow.''
Oct. 1-3: U.S. Waveski Championships, Melbourne Beach. At Sebastian Inlet State Park. Contest dates and times vary according to surf conditions. 321-984-4852; http://uswaveski.com/sebastian.html.
Sarasota is an arts-crazy place, a Florida Gulf Coast city justifiably proud of its cultural riches.
While Universal and Busch Gardens might scare you silly with their Halloween events, Disney World and SeaWorld offer more kid-friendly events.
Scott Horowitz relaxes by the water during vacations. Most of his family's trips are to the beach resorts where he may ''hang out'' or Jet Ski. And for 17 years, the Southwest Ranches resident has opted to take his vacations in Florida.
The Nobel Peace Center in Oslo this week opens From King to Obama focusing on Martin Luther King Jr. and how the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s paved the way for Barack Obama's historic election. ''There are many obvious similarities between King and Obama in terms of their values, their political strategies and in their rhetoric and public impact,'' says Bente Erichsen, director of the center. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 when he was just 35 years old, the youngest ever Peace Prize laureate.
A massive Hogwarts castle will loom over The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, slated to open in the spring at Universal's Islands of Adventure in Orlando.
Small-town folks, I have found, are generally more friendly and more relaxed than their big-city counterparts, and their accommodations are more reasonably priced. Plus, you won't have to fight crowds.
We crossed the causeway at dusk, drove over the drawbridge, turned down a dirt road and wound through a towering grove of palmettos. The path opened onto a loamy beach, blanketed with kayaks.
If the economic meltdown has a silver lining, it's evident in the deals to be found in resort areas like Orlando.
Visiting a tiny fishing village north of Tampa, our intrepid adventurer dives in only to learn gathering scallops is no simple clambake.
Just about any day of the week in South Florida, you can find a shop hosting a wine tasting -- if traditional wines like Pinot Grigio and merlot are what you're looking for.
Sticky, sultry August, when tourists are keeping their distance, brings a spate of bargains for locals vacationing at home. Here are some South Florida attractions that are offering free or discounted admission and a sampling of hotel deals.
Despite the uneven economy, new hotels and resorts are opening right and left (or east and west as the case may be) around Florida. Since the serious onset of recession in 2008, about a dozen top-scale and boutique resorts -- plus a smattering of brand-name properties -- have opened in gutsy defiance of predictions and indicators. Many more are slated to open by the end of the year. Here's a look at what some new resorts have to offer.
It's breeding season, and the birds at Flamingo Gardens are showing off. They're in full plumage with brilliant color. Most of them are in the free-flight aviary, in full view of visitors.
It was late, the wine had been mostly dispatched, and the candles had begun to weep crazily across the patio table. It was end-of-the-party conversation, desultory and rambling, about our favorite places. Favorite place in Florida, my husband mused. That's easy, St. George Island. Everyone but me looked at him blankly.
If your idea of a perfect beach involves a waiter to fetch your drinks and the amenities of a high-rise hotel, then the beach at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park may not be for you.
TENNESSEE: REMEMBERING THE KING Every year since Elvis Presley's death in 1977, tens of thousands of people from around the world have gathered at his Memphis home, Graceland, to celebrate his life in a series of events known as Elvis Week. In addition to the Candlelight Vigil on Aug. 15 and the traditional festivities, this year's event will include a karaoke contest and a Shake, Rattle and Bowl Party.
It's hot and buggy, but it's peak season for the tropical fruits at Redland Fruit & Spice Park. You can sample lychees, longans, jackfruit, cinnamon apple, ice cream bean, carambola, mangoes and other fruits that the park staff cut up and set out, and you're allowed to eat any fallen fruit you find as well.
A facial at the spa and window shopping at St. Armand's Circle make for a fun girls-only holiday.
As summer days alternate between monsoons and hot-and-sticky, the thought of jetting off to a faraway, cool place (hmm, Switzerland?) sounds oh so appealing.
Even during the heat of summer, Florida's got plenty of cool attractions.
Maybe you no longer remind yourself to head outside and look north, hoping to catch the rockets' red glare or smoke contrail as a Space Shuttle lifts off. After more than 110 of the launches, many of us have grown blasé.
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