Whether you're a school kid, a parent or a slightly crazed college student, Spring Break is an annual reminder that the year is hurtling past.

In Florida, it's also part of our cultural history. From railroad pioneer Henry Flagler to Connie Francis and the gang from the 1960 movie Where the Boys Are, Northerners have long escaped winter harshness for Florida's lulling sunshine. And though local public schools don't take time out until early April, a spin onto any traffic artery is proof that for many people Spring Break is now in full swing. (If you're the parent of a college-age kid, just look in your spare bedroom. It's likely full of school pals.)

We're going to check out the scene. No, we aren't coming to your guest room (count your blessings). But we are heading around the state to check out fave spots for Spring Break vacations for all ages.

For the next six days, I'll be driving from the Florida Keys to the West Coast, on to the theme parks and Daytona Beach, and finally to Panama City Beach, where the traditional insanity of college Spring Break still draws close to 300,000 young adults (we use that term loosely). You can cheer me on, offer suggestions -- or cautions -- and post your own memories online at www.MiamiHerald.com/travel; click on Jane's Travel Blog.

$12 BILLION BOOST

I should have plenty of company. Just how many Spring Breakers hit Florida's shores is a guess, since state tourism officials don't track the stats that way. But you can figure that most people who head to the Sunshine State from late February through mid-April are coming here for the weather, baseball spring training, the festivals, the fun. Crunch the numbers, and it looks like 17 million Breakers tossing about $12 billion into our state's coffers.

Of course Florida isn't the only Spring Break magnet anymore. College students and, yes, even high schoolers, are going to Texas, Cancun, the Caribbean and Europe. Increasingly, they sign up for "volunteer vacations" and donate their time to worthy causes, say experts. Some families head to the ski slopes, Caribbean cruises or Costa Rica, says Eileen Ogintz, who writes the syndicated column Taking the Kids.

But Florida still sizzles.

About 58 percent of student Spring Breakers traveling inside the United States are coming to Florida, say executives at STA Travel, the largest agency for travelers 18-35. That's an increase of 4 percent over 2006.

Yet increasingly it's families -- not college kids -- who are taking over Florida's shores during the Spring Break period. Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, family travel has been on the rise. In 2000, about 26 percent of leisure travelers took one or more trips with children, according to the Yankelovich Travel Monitor. In 2006, that number rose to 36 percent. "If you look at what's happened in terms of world events, people are placing higher value on their families," says Dennis Marzullo, executive vice president of YPB&R, which conducts the Yankelovich travel research.

STUDENTS DISCOURAGED

And some Florida destinations actively discourage students in favor of a calmer, more affluent audience.

Fort Lauderdale led the trend when its tourism leaders decided in the early 1980s that Spring Break was, literally, more trouble than it was worth. Now about 10,000 college kids come to Lauderdale during Spring Break, says Jessica Taylor, spokeswoman for the city's convention and visitors bureau -- down from 350,000-400,000 students decades ago. In those years, Fort Lauderdale had only 3.3 million visitors a year; now, with a year-round flow of families, couples and convention-goers, the count is up to 10.35 million.

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