Thanks so much for the compliment. Knowing that I have actually helped people with their vacation plans pleases me immensely.

Here is a link to my blog “Hooray for Horses.” It has lots of places you can go to ride—particularly in Marion County, which boasts more horses and ponies than any other county in the nation. Happy trails!

Check this site out for help on how you can watch your favorite British programs in sunny Florida!

Here is a list of a whole slew of baseball camps plus contact information. They are located in different areas and run by different organizations so you can pick which suits your needs best.

Wow! Sounds like you might be a tad busy on your trip to Florida. The National Training Center Aquatic Center, located in Clermont close to where I live, is the first place that comes to mind. It is a state-of-the-art facility like no other in the Central Florida area with community programming and training opportunities for athletes of all levels. However, their pool is bigger than Olympic size – so I am not sure if it will suit you. If they don’t have exactly what you are looking for they can probably recommend a good spot for training. Click here for contact and other information.  Here is info and ratings for hotels in the Clermont area. 

Lake Worth Municipal Swimming Pool (in Lake Worth) features an Olympic size swimming facility. For questions regarding the pool contact Ben Smith at 561-662-9856. Its website says “Large groups wanting to swim need to reserve a time one week prior to usage, by filling out a Pool Facility Application form.”

Venice Villas offers efficiency and one-bedroom units located on Venice's Golden Beach with “all the amenities you need for the perfect vacation including an Olympic size pool and a beautiful beach.” You can contact the rental management company for Venice Villas at 800-224-8455.   

The Radisson Aventura Beach Resort in North Miami Beach can be reached at (305)932-2233, or toll free at (800)327-6363. It is a full service oceanfront resort that offers an on-premises ocean view restaurant, lounge, exercise room, shopping promenade with hair salon (just in case your swimmers need to have their hair curled…) plus Olympic size and kiddy pools.

The Sea View Hotel in Bal Harbour can be reached at(305) 866-4441 or(800) 447-1010.Built in 1948, The Sea View is a 15-story European-style beachfront hotel and resort, located in upscale Bal Harbour Village. The hotel is directly across from the world-famous Bal Harbour Shops and close to recreational facilities, and features a restaurant, lounge, pool bar, snack bar, Olympic-size heated pool, cabanas, gift shop, valet and self-parking, room service, valet/laundry and turn-down service.

The Riu Pan American Ocean Resort in Sunny Isles Beach can be reached at (305) 932-1100 or(800) 327-5678. It is located on the northern tip of Miami Beach only 20 minutes from the Fort Lauderdale Airport and 30 minutes from the Miami International Airport, and features two restaurants, coffee shop, pool side cafe, lounge, pool bar, 4 lighted tennis courts, heated Olympic-size pool, fitness center, game room, cabanas, beauty salon, gift shop, guest laundry room, complimentary valet and self-parking, room service, valet/laundry, turn-down service and complimentary cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, afternoon tea, and newspaper.

The Sea Breeze Hotel in Miami Beach, can be reached at (305) 940-6600 or (305) 945-3958. Located on the beach, this hotel offers large rooms with a beautiful view. It also offers a restaurant, lounge, pool bar, Olympic-size fresh-water and saltwater pools, fitness center, game room, gift shop, room service and complimentary self-parking.

The prices and atmosphere of these places vary enormously – but again, I am not sure of what exactly you have in mind. The National Training Center in Clermont may be your best bet.

Good luck, and let me know how it comes out!

I called my friend Matthew for advice since he is an avid diver. (I love SCUBA, but have only done a couple of shallow dives.) He was in the Virgin Islands on a dive when I reached him this morning! He and his wife like to dive with the Scuba Club at West Palm Beach  -- he said it was "fantastic." That’s about 85 miles south of Vero. While I know that outfits closer to Vero surely offer quality trips, this is the only one that I have personal knowledge of in the area.

What they do there – thanks to the Gulf Stream -- is drift diving. The Scuba Club’s website warns that the reef structure doesn’t feature the striking coral formations you can find in the Keys, but that instead, it has a low profile bottom topography with deep undercuts and ledges. It also says that it DOES feature great visibility (normally 70-100 feet), has lots of marine life, and doesn’t tend to be crowded. The area is home to HUGE numbers of sea turtles, and also has several wreck dives you can try. Matthew added that you should go when the water is warm-- no problem in September!

Here’s their website. If that’s too far for you, perhaps they can recommend another operation.

The Key Lime Sailing Club offers bayfront cottages in the Florida Keys. Its website promises “white sand and palms - your own dock and boat ramp….Located directly on the bay! Enjoy Key Largo sunsets from one of the area's most intimate settings... Secluded, serene and an easy walk to dining and dancing. It's perfect! Come inside and take a look at our unique little hideaway. We'd love to have you stay with us! Our 22 foot Catalina or O'Day single-masted sailboats are perfect for cruising the calm waters of Florida Bay. Just grab your cooler, walk to our dock and point the bow into the horizon. Explore the Keys in style! Leave and return when you like...after all, you don't want to be tied to any schedule when you're on vacation.”

If that doesn’t sound appealing to you, here is a link to hotels that have some association with sailing or marinas– the services vary depending on which one you’re looking at. 

Check out the “Top Gun” 20^th anniversary at Lakeland Linder Airport May 6-10, 2009. It would be really cool if you could make it there – it’s a huge deal. Here’s a link to all the RC clubs in Florida—there are 23 – so you can check out their calendars for events/ airshows. http://www.dmoz.org/Recreation/Aviation/Model_Aviation/Radio_Controlled/Airplanes/Clubs/United_States/Florida/ http://www.franktiano.com/TopGunFrameset.htm

Lauren

You’re coming to the best place in the whole world for sports! Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee is a 220-acre facility that plays host to over 170 amateur and professional sporting events each year. Check it out here. 

The UCF Arena on the University of Central Florida campus in Orlando is the home to the  UCF Knights men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams, and also hosts commencements, concerts, and many other events. Here’s their website. 

The Florida Citrus Bowl is a stadium in Orlando built for  football; here’s their website.

Here’s a link to the major league baseball teams that hold their spring training within striking distance of Orlando.

Here’s a link to the Brave’s schedule for spring training in Champion Stadium.

Have fun,

Here is a link to events (but not all are sporting, and not all are in September) in Fort Myers. 

If you’re looking for a little adventure, you are invited to the “Annual Labor Day Weekend Muck-About”  in Big Cypress. Clyde and Niki Butcher will be offering swamp walks, folk music, food, movies, camera demonstrations, environmental booths, and much more. Click here for more info about it. 

I assume you’ll be in the Orlando area (since you said you do the theme parks every year). Check out my blog on Orlando Adventures here for some new ideas. A tandem hang gliding ride, a balloon ride, biking, or a visit to the cable park at the Orlando Watersports Complex might be fun. My mother took my two teenage nephews to swim with the wild manatees last week (check out my video). That IS the coolest thing to do in Florida, but it’s not a great time of year for it, because there are not as many manatees in the river in the summer. The boys did get to touch a couple of manatees – though, and the river is beautiful. I have lots of information about it in an older blog, so you can look at it for contact info if you’re interested.

Yes, this April. It was really fun, though it was pretty wild to watch the other skydivers tumble out of the plane. Kind of WRONG looking.

I wrote a huge blog post about it because I was so stoked. Check it out here. 

So, are you asking because you want to go, or because you have discovered some other cool place I can go?

Thanks for writing. I’ve included contact information here for several operations offering flight training out of Page Field, which services Sanibel/Fort Myers. You can call them and ask exactly what they offer and when they are available. Here is the website with more information.

Here's the contact information. Beaver Aviation South at (239) 939-6010 offers a pilot shop, flight school, rental aircraft, and charters. Edgar M. Fink, Master CFI, at (239)549-6402 offers Individual ground & flight training, primary flight instruction, instrument instruction, flight reviews, instrument proficiency checks, private pilot ground school, instrument pilot ground school, and remedial training (FAA directed). First Flight Aviation LLC at (239)931-3320 offers similar services. Joannair Helicopter Service at (239)275-3355 or (239)980-4646 offers similar services in helicopters.

Budget Video Rentals in Miami rents underwater housing. You can email them at: BudgetVidRentals@aol.com or call them at 800-772-1111. Here's their website. If they are too far away for you, they can probably refer you to someone closer to your location.

You probably know this, but these type of rentals are pricey. For my surfing video and manatee video the camera crew actually just wrapped heavy plastic bags around the camera (much cheaper, though my husband said I should remind you to use clear bags). Obviously that would not work for great depths – and I am certainly no camera expert. Have a great trip to the wild, wonderful Keys.

Here's a link to a boatload of articles about trails in the Orlando area, so you can choose the ones that appeal most to you. There are lots of state parks – so many that you can explore a new area every time if you’d like.

I personally use the trailhead at Lake Minneola in Clermont most often, since I live right by it. It’s hilly and about 7.5 miles to Killarney Station, and connects to the West Orange Trail. Here's more info about the West Orange Trail. Lots of the triathletes that train out of Clermont use the path.

Big Shoals Public Lands is a 3,772-acre parcel of cooperatively managed public land that features the largest whitewater rapids in Florida. The park has 28 miles of wooded trails for daytime recreational use. Bird watching, picnicking, bicycling, hiking, canoeing, kayaking and horseback riding are encouraged. Here’s some info about nearby White Springs. MapQuest says White Springs is 1 hour 4 minutes and 65 miles from Gainesville – not too bad.

I spoke with a woman at the Big Shoals Park (Phone: 386-397-2733) and she said you can raft there, but only if you bring your own. However, you CAN rent a canoe or kayak from American Canoe Adventures in White Springs (Phone: 386-397-1309) and run the rapids on them.

Florida Whitewater Rafting says that “it offers canoe, kayak and whitewater rafting trips on rivers, creeks, streams and lakes near Florida. You can experience rafting trips ranging from a brief two hour tour to a wilderness adventure lasting several days.” Their number is 352-759-3483. The man I spoke with there a few months ago said that they run trips around the Georgia/FL line. Their season runs from mid-May until early September. I hope this helps!

Ginnie Springs Outdoors LLC offers swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving in seven freshwater springs, plus canoeing and tubing in the Santa Fe River. They have waterfront, primitive, electrical and group campsites with tables and charcoal grills, plus bathhouses with hot showers as well as other amenities.   (If this place was called “Gina Springs,” it would be PERFECT.)

Blue Springs Park, Inc. is located at (how did you guess?)Blue Springs, on the Santa Fe River. They also offer canoeing, tubing, hiking, and more. Its campground caters to both full hookup and primitive campers.

Hi Diane,
You're in luck! It’s a short trek to the Santos Trailhead in Belleview from Ocala (less than 20 minutes). It features horse trails, hiking trails, and mountain biking trails that meander through the pines. The horse trails and mountain bike trails are separate, which makes it safer for both humans and equines.

The trails are well designed and well marked according to user type and skill level.  Some are simple enough for families that include little kids, but it’s also a great place for the advanced rider to polish their technical skills. Bathrooms, water, picnic tables, a bike wash, and camping are available. Here’s a website with more information about the trails, including directions.

You can even rent a bike at the Santos Trailhead Bike Shop. They have organized rides and events if you’d like some company. Check them out here. 

Helmets are required, and remember your insect repellent and plenty of water. Enjoy!

PS: Here’s a Visit Florida guide to bike trails around the state if you’re interested in pedaling other areas.

You’ll love hiking the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail! As you probably know, the trail circles Lake Okeechobee, which is the second largest freshwater lake in the contiguous United States. The 110 mile trail sits atop the Herbert Hoover Dike, and features an array of views, from scenic lakeside to working agricultural landscapes. It also features an abundance of wildlife as well as birds such as herons and egrets. The fishing ROCKS.

There are about a million (well, maybe not quite that many) places to access the trail. Check out the US Army Corps of Engineers website here; it has maps of the access points and lots more information, too. 

Click here to see Visit Florida articles about the trail. 

Remember to keep an eye on the sky if you’re going out in summer months. Lightning storms can sneak up on you with little warning – and we have lots of them in the summer. Also remember your insect repellent and plenty of water.

Have a great time!

I can practically see the mum-of-the-century award sitting on your mantle already!

First, thanks for being so specific. Knowing where you are staying, your ages, the time of year and your basic interests makes it a zillion times easier for me.

So your boys like excitement! Try hang gliding at the Florida Ridge, outside of La Belle. It’s east of Fort Meyers, and SE of Port Charlotte, about one hour (54 miles) away. Click here for more information about Florida Ridge, and go to their “tandem sky rides” page. Here’s an article I wrote about hang gliding so you have a better idea of what to expect.

In the summer we tend to get thunderstorms in the afternoon, so you should book this adventure for the morning. The Florida Ridge is a quality operation (I’ve competed out of their facility several times). The La Belle area is sparsely populated.

How about hooking a big one? The Gulf of Mexico is renowned for its deep sea fishing, because it’s one of the prime migratory routes for a variety of species, and in Florida you can find good fishing often just a few miles offshore. Here’s some general info about fishing in the gulf, and here’s a guide to tons of places near Port Charlotte with details about the services that each one provides.

Parasailing is a spectacular way to see the world in a new perspective. Here is a list of the many area businesses that offer it.  Here’s some info about parasailing from my blog. 

If your boys are keen on cars it is a good bet they will be keen on wave runners (also known as jet skis), too. I was amazed at how fun it was to bounce across the waves when I tried it. Here are some places you can rent them. 

Ace Performers promises you can learn to windsurf in one hour with on super-wide boards with a seasoned pro. It’s located in Fort Myers, 37 minutes (28 miles) away.  

Offshore Sailing and Power School at Pink Shell Beach Resort & Spa and South Seas Island Resort provides sailing and boating learning vacations. It’s also located in Fort Myers.

I absolutely adore the manatees. They are so curious and are the cutest animals on the planet. To swim with wild manatees you need to go to the Crystal River/Homosassa area. It’s strictly regulated and that is literally the only place in the USA that you can swim with them. Crystal River is quite a ways; just shy of three hours and around 171 miles, almost due north of Port Charlotte, right up the coast.

There won’t be as many manatees there at this time of year because they gather in the river to feed in the winter, but there are a few pods of manatees that live in the river year round. When you make reservations ask very specifically about what kind of manatee activity you can expect. I know the people at Sunshine River Tours would give you an honest answer. Here is my blog article about my last visit there with contact information. 

You can also see manatees at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, and it’s only 53 minutes (45 miles) away from P.C.

I know; seeing manatees is not the same thing as getting cuddly with them. However, Sarasota is truly beautiful and at Mote, as their website says, you can “explore the secrets of the sea with touch pools, shark, dolphin, manatee and sea turtle exhibits and over 100 other species of marine life. Viewable working labs and high-tech interactive exhibits showcase the world-renowned research of Mote Marine Laboratory.” Here’s more info.

Here are some Visit Florida articles about Port Charlotte with a whole slew of suggestions. 

Thanks for your note. I’d love to come out for a cruise, and the Banana River isn’t too far from my home. Your place looks great. I have actually never seen dolphins in the wild (go figure!) so that sounds interesting to me. From what I read, it sounds like YOU are a huge reason that your business is so special, and that you truly care that each visitor has a quality experience. I’ll give you a buzz in the next few days.

You must be reading my mind --I just visited the Pensacola area! I was in Milton to shoot a video of the “challenge ropes course” at Adventures Unlimited for Visit Florida. You should try it. In the ropes course you do scary things like climb up telephone poles and traverse logs far above the ground. It’s all totally safe but it makes for a very interesting day. You can also go tubing, kayaking or canoeing at Adventures Unlimited. The water feels fantastic in the summer! You can even camp there (like real camping, in a tent, or my sort of camping, where you rent a cabin with air conditioning). I was totally impressed with the operation. The staff was friendly and professional, the location was beautiful, and everything was clean and tidy. Here is their website, and here are some Visit Florida articles about them.

The Pensacola area features white sand beaches, and you can indulge in almost any water related activity there. There is literally so much to do in the area it is impossible to list it all, but I’ll give you some suggestions to start with.

You could try scuba diving; click here to check out some places that offer it.

If you like to whack those little white balls around, here are some places to golf. 

If the idea of sailing appeals to you, you can go for an afternoon or learn how at Lanier Sailing Academy.

Radical Rides will rent you a wave runner or take you parasailing.

You’ve probably heard of the Naval Aviation Museum, with its incredible Blue Angels exhibit. Admission is free – you can’t beat that with a stick! Here’s their website, and here are some Visit Florida articles about it.  

Pensacola even has free live concerts on the beach. Here’s a schedule. 

Relax! Fort Lauderdale does have a large gay community, but it’s also a great place to enjoy family friendly activities. I would be very surprised if you don’t enjoy yourselves. Here’s some information on the area’s attractions and activities.

Some of my personal suggestions? I think it might be fun for you to take part in a sea turtle hatchling release. Check out my blog about the program here. 

You could also take an airboat ride in the Everglades, or try a fishing trip. Let me know how it goes!

What a wonderful idea. There are LOTS of fabulous places you can visit in Florida. Where you go depends on what you like to do. I assume you like adventurous activities since you’re writing me, but I don’t know if you like nature and lots of quiet time, or if you prefer an area with lots of activities and sports.

If you are into nature and things like canoeing and kayaking, you might visit the Panhandle. Adventures Unlimited near Milton is a great place to stay. You can even spice up the visit with their challenging ropes course!

Another area for a quiet vacation geared around nature and the outdoors is Crystal River, on the west coast of central Florida. You can swim with the wild manatees there and go scalloping and snorkeling, as well as hike, visit Indian burial grounds and kayak. Check out my video. 

The Orlando area has a zillion things to do if you want to experience adventures like horseback riding, sky diving, hang gliding, swimming with dolphins at Discovery Cove, and wakeboarding. Check out my blog this week for more details and website links.  

Next week I’ll blog about Miami – another area for you if you’d like lots of things to do.

One of my favorite places is Key West, with its incredible snorkeling, scuba diving and sunset celebrations – but it’s hardly quiet. It all depends on what sounds good to YOU.

Islamorada in the Keys IS low key, and features brilliant sports fishing, diving, kite boarding and jet skiing.

I hope you have a great time here, and make some memories that will last a lifetime.

Here’s a link here to a long list of Florida balloon companies (28 of them!) so you can compare them and pick one close to where you’ll be visiting.  Also, here’s a link to Visit Florida articles about ballooning. Happy flying!

Here are a few places to get you started. Florida Eco-Safaris is located at Forever Florida and the Crescent J Ranch, 4,700 acres of pristine Florida wilderness and a working cattle ranch. Forever Florida offers an overnight ride (ride all day, camp at night). They only offer camping if you want to stay. Here’s their website. 

At the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park you can stay in a cabin and ride out of their facility daily.  Their website says "experience the intoxicating beauty and natural charm of North Florida as you make your way along the banks of the historic Suwannee River. With twenty+ miles of trails to ride, there is always something new to see.” 

Grand Cypress Equestrian Center offers countless options to guests interested in combining top riding instruction, a luxurious and relaxing getaway, superb fine dining and more. Each and every equestrian vacation is designed personally for your needs and level of equestrian expertise. 

Here are links to Visit Florida articles about horseback riding. 

Write back if you’d like information about a specific area – Florida is a big state!

I’m not sure if you’d like to my opinion on the best way to explore the Everglades National Park or the best way to get a cool airboat tour. Here’s lots of information about the park. Airboats are not permitted in Everglades National Park, however, if you’re not set on an airboat, you can rent a canoe or kayak, and explore them that way. This personally appeals to me, since it’s quiet, very back-to-nature, and I like to get some exercise – but it may not suit YOU or the people that you’re traveling with. Here’s a link to a whole slew of articles describing different trips you can choose from. 

You may take an airboat ride outside park boundaries along the Tamiami Trail, at Everglades City, and between Homestead and the Ernest Coe Visitor Center off route 9336. Here’s a link to articles about a bunch of airboat companies that operate in the Everglades, so you can pick one close to where you will be staying. Here’s the website for Everglades Safari Park if you decide to go there.

I recently had a long conversation with a man who used to take out airboat tours. He advised that you should find a small, private company, and be willing to turn off the motor, hang out and wait. He said that you see the coolest wildlife that way.

I hope you have a great time! 

I’m not sure what kind of things you and your family are interested in and your personalities -- adventure sports, theme parks, nature -- so here's a link to attractions in Orlando and also a link to attractions in Miami. This way you can pick for yourselves.
As 3 days isn’t much time I would choose to visit either Miami or Orlando, not both. Either place has stuff to keep you occupied for weeks, and you don’t want to waste a minute driving back and forth.
The web site www.hotels.com has great prices and a comparison chart from low to high. It changes all the time. You type in your destination; they give you the current choices. I also found article about finding cheap hotels for you. Here is advice about car rentals; here is website that helps you get inexpensive airline tickets.
I hope you have a great time here!

You’re in luck! Dolphin Cove is a marine education and dolphin swim facility located in sunny Key Largo. The swim takes place in a natural lagoon that opens to the Florida Bay.  You can also enjoy a dolphin swim at the Dolphin Research Center in Marathon. Dolphin World can help you find even more locations.

Or, opt to discover the world of wild dolphins in the local waters of Key West, Florida with Wild About Dolphins. 

Mitzi Gordon, Visit Florida’s smart travel expert, is better suited to answering this question than I am. You can contact her here. Thanks lots, and sorry to redirect you – but she is absolutely brilliant at traveling in style without breaking the bank, and this is right up her alley.

You have LOTS of choices. Here are places to scuba near St. Petersburg. Here are places near Vero Beach. Finally, here are some articles about scuba from Visit Florida. Have a great time!

Mapquest says the driving time is about 3 hours and 11 minutes and that the distance is about 213 miles. Have a great trip!

The name of the place in the video is Everglades Safari Park. It’s about 2 hours from Flamingo (it’s close to Miami) so you may want to find a closer company. I just had a long conversation with a man who used to take out airboat tours (He is a zookeeper in Miami now, and I was “zookeeper for a day” on Tuesday.) He advised that you should find a small, private company, and be willing to turn off the motor, hang out and wait. He said that you see the coolest wildlife that way.

Airboats are not permitted in Everglades National Park, but you may take an airboat ride outside park boundaries along the Tamiami Trail, at Everglades City, and between Homestead and the Ernest Coe Visitor Center off route 9336. I spoke with Cindy in ENP this morning, and she said they are not allowed to recommend airboat companies.

You can rent a canoe right in Flamingo. Cindy told me that everyone LOVES the 9 mile Pond loop—and here’s info about it plus a whole list a fantastic trips you can choose from – but the best place to go will depend on the time of year you visit and the water level (which is a little low right now). I hope you have a great time! 

Actually, it’s not a dumb question at all. I assumed there wasn’t any whitewater in Florida since the state is pretty flat, which doesn’t make for a lot of fast moving water. I was wrong.

Big Shoals Public Lands is a 3,772-acre parcel of cooperatively managed public land that features the largest whitewater rapids in Florida. The park has 28 miles of wooded trails for daytime recreational use. Bird watching, picnicking, bicycling, hiking, canoeing, kayaking and horseback riding are encouraged. Here’s some info about nearby White Springs.

I spoke with a woman at the Big Shoals Park (Phone: 386-397-2733) this morning and she said you can raft there, but only if you bring your own. However, you CAN rent a canoe or kayak from American Canoe Adventures in White Springs (Phone: 386-397-1309) and run the rapids on them.

Florida Whitewater Rafting says that “it offers canoe, kayak and whitewater rafting trips on rivers, creeks, streams and lakes near Florida. You can experience rafting trips ranging from a brief two hour tour to a wilderness adventure lasting several days.” Their number is 352-759-3483. I also spoke with a man there this morning, and he said that they run trips around the Georgia/FL line. However, they have not run any trips in FL recently because of the low water levels. Their season runs from mid-May until early September. You might check back with them later because the woman I spoke with at Big Shoals said they’d had a boatload of rain lately and their rivers were way up.

I hope this helps!

Thanks so much for writing. Unfortunately, there isn’t a tunnel that runs from Ft. Myers to Key West. It’s just shy of 300 miles. However, the drive is truly stunning since you often have water on both sides of the road. You could take a ferry if the drive doesn’t appeal to you. Key West Express provides a passenger ferry service between Ft Myers, Marco Island, Miami and Key West. Have a great trip!

Hi Mario,

It was fantastic to meet you and watch you skydive the other day. Your attitude is an inspiration. I’ll give you a call – but hey, if I go skydiving, will you be the one to take me? Pleeez? I need to go with someone who has had a zillion jumps! Bawk bawk (that’s the sound of the chicken).

For readers’ knowledge, my friend Linda flew down from New York this week to visit family and fly a hang glider at Wallaby Ranch. Besides being one of my closest friends, Linda is my teammate on the US Women’s Hang Gliding Team. She is ranked # 1 in the U.S. (Sadly, I am ranked #2.) While at Wallaby, she met up with Mario.

Mario will be helping us find our way around Italy in the World Hang Gliding Championships this year. He grew up at the base of Monte Cucco, where they are being held. Besides being a master skydiver, he is also a hang glider pilot and paraglider pilot, and those are just his hobbies. He took Linda skydiving, and she was moved to tears by the time they landed. It’s hard to make Linda cry, so I guess I have to go, too!

Mario, about your last comments: I have not made a final decision whether to represent the U.S. in Italy or not. It’s very expensive and I’m not sure I have enough mountain flying experience to make my nation and myself proud, but as you point out, I need to make up my mind quickly. I promise I will.

So, when are we going to jump out of a plane together???

Hi Lisa Jackie,

You’re in luck! The Miami Seaquarium is only 24 minutes and 20 miles from Hollywood. You can swim with the dolphins there. They have several interactive experiences to choose from.

The Seaquarium has participated in the recovery and rehabilitation of more than 65 manatees and houses the most prolific manatee breeding colony anywhere in the U.S.  – but you can’t swim with them.

If you want to swim with the wild manatees you’d have to travel to the Crystal River area. Actually, Citrus County, Florida, is the only place in the world you can legally swim with wild manatees and interact with them, but it’s quite a drive from Hollywood – 4 hours, 41 minutes and 297 miles, to be exact! Here’s the contact info for Sunshine River Tours if you decide to make the trek. There are other good companies in the area, but I’ve been out 3 times with these guys and really like them.

Hi Marissa,

Here’s a parasailing operation that’s fairly close (I did a similar search earlier this week and cannot find a closer one – sorry). Here’s the contact info:
Beach Water Sports

555 NE Ocean Blvd
Stuart, FL 34996
(772) 225-2000

 It’s right outside of Port St. Lucie, which Mapquest says is 43 minutes and 31 miles from Vero Beach.

The 2 closest places I found that you can swim with dolphins are in Orlando at Discovery Cove, which is about 1 hour, 44 minutes and 107 miles from Vero Beach, and Miami Seaquarium, which is about 2 hours, 26 minutes and 153 miles.

Have fun!
Lauren