Money Saving “Staycation” Ideas at Your Library

For Immediate Release
Media Contact:

Heather O’Connell

239-461-2924

Fort Myers, FL; June 05, 2008 – Money Saving “Staycation” Ideas at Your Library

With today’s tight economy, and high gas prices, many people are skipping their traditional summer travel plans and opting for “Staycations”, enjoying their summer at home, or taking short trips to nearby sites. But how can you keep it interesting and fresh throughout the summer? You’ll find great ideas at these websites and with these free resources at your library.

“People are looking for vacation alternatives that won’t cost much,” said Sally Bissell, Librarian at South County Regional Library. “They’re always surprised when we recommend websites and travel guides full of ideas for our area,” she said.

Here are a dozen of the most recommended sites and titles for Southwest Florida “Staycationers”.

Explore Lee County

1. Check the Visitor and Convention Bureau website and you’ll find nature and wildlife activities, arts, culture, history, events and more. A family-friendly section includes suggestions of local restaurants with kid-appeal. Click a city or area of your choice to see a variety of possible stops. http://www.fortmyers-sanibel.com/

Go Green without Going Far
There are miles of paddling, hiking and biking trails to explore. Check out any of these titles for suggestions on great destinations and tips on keeping it exciting and fun for adventurers of all ages.

2. Paddler’s Guide to Everglades National Park - Author Johnny Molloy gives a little history of the area, covers rules and regulations, equipment to take for camping and then has the various routes for kayaking and canoeing. http://www.gaeaguides.com/Great%20Calusa%20Blueway.htm Click through the Great Calusa Blueway links for trail conditions and “paddler reviews”.

3. Hiker’s Guide to the Sunshine State by Sandra Friend. This title is very comprehensive. It’s divided by area and each hiking trail has icons that indicate mileage, whether or not there are camping and toilet facilities, if interpretive information is available, whether of not there’s a fee and if the trail is maintained by the Florida Trail Association. Want to include your whole family on the trip? This guide also shows if pets are allowed.

4. 50 Hikes in South Florida by the same author, Sandra Friend, is laid out much the same way but covers walks, hikes and backpacking trips from Tampa to the Keys and back up to a little north of West Palm Beach.

6. Florida’s Paved Bike Trails by Jeff and Gretchen Kunerth features more than 40 trails from Pensacola Beach to the Florida Keys at varying levels of expertise from beginner cyclists, to families, to experts. It’s a bit dated (2001) so when you find an interesting trail, just check this website for any updates. http://www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/guide/ from the Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection.

Road Trips!
You don’t have to go far to have an adventure. Get some great ideas with one of these titles:

7. Southwest Florida: 150 Day Trips- This is part of a very popular series called Mini Day Trip Books by Joan Lundquist Scalpone. If you’re staying close to home, you’ll find plenty to do in this volume.

8. Best Backroads of Florida, Vol. 2 – This edition covers from Tampa on down to the Keys.

9. Cool Road Trips in SW Florida by Kim Cool

and

10. Quick Escapes; 29 Weekend Getaways in and around the Sunshine State by W. Lynn Seldon, Jr.
Both are user-friendly guides with a variety of ideas.

11. Find information on everything from Florida zoos and aquariums to day cruises, festivals and events, lesser known attractions and gardens at this site: http://goflorida.about.com/od/attractions/ss/daytrips.htm

12. Want to try something really different? This website features “fun and quirky” Florida attractions, “trips on a tank” and adventures for ranging from swimming with manatees to sky diving. http://www.visitflorida.com/

Before you start your trip, check highway conditions at one of these sites: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/trafficinfo/fl.htm or http://www.usroadconditions.com/fl.shtml

Not going anywhere? – Try Virtual Vacations

“I recommend this when families tell me they’ll be seeing us all summer, because they can’t afford to travel,” says Jodie Raddatz, Children’s and Teens’ Librarian at Bonita Springs Public Library. “They can still have fun and pretend they’re going anywhere they want!” she said.

Here are “Miss Jodie’s” Steps to a Virtual Vacation:

1. Select a destination and check out free Travel Download Videos or DVDs.
2. Pair this up with a few selections from the library’s World Music collection to create the atmosphere.
3. Pick up a cookbook so you can complete the experience with a traditional dish.

”You can involve the whole family by creating inexpensive centerpieces and decorations, and learning stories and songs from your destination,” Raddatz says.

You’ll find books with these ideas for many countries in the children’s collection. You can also get fun facts about the country of your choice with Culture Grams, an electronic resource on the library website.

“I also show families how to create scrapbooks for their virtual trips”, Raddatz says.

If you’d like some help to get started, stop by the library’s Reference Desk, call us at 479-INFO (4636) or visit Ask-A-Librarian (live chat) on our website www.lee-county.com/library

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