I read the newspaper daily, but the local news section is always a bit light. In fact, I don’t often hear about events and news that happened 2 counties north, just because it’s not considered to be in my metro area. Considering I work and used to live in that area, I hate being out of the loop where the news is concerned! That’s why this Florida travel news site comes in handy. I can read about events occurring statewide. For instance, news of the special 4th of July celebration planned at Disney would never make my paper, because I live over an hour away. But we’re Disney passholders, so it’s the kind of thing I want to know about. Happily, it’s the kind of thing I can find on PlacesAroundFlorida.com! I also read up on a few things happening in Cocoa Beach, where my sister has been spending a lot of time with family. I can pass a few tidbits about the shuttle launch onto her for her next trip - again, that kind of info wouldn’t have been on my local news broadcast or newspaper, so this site is handy stuff.

I just got back from a week in Canada, and honestly? The terrain wasn’t much different from Florida.

Oh sure, there are no beaches, and it does snow there, a lot. But on the interstate we traveled, from Detroit to Toronto, and Toronto to Montreal, and then Montreal to Niagara Falls and back to Detroit…well, the landscape was very similar to riding along I-75 here. No palm trees of course, but plenty of marshy land, big open fields, and mostly flat land, with a few gentle hills here and there. It was easy to forget where I was!

One big difference though - there were NO billboards on the main roads! (The 401 and 403) We’ve got tons of billboards up and down our interstates here, and most of them are an eyesore. We only saw one area that had billboards in Canada, and it was on a small stretch of 401. The billboards were set WAY back in a field too, so you hardly noticed them.

Every so often, there’s a campaign to remove the billboards from Florida roadways. I’m all for it. Most are not taken care of, and remain an eyesore. If they’re not all going to be removed, we should at least be able to pull down billboards not being maintained or cared for. I realize they’re on private land, and probably provide revenue for the landowner, but that’s no reason for billboards with in bad shape.

Florida Legislators have come up with a tax plan that will drop the average homeowner’s tax bill by $174 per year.

Wow. Start the parade, set off the fireworks, and celebrate! Not.

$174? That’s a drop in the bucket. My taxes are over $3000. Am I complaining? No, we just bought our house, we knew what they would be going into it. We budgeted for it, and we’re prepared for them to go up. That said, I know there are plenty of folks out there who have had their taxes increase, and they were NOT prepared for a change. $174 is a drop in the bucket.

Keep trying, guys.

We went to Disney for Star Wars Weekend on June 1st, and it was our last visit for a while. We have the Florida Seasonal Annual Passes, which are a huge savings over the regular annual passes, but they have blackout dates. We can’t use them again until August. That’s fine with me, because it is HOT at Disney in the summer, and we’ve got enough to keep us busy. But come August, we’ll be heading back, to celebrate my daughter’s birthday! The passes go off blackout right before her big day, so we typically make it a birthday / back to Disney weekend. Hotel rates will probably be sky high then, so instead of booking and paying through the nose, we may look into renting an Orlando vacation home.

Having been to that area plenty, I can see that most of their rental homes are really close to the action. Trust me - nothing is more upsetting than getting to your rental home or hotel and realizing that you are FAR from all of the action and attractions you came to see! I love how each of the listings on this site tell you how far, in minutes, you are from Disney, or Sea World, or Universal. That’s extremely helpful for an out of towner who doesn’t know the names of the towns or the roads.

Plus, with a house, you get your own private pool, more room to spread out, and all of the comforts of home. The last time I was in a hot tub at the resort, I was joined by 8 other guests, including 3 kids under the age of 10. FUN! Not. I’d much rather have a private pool and hot tub where we could relax in peace and quiet!

This is a sponsored review.

Hurry, hurry! Today is the LAST day to enjoy tax free shopping on hurricane supplies. Even if you’re up to your ears in plywood and tarps and generators, you can still stock up on something you use everyday - batteries! They’re tax free right now, and you can always use them, especially with Christmas just 6 months away.

Here’s a partial list of some other tax free items:

• Reusable ice
• Flashlights and lanterns (battery powered) - great for Father’s Day too!
• Gas powered lanterns and tiki torches
• Candles
• Batteries
• Coolers and ice chests
• Cell phone chargers and batteries
• Tarps and plastic sheeting
• Bungee cords and ratchet straps (good for vacation packing or moving!)
• Weather and two way radios
• Carbon monoxide detectors (everyone should have one)

Stock up, and save…uhh…6% in taxes! (Not a huge deal, but still, a deal!)

I’ll be heading to Las Vegas in November for a big blogging conference, and my husband and sister are joining me. They’ve both been to Vegas multiple times, but I’m a complete Vegas noob. I want to see everything, and I want to stay somewhere off the charts. I’m going to make the most of my Las Vegas vacation! I went to a few of the big hotel websites, like the MGMGrand, and signed up for their newsletters. Hey, if there’s a special rate or deal, I want to know about it! The MGM Grand website really impressed me - it’s very “Vegas” - splashy, high style, energetic. It was easy to price out rooms and see what the current promos were, as well as see what nightlife there was to be had. They’ve got a place called Studio 54 which is a remark of the original club, albeit with no illegal deals going down, I’m sure! You can also view what the hotel has to offer, learn about their gaming options, or dining. Love it!

I’m going to stop talking about the mild weather we were enjoying, because summer seems to be here in full force now. I took a quick walk around the neighborhood this morning at 9am, and by the time I made one full look around, I was hot, sticky, and sweaty. The humidity is out in full force and the sun isn’t letting up. I’d take some of that rain right now to cool things down!

Florida has a scary history, when you think about it. I live in an area where Indians used to roam, and while they may have been peaceful, I know there were wars, including the Seminole Wars, that weren’t peaceful. People may have died right where my house is built! I’ve never had any scary encounters in my own home, but I was terrified of the attic at my grandmother’s house when I was a little girl. It was finished, and there was a bedroom up there, as well as a storage area. Well, there were some old dolls in the storage area and I always felt like they were evil. They were creepy and always staring at me, and it was dark and I refused to sleep up there alone anymore. Sue me, I was 5.

Things are staring at John Cusack in his new flick, the 1408 movie. I know exactly how he feels - I’ve had that feeling before where things just aren’t right, where your gut tells you to flee, but your brain tells you to stay. Go with the gut, baby! In the 1408 Movie, Cusack experiences some really weird stuff in room 1408 of a hotel where Samuel L. Jackson is the manager (who tries to talk him out of his room 1408 stay). I love John, I love Samuel, and seeing them both together is going to be fabulous. After all of those cheesy 80’s movies, it’s nice to see Cusack in a meatier roll.