Florida special section

Southern Living, May 2003

Florida for Family Fun

Looking for things to do with the family? Here are suggestions for your next vacation in the Sunshine State.

If all you could find to do in Florida was bask in the sun on a beautiful beach and play in the surf, it would still be a fabulous place to take the family There's much here, though, that makes it even more incredible, for everyone from grandparents to toddlers.

For starters, you and your crew can go on safari, take an airboat ride, swim with dolphins, hobnob with real cowboys, get eyeball-to-- eyeball with alligators, ride out a man-made hurricane, and learn to sail. So what are you waiting for? Come on and join in the fun.

Swim With Dolphins

Watching a pod of dolphins cruise along just offshore is exciting, but actually swimming with them ranks high on the list of unforgettable moments. Dolphin encounters at Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach put you in the water with its most popular residents. If you want an even more in-depth experience, sign up to become a trainer for a day shadowing real trainers, feeding the animals, and even joining in the Dolphin Show; (850) 234-5271. Marineland of Florida, south of St. Augustine, also offers Dolphin Encounters; (904) 460-1275 or 1-988-279-9194.

One of the most popular dolphin experiences waits at Discovery Cove, adjacent to SeaWorld Adventure Park Orlando. Before entering the water, you learn the hand signals that urge the 300- to 650-pound mammals to jump, chase a rubber toy, and wave a flipper. Reserve a spot in the new "Trainer for a Day" program, and you can work alongside animal experts and interact with dolphins and other creatures; toll free 1 -877-434-7268 or www.discoverycove.com

Travel by Airboat

For a great wind-through-your-hair experience, explore the state's inland waterways by airboat. With huge fans and engines mounted on the back, these unique watercraft skim across the surface with a deafening roar, bringing forth smiles and a heady rush of adrenaline. One of our favorite operators is Boggy Creek Airboat Rides in Kissimmee, which offers tours through the alligatorlaced Boggy Creek area at the headwaters of the Florida Everglades; (407) 344-9550 or www.bcair boats.com.

For a tour of Lake Jessup, located north of Orlando, contact Gator Ventures of Seminole, Inc.; (407) 977-8235 or www.gatorventures. com. For trips on either Lake Jessup or the St. Johns River, contact Bill's Airboat Adventures, Inc.; (407) 977-- 3214 or www.airboating.com.

For airboat rides in the Everglades, try Wooten's Everglades Tours, south of Naples on U.S. 41; (239) 695-- 2781. Or call Miccosukee Indian Village/Airboat Tours, on U.S. 41 west of Miami; (305) 223-8380.

Take to the Treetops

A new walkway at Myakka River State Park near Sarasota takes you up into the treetops. The Myakka Canopy Walkway is actually a suspension bridge 24 feet high and 85 feet long. It includes a 74-foot-tall observation tower, where you can look out over the oak-palm hammock; (941) 361-- 6511 or www.myakkariver.org.

Cast Off With Pirates

Captain Memo's Pirate Cruise out of Clearwater Beach is a shiver-me-timbers hoot for anyone willing to act out a bit of maritime fantasy Painted candy apple red with black trim, sporting a cartoonishly high poop deck, and crowned with a basketlike crow's nest, the ship hardly needs to fly the skull and crossbones to identify itself as a pirate's vessel.

You're barely out of the harbor before paper pirate hats or skullprint bandannas top every head, and face paint converts even the fairest cheeks and chins with scrolling mustaches, scruffy sideburns, and fiendish goatees. Then out come the blunderbuss-style water pistols, pitting kids against parents in a soak Iem fest that has everyone rolling. A finders-keepers treasure hunt, rowdy game of musical chairs, and tales of high seas adventures round out the activities; (727) 446-2587 or www. captainmemo.com.

For more pirate adventures, you can celebrate the Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival in Fort Walton Beach, June 6-- 7 (parade on June 9).

Eyeball a Bunch of Gators

Virtually any natural body of water (and some man-made ones as well) in Florida serves as home to alligators, crocodiles, and other swamp-- dwelling denizens. One of the oldest attractions in the state to display the creatures is the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park. It was established in 1893 and moved to its present site in 1922; (904) 824-3337 or www.alligatorfarm.com.

Another popular crocodilian attraction is Gatorland in Orlando. Here you'll find a three-story observation tower, elevated boardwalk, and meandering woodland trails that allow access to a cypress swamp and a palms-and-pines forest where hundreds of gators live. What keeps folks coming back, though, are the shows that feature gator wrestlers prying open those steel-trap jaws; 1-800-393-5297 or www.gatorland.com.

For a more natural experience, head to Seminole County, home to Lake Jessup (located northeast of downtown Orlando). Spreading over 10,000 acres, it's believed to have the largest concentration of alligators per acre of any lake in the country. Arrange a guided tour from Black Hammock Fish Camp and Marina; (407) 365-1244. More alligators live in the Wekiva River, which flows along the western boundary of the county. You can rent a canoe at Wekiwa Springs State Park, located at the headwater of the river; (407) 8842008 or www.floridastateparks.org.