Diane Roberts wrote a terrific article for the Washington Post that appeared in yesterday’s (10/21/2007) paper. The article is entitled “In the off-season, it’s even more laid back”. Roberts explains that without the tourist crowds you can really see much more of the island, enjoy a relaxing meal, and get acquainted with what really makes Key West unique including the Hemingway six-toed cats.

Read more about the lure of Key West and plan your next vacation to Key West. PinkPavilions.com has listings in the Florida Keys that will enable you to enjoy your Key West visit.

• Key West vacation rentals
• Marathon vacation rentals

View all of PinkPavilions.com Florida vacation rentals

For all you Leaf Peepers, September is here and the fall foliage reports are being updated. Below is a list of those websites that predict the weeks of the various autumn color stages -

• Maine Foliage Report
• New Hampshire Foliage Report for 2007
• Vermont Fall Foliage Report
• Massachusetts Fall Foliage Report begins September 14, 2007
• Connecticut Fall Foliage Report begins September 17, 2007
• Rhode Island Fall Foliage Report
• New York Fall Foliage Report begins September 12, 2007 - (leaf guide)
• Pennsylvania Weekly Fall Foliage Leaf Report
• Virginia Fall Foliage Report begins October 1, 2007
• Northern California Fall Foliage Report begin September 21, 2007
• USDA Fall Foliage Report

My mother and nephew were visiting us for a week’s vacation in February and friends of ours wanted to show them a very unique Florida experience. They suggested swimming with the manatees. My nephew was quite excited about it especially since he was not really sure what a manatee looked like. I knew he was in for a terrific surprise.

Manatees, also called sea cows, are very large vegetarian mammals. On average, they grow to about 9-10 feet long and 900-1200 pounds.

The planning was easy. Execution was another story. We reserved space on the first boat of the morning. That meant we had to get to Crystal River by 7am which was a 2 hour drive from St. Petersburg. Getting everyone up at 4am to get ready was the worst part of the day but once everyone was up, showered, fed and all the adults had at least one cup of coffee things went smoothly.

We arrived at the dive shop by 6:30am where we were fitted for wet suits, snorkel, mask and fins. The wet suit was necessary. In February the morning air can be cool and the river is spring fed with water temperatures averaging about 72 degrees Fahrenheit. We sat through a safety video warning us to allow the manatees to approach us rather than chasing after them.

We all boarded the boat with lots of excitement. We motored out a short distance and saw a group of manatees. The captain anchored the boat and within minutes we were in the water. We all behaved ourselves and waited for the manatees to approach us and in no time they did.

As I mentioned, they are very large animals and it is remarkable how graceful they look in the water. One manatee approached and rolled over so that we could scratch its belly and touch its skin. Their skin has a slimy fuzzy feel. Then we noticed a mama manatee with a baby nearby. We kept our distance and watched as the baby swam around its mama. The baby was very confident in close proximity to its mama and showed off for us by flipping and turning as it circled around her.

Some people rolled in the water to see if they could entice some of the other adult manatees to do the same thing but I didn’t notice any mimics. The manatees seemed to be comfortable swimming with humans as they swam close by and lingered for awhile. The tour team had a large video camera inside a waterproof casing. They filmed the entire dive and made the tape available for purchase after the trip.

Once back at the dive shop, we changed from wet suits to dry clothes and headed off for a good old southern breakfast where we relived our encounters with the manatees.

It was a wonderful experience for us and we got such a kick out of watching my nephew negotiating the waters in his first snorkeling trip. By the time we returned to St. Pete, he was very satisfied with himself but sound asleep in the back seat of the car.

Please note: The dive shop that we used is not longer in business so I can’t recommend it. I instead list the manatee tours in the area: http://www.manateetoursusa.com/, http://www.manatee-central.com, and http://www.sunshinerivertours.com/.

Photos courtesy of Free Public Domain Photo Database and Public Domain Clip Art

Did you ever fantasize about taking flight, feeling the wind blow through your hair and not have to worry about strapping on a parachute? You can fulfill that fantasy this fall by attending the 2007 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

Floating in a balloon over the skies of Albuquerque is a very romantic way to celebrate a milestone birthday, an anniversary, or just a terrific vacation. You can watch as the crew inflates the giant balloon. After takeoff you will quietly sail the clear blue skies of New Mexico with Santa Fe to the north and the Sandia Mountains to the east.

Albuquerque expects hundreds of thousands of people to attend the mass ascension days where 700 balloons rise in coordinated waves. The mass ascensions are scheduled from 7-8am on each weekend day of the Fiesta. You can schedule a balloon ride via the Fiesta website.

Afraid of heights? If you prefer to stay on the ground but still want to be involved, why not join a chase crew? Chase crews help the pilot inflate the balloon and then chase the balloon on the ground to help collect the pilot and passengers and deflate the balloon. You can register online to become part of a chase crew.

This is a great opportunity for travel photographers too. Balloons take off just before sunrise and sunset each day when the light is best. Watching the balloons rise over the desert of New Mexico is a magnificent sight. Photographers can dazzle their viewers with the many varieties of balloons from multi-colored conventional round balloons to every shape and size a balloon artist can create in forms such as creatures, trains, flowers, and symbols of every conceivable theme.

Balloon glow is an event not to be missed. The Fiesta website explains that “it was invented in Albuquerque in 1979, when local pilots inflated balloons on Christmas Eve night as a ‘thank you’ to local residents. The sight of balloons lit from within at night like giant holiday ornaments is breathtaking, and ‘glow’ events are now held all over the world. Balloon Fiesta launched its Balloon Glow – the world’s biggest – in 1987. Fiesta Glow ‘all burns’ – when all the balloons fire their burners and light up at the same time – are perhaps the most spectacular single moment in all of Balloon Fiesta. The Balloon Glows – followed by New Mexico’s most spectacular fireworks displays — are now among Balloon Fiesta’s most popular events.”

The 2007 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is scheduled for October 6 -14 and additional information can be found on the Balloon Fiesta website.

Celebrate long-term gay relationships! That is what Jim Brochu and Steve Schalchlin are doing in their award-winning two-man musical-comedy show, “The Big Voice: God or Merman?,” at San Francisco’s New Conservatory Theatre Center.

The San Francisco Chronicle says that Brochu and Schalchlin’s 22-year relationship are at the heart of the show. The characters are in a long-term, gay relationship but they cannot legally express the commitment to one another the way the heterosexual community can.

Ed Decker, New Conservatory Theatre Center’s artistic and executive director says, “‘Big Voice’ really is for everybody,” he adds. “Jim and Steve are a gay couple who have been together for a long time, but their life experience speaks to a universal truth of relationships and how we bond with one another and what sort of ignites our imagination, how we survive together with our friends, with our partners, with our lovers.”

“Big Voice” promises music, laughs and an honest look at long-term gay relationships. But you must act quickly. Big Voice is in previews Aug. 1-3 and runs Aug. 4-19.