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Tampa Bay on the Cheap: Welcome

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The Tampa Bay Area has hundreds of fun, educational and cheap activities every day, for residents and visitors alike. We can only skim the surface here but we will do our best. We'll be adding items ourselves but feel free to suggest some too. Visit our Contact page to do that.

Latest News: 100722 Beer and razors. What could go wrong there? But to be serious, we have added Saint Somewhere brewery in Tarpon Springs to our Food & Drink category. Also noted Remington College-Tampa Campus Offers Complimentary Haircuts for Kids: Cuts for Kids event provides two weeks of complimentary back-to-school haircuts starting August 9 and ending August 20. Parents can make appointments by calling The Salon at Remington at 813-316-4470 or just walk in. 6302 E. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Suite 400. The salon hours are Monday-Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Bonus: Bring in a hairy kid and get half-off on your own haircut.

100708 Check our new WEEKENDER page. This will have the temporary stuff while other pages will (eventually) have permanent items. This weekend's (July 10-11) feaures free health screenings, small railroad fun, an art market and a farmer's market.

100623 First oil washes ashore on Pensacola beaches. Some eight miles of beach goo'ed this morning by oil, and not just balls but a lot of it. They had men with shovels out early on and promised to get in some graders and front-end loaders to attack the oil by later today. The Tampa Bay area beaches remain clear.

100622: Don't be a three-percenter. We were amused when President Obama and Florida governor Charlie Crist had a photo-op on a Florida beach to highlight their response to the oil spill—and their camera crew had a hard time finding a beach not covered by tourists in brightly-colored swim suits. They finally had to herd people out of the way so they could show at least an empty portion of beach, though there was no sign of any oil in the water in the shot. I'm sure the camera crew was disappointed.

This is not to say we don't have a problem with oiled beaches in Florida. But it is a relatively small problem. The larger problem is public perception. We're a tourist economy and would-be visitors are cancelling all over the state. We have people canceling visits to the Tampa Bay area, where the only oil that you will get on you has to come out of a suntan lotion bottle. That's irational. In fact, summer is always a bargain time here and I'm betting you could pick up even better bargains if you show up now. Curious, I just did a little calculating with the latest news reports and some maps and other information. Florida has 1,350 of "beachfront" shoreline and a total shoreline (marshes, islands, etc.) of 8,426 miles. The Gulf oil spill has affected about 44 miles of beach and 'affected' does not mean oiled beach but any report of oil nearby even if well out to sea as yet.

In short, only the extreme Northwest 3-plus-percent of beach is affected at all. Most of that area, fortunately, is beach and not marsh and the openings back into the marsh areas are few, far between, and relatively easy to protect. In the Tampa Bay area it is business as usual. Come and join us.

100602: Added to the blog. I'll be tracking the latest news about how the Gulf oil spill affects the Tampa Bay area. So far, so good. Also, military takes over Adventure Island for a few hours to test swimming skills in combat gear. See Weird Florida.

100601: June bargains are up at www.VacationFunFlorida.com - and note especially the free fishing weekend coming up (no license needed, all other rules apply.)

100315: weekly blog entry: Swamp Fashionista

100305: Tampa: Get out that swim suit. Adventure Island is set to open on March 13 after being closed for the winter. See Kid Suff
100305 Daytona: No cabbage shortage in Daytona! Cole-slaw wrestling returns for Bike Week. See Weird

100304 Florida State Parks offer 75-cent admissions, see Outdoors. The New York Times lists St. Pete Beach as a top place to vacation. 83 Degrees reports on a Sarasota shop selling artistic tee shirts.

100301: Tampa: Boba Cafe in North Tampa offers art in food and on the walls too (the art, not the food. We hope.)

100228: 10 Tips to Make Your Dream Vacation Come True in 2010

100227: Snowmageddon 2010 tee-shirts

Bay Sailors, sailing club for singles

An entire book full of cheap things to do and see in Florida.