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'J i } ; V : ? ; i -C ,, > V V. J The Oakville Beaver W eekend, S a tu rd a y J a n u a ry My brother was right about Florida y brother brags a lot; I guess all brothers do. Last year, about this time he was talking about being a trend-setter. "I've sold my condo in the islands and I'm going to have my sun holiday in Florida," is the way he put it. Florida? That's trend set ting? "I got bored," he explained. "Other than work, have a swim or play tennis, there isn't much to do on a small island, when you spend a month or more several times a year. In Florida, there are endless choices, including driving to see friends and colleagues, who have also become trend-setters." So I went to see for myself what he was going on about. The beaches are wonder ful, I'd forgotten just won derful they are, and I too developed the "Sanibel stoop." I couldn't resist looking for shells. I also couldn't resist looking for dolphins, and they were Island. I wished I'd borrowed my grand sons; they'd have loved dinner in a tropical South American rainforest. The atmosphere was stunning, and the food was delicious. Our biggest problem was deciding what to eat, there were so many choices. The next morning, we pigged out at the Lighthouse Cafe, before head ing off to the Babcock Wilderness Adventures for a Florida swamp buggy tour. We didn't see a wild panther on this 360,000 hectare property but we Sam Ion did see gators, endless birds, and a everywhere. It is the first Cypress Swamp. Then it was time to wash up and time I've ever seen a baby get presentable for lunch at The dolphin. Veranda' restaurant in Fort Myers. Already, I was starting to Located in the historic downtown, see what my brother was this is a^place my brother should take talking about. The choice of his bride for a romantic dinner in a restaurants was amazing. All lovely setting in two turn-of-the-cenof them were individually tury homes. The bread was to die for, owned, there was a great a basket containing a small, round, spot in every price range, honey-glazed wheat loaf, and moist and I never had a bad meal. little corn muffins, with butter and We didn't have time to take red pepper jelly. in all of the attractions this_ Nancy would love the shrimp cock area had to offer, but we cer tail, and Caesar salad made tableside. tainly tried hard. Not far away, the guided tour of the We started our restau Edison and Ford Winter Estates is a rant exploration with dinner must-see for visitors. A tour of the at Morgan's Forest in the inventor's 1886, 5.6 hectare river Holiday Inn, on Sanibel front estate, laboratory and experi mental gardens is well worth your time. Who knew the Edisons and Have a hoot at Mountsberg's owl prowl Fords were best friends? The estates show a private human Mountsberg Wildlife for families with younger side to the world. Mrs. Edison loved Centre is hosting its annual children and begins at 6:30 cats, and also birds, which is why p.m. owl prowl this month. there are lots of birdhouses out in the Admission to these pro The prowls will take place water, safe from her kitties. · grams is $12. for adults and Jan. 13,14, 27 and 28. The Edison laboratory looks like he This evening program will $8.00 for children (14 and just left it to get a cup of coffee. You introduce participants to the under). can see the experiment where he Tickets are available by world of owls and their many advance purchase only from interesting habits. The program geared to Mountsberg by calling 905adults offers an informative 854-2276. SPECIAL This popular program sells slide show, a visit with live 2 WEEK PACKAGE owls, and a walk through the out quickly. 4 Days Cairo · 4 Days Nile Cruise Call- Mountsberg at 905woods to hoot for owls, while 2 Days Aswan · 2 Days Luxor the program designed for 854-2276 or visit www.con2 Days Alexandria _______ families features a puppet servationhalton.on.Ca for *1,999. All inclusive (land only) show in place of the slide more information. Specialized tour operator for Egypt. The Mountsberg Wildlife show. The Friday night program Centre is located on (Jan. 13 and 27) is reserved Milburough Line, 5 km west for adults and older children of Campbellville, Ont., between Guelph Line and and begins at 7 p.m. The Saturday night pro Hwy. 6. It is owned and oper gram (Jan. 14 and 28) is great ated by Conservation Halton. turned goldenrod into rubber, a muse um exhibiting many of his nearly 1,100 inventions, and a stunning tropical gar den which includes the largest banyan tree in the US. You'll recognize it by the number of people under it, getting, their pictures taken. And in between the meals, and the famous sites, we spent time walking the beaches, and playing in the gentle turquoise waves. Americans do a wonderful breakfast, and the Sunset Grill was no exception. We kidded ourselves that we needed a lot of fuel before heading out for a Captiva Cruise to learn about the histo ry and wildlife of Lee County. It was the best, particularly when the Captain taught us to clap for the dolphins. "They like to be noticed," he said. It was hard not to notice, they were everywhere. Our destination was Cabbage Key Inn and restaurant, built by author and playwright, Mary Roberts Rinehart in the '30s. I could have stayed a week. It was perfect for me, no roads; no stores, nothing to do but lump out with a book, swim, and Oh, have the perfect cheeseburger. "Be carefuLwhat you write," warned Ken Wells. "Lots of people are like your brother and need action, it isn't for everyone." That suited me fine. Besides, we had more restaurants to visit, like the Keylime Bistro, with desserts at the Bubble Room Restaurant, the most out rageous eatery I've ever been in. Any small boy would love' it. Amy's Over Easy Cafe, on Sanibel Island, made for another great start for an interesting day. We took a Tram tour of the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge. It's a perfect destination for birders and I recommend renting a bike and seeing it at your own pace. .But save some time to visit to Sanibel's Shell Museum, it's fascinat ing. And don't miss lunch at Doc Ford's Sanibel Rum Bar & Grille. It's themed after the books of local resident, Randy Wayne White. You can buy copies; they're well worth the price, and so is the food. I hate it, when my brother is so right. Worse yet, he just left for a month. You can reach Sam by e-mail at sionl 0@cogeco. ca. M cTavish Travel i n f o r m a t i o n s e r v i c e "EXCITE FLIGHT" BY ULTIMATE SKI In case you haven't heard, the two week old union workers strike at Mont-Tremblant is over and it is business as usual! Ultimate Ski Vacations recently launched its " Excite Flight" program offering Southern Ontario skiers and boarders a chance to be on the slopes of Mont-Tremblant in under 3 hours! Until early April, Ultimate Ski will offer flights to Mont-Tremblant International Airport from Pearson International operated by Voyageur Airways every Thursday, Friday and Sunday. The flying time is 90 minutes aboard Dash 7 aircraft. The beauty of the program is the ease of travel, with hassle-free express check-in provided at the Piedmont Hawthorne Executive Terminal (at Pearson) - avoiding the main terminals and lineups. Mont-Tremblant offers skiers more than 600 acres of skiing and snowboarding terrain, as well as an award-winning pedestrian village and lively nightlife. For non-skiers, there are lots of other winter activities available, including dog-sledding, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. New this season is the N'Ece Club Mont Tremblant - a 378 square metre ice and snow lounge featuring private alcoves, a fireplace, video projectors, dance floor and cocktails served in glasses made of ice! Ultimate Ski offers two, three, four and five-night ski packages. A two-night package departing on February 10th including return airfare, free parking in Toronto, two nights stgdio room accommodation at Les Suites, transfers, two days of skiing and all taxes is just $713 per person double. The 3 night package price departing on February 05 for the same property is all in $931 per person double. The packages feature a selection of resort options including Les Suites Tremblant by Intrawest, Fairmont Tremblant, Hilton Homewood Suites and Le Westin Resort and Spa. For more information, give us a call! Hopedale M all 1515 Rebecca Street, Oakville (905)827-1100 travel@mctavish.com V isit McTavish A t: w w w .m ctavish travel.co m O nt Reg No 1437985 EGYPT | McTavish Travel Yourguideto local travel experts and the Voted Best Travel Agency UM5LQBE Glen Abbey Travel Inc, 2441 Lakeshore W. Bronte Village M all Oakville, ON ym 2 Convenient H i Locations in Oakville: 511 Maplegrove Dr,905-849-7013 maplegrove@travelchoice.ca ^ houdatsI 221 j CRUISEl Lakeshore Road E. Relax. .. yon 905-827-7272 w w w .u n ig lo b e g len a b b e y .c o m -- -- 145 Lakeshore Rd. E. 905-842-4999 lakeshore@travelchoice.ca w w w .h o o k e d o n c ru is in g .c o m