With only two days allotted to my Tampa visit, I had to pick and choose my itinerary carefully. Because Busch Gardens ate up one entire but exciting day, I decided go for a diverse array of attractions on Day Two, starting with the Florida Aquarium, home to more than 20,000 aquatic plants and animals from Florida and elsewhere.
At Busch Gardens Tampa, the rides alone make a visit a special treat — especially if you like roller coasters. But add to it a zoo with more than 2,000 animals, magnificent gardens and landscaping and live Broadway-style shows and you end up with an entertaining mix that should keep you busy for at least an entire day.
They say that as many as 85,000 students show up during spring break at South Padre Island. The island is a 34-mile long, 2-1/2 mile wide vacation hot spot off the tip of Texas.
Even those that don’t especially appreciate birding would have little to complain about at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. Located 12 miles southeast of McAllen, Texas, the 2,088 acre tract that abuts neighboring Mexico gives visitors a glimpse of the natural world that has vanished from 95 percent of the Lower Rio Grande.
Quinta Mazatlan in McAllen, Texas, is a bird-watcher’s paradise. During a recent stroll over the grounds, I spotted an olive sparrow, a blue-gray gnatcatcher, a golden-fronted woodpecker, an Inca dove and the beautiful green jay, the official bird of the city of McAllen.
If you stop in at the DeBence Antique Music World in Franklin, Pa., be prepared for a tuneful experience. The collection of more than 100 self-playing mechanical musical instruments constitutes the largest museum of its type in the United States.
A real trend for Americans in recent years has been to take vacations closer to home, Southern West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau President and CEO Doug Maddy says.
