Archive for the ‘marina beach’ Category

10 Things to Do and 10 Places to Go to for Healthy Living in Tampa – St. Petersburg – Clearwater, Florida

Monday, August 16th, 2010


Tampa is a city located at the west central portion of the state of Florida. It is set on a peninsula found across the Tampa Bay which extends from St. Petersburg. Clearwater is also said to comprise the entire Tampa metropolitan area. It is the home for a variety of tourist attractions and is said to define more of the health-conscious individual’s mindset.

1. University of South Florida Botanical Gardens. Exploring the grounds of this noteworthy tourist spot, you will be led to a variety of flowers and traditional plant species. The butterfly garden is a good sight to catch as well. Strolling down the hills up to the trek is a good health option while in the place.

2. Florida State Fairgrounds and Ford Ampitheatre . Historical as it is, Tampa, Florida offers you this scenery with museums and event centers. How do you really take a chance to start a healthy way of living in this place? Well, much has to be explored and by way of just touring around, you get to feel a different level of fulfillment.

3. Bayshore Boulevard. This 7-mile stretch is an ideal place for three activities namely biking, jogging and skating. Famous to runners and walkers alike, the route could take you to other beautiful grounds as well.

4. Captain Jim’s Inshore Sportfishing Centers. This center is a good opportunity for you to take sportfishing trips and have a good catch. You need not worry about getting yourselves into the right spot because a team of experts could lead you where fishing is advisable and legal.

5. Annapolis Sailing School. Sailing is a sports activity which you could not learn at one time though some fortunate individuals do. You need to take a variety of courses through the Annapolis Sailing School in St. Petersburg. Later on, you could sail your way to where you want. Rather than sitting down during weekends doing nothing, enroll in this fascinating class.

6. Mangrove Bay Golf Course. Ranked as one of the top 50 municipal golf courses in St. Petersburg, Mangrove Bay is open whole-year round. Amateurs are given instructions by the staff while professionals may do their own thing with the 18-hole and par-72 play specifications.

7. Phil Green Tennis Academy. Tennis is one of the best-loved sports of all times. In fact, it had produced a great number of individuals skilled enough to teach others. Phil Green Tennis Academy, situated at the Safety Harbor Resort and Spa, will make every amateur’s dream come true.

8. Clearwater Beach Marina and Hubbard’s Marina. These two areas are good parasailing water grounds in St. Petersburg and Clearwater. The recreational activities you will greatly have fun with are boating and deep-sea fishing. Your idea of fun could be extended to dolphin watching and wave running as well.

9. Dive Clearwater. Not all people are blessed with the passion for scuba diving. If you are one of those who belong to the few or if you want to take your chances at this sport activity, Dive Clearwater is a diving spot you should take note of.

10. Coachman Park. This 20-acre park is a scenic spot and recreational area at the same time. If you want to conduct weekend picnics with your family, you may do so at Coachman Park. Extend your time by conducting outdoor plays which could satisfy your health cravings.

Los Angeles, California Highlights

Friday, July 30th, 2010


Los Angeles is a very fascinating city and a great place for anybody to take a vacation. Visiting Los Angeles and the surrounding areas could be one of the best and most memorable experiences that you will ever have. Tourists seem to get excited about everything from the simplest things to the bigger things. For some reason, tourists always like to see the famous Hollywood sign and especially visitors from non-coastal states like to go to the beach and see the Pacific Ocean for the first time.

If you like more of an adrenalin rush of fun and are planning to come to the city of Los Angeles, you will be in reasonable driving distance from several amusement and water parks including Six Flags Magic Mountain, Hurricane Harbor, Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios, Raging Waters and other places like the Los Angeles Zoo and Griffith Park.

If you are really interested in the Film Industry, you can go to the tapings of numerous television shows where you can see your favorite stars live and in person. Or if you prefer to be in front of the camera instead of in the audience, there are several advertisements in newspapers, magazines and posted on telephone poles looking for all kinds of people who want to be background Extras in movies, television shows and commercials. No experience is necessary. Be sure to go down Hollywood Boulevard and look on the ground for the stars of your favorite entertainers on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

You can go to Staples Center, home of the 9 time NBA (National Basketball Association) World Champions Los Angeles Lakers. Magic Johnson has moved on from playing professional basketball, but you will still see his name all over Los Angeles. He is involved with a few businesses around town including some 24 Hour Fitness locations, the Magic Johnson Theatres located in the Crenshaw Shopping Center, Starbucks Coffee and Magic Johnson’s TGI Friday’s Restaurant.

Right across the street from the Forum in Inglewood where the Lakers used to play for about 30 years until a few years ago, is the Hollywood Park Race Track and Casino. They only have horse racing a few months out of the year. But you are in “Luck” because the Casino is in full swing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to satisfy your gambling needs. It is one of the few places around here that at least so far, they still have FREE parking.

For Baseball fans you can go to Dodger Stadium, home of the former World Series Champions Los Angeles Dodgers. You would not want to go to Dodger Stadium without eating one of their famous Dodger Dogs.

Not only do we have professional sports champions, we also have our very famous cross town college rivals, the U.C.L.A Bruins and the U.S.C Trojans who have both brought back team championships to the city of Los Angeles and they both have had their students and alumni bring back Gold Medals when they were representing the United States over the years in the Olympics. If you want to see another historic Sports site, then go to the Los Angeles Coliseum. Not only was it the home of the Rams and then the Raiders, way back when Los Angeles used to have a NFL Football team, but it was a major venue for both the 1932 and the 1984 Summer Olympics. If you watched the Olympics then you saw the Los Angeles Coliseum during the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and the Track and Field events. The Olympic Torch is still there.

While you are at the Coliseum, it would be well worth your while to walk over to the California Science Center in Exposition Park. It is a great educational learning experience for both adults and children. The Sports Arena is in that general area. Also, within walking distance in that area are several museums that you might be interested in going through.

You would not want to miss out on spending time on the 405 San Diego Freeway which runs along the west side of Los Angeles County so you can enjoy the bumper to bumper traffic that we all get to experience so frequently. Most people in the area call it the world’s largest parking lot. Your foot rides the brake of your car while burning that expensive gasoline. Usually you are either at a full stop or traveling at a snails pace. Just hope that they do not have a vehicle accident on the freeway ahead of you because the snail would actually beat you in a race.

If you leave the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) which is right next to the Playa del Rey Beach on the far west side of the city, you can get on the 405 freeway and head northbound. When you are finally able to get through the traffic, you can visit the J. Paul Getty Museum which is just before you get to the valley.

You can go to Marina del Rey just north of the airport where you can enjoy a dinner cruise on the ocean or bring your fishing pole and go out on one of the all day fishing boats or just hang out in the Fisherman’s Village that overlooks the Pacific Ocean and has food, drinks and gift shops. There are places near most of the beaches where you can rent bicycles. There is Bike Path the runs along the side of the Pacific Ocean right on the beach. If you like rollerblading, rollerskating and / or skateboarding, then you will really like Venice Beach.

Normally from the west side of Los Angeles if you are at or near the Playa del Rey Beach and look up, you can see the planes taking off over the ocean. If you are somewhere east of the airport you can see the planes coming in for a landing. But if you look up and see a helicopter, don’t get confused. It is probably not a guided helicopter tour. More than likely it is the Los Angeles Police Department Helicopter chasing down a suspect with the news media helicopters trying to get their shots and doing their best to stay out of the way. Police car chases are very common around here. You hear sirens from emergency vehicles coming from all directions. But that is Los Angeles’ finest keeping our city nice and safe.

In all fairness, as a traveler you really need to make the safety of both yourself and your family a top priority no matter what city in the world you visit.

If you want to go on another cruise, you can go to Catalina Island. You can go over there, have some fun and come back the same day if you want or you can stay for several days if you really like it. There are numerous activities out there.

Another historic site that you would not want to miss is the street corner of Florence and Normandie Avenues which was where the 1992 Los Angeles Riots all began. Most of the businesses that were burned to the ground during that time have been rebuilt since then, so of course they look much better and more modern. Others may never be rebuilt.

On the far south side of Los Angeles County is Long Beach where you can see the Queen Mary Ship that is docked. You can tour the ship. Also, while you are in Long Beach you can visit the Aquarium of the Pacific for underwater adventure. Just like the California Science Center, it is another great educational learning opportunity for both adults and children.

For shopping, it depends what you are interested in. You can get just about anything you can think of at the malls which are located all over the place. The Del Amo Mall in Torrance (the southern part of Los Angeles County) is one of the largest malls in the United States. If you are looking for discount clothing and other merchandise, then go to the garment district in downtown Los Angeles. If you want the expensive stuff, then go down Rodeo Drive and the Wilshire Boulevard area in Beverly Hills. Just east of Beverly Hills is the Grove where you can check out the Farmers Market that has been serving Los Angeles since 1934. The area has been changed, expanded and built up over the past few years.

Wilshire Boulevard is one of the main business streets in Los Angeles that runs from the beach to downtown Los Angeles. So if you want to drive down Wilshire Boulevard just for fun, you can start by the Santa Monica Pier overlooking the Pacific Ocean and it will take you throu
gh the cities of Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and Los Angeles. When you get to downtown, be sure to take a look at the Los Angeles Civic Center area.

Another interesting street to drive down for fun is Crenshaw Boulevard. You can start at Wilshire Blvd and go southbound on Crenshaw Boulevard. It will take you through the inner city of Los Angeles. Your trip will take you by the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Shopping Center, Leimert Park in the Crenshaw District, then through Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, Torrance, Rolling Hills Estates and all the way down until you end up in Rancho Palos Verdes in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County.

Check the schedule of the Los Angeles Convention Center. They always have some type of entertainment, business or informational seminars, expos or workshops going on over there. You might find something going on that you may want to attend. There are countless food and beverage locations all over the Los Angeles area from fine dining restaurants to fast food places and every shade of grey in between that will satisfy any appetite. You just have to find the ones that match your taste. There are all kinds of entertainment, dancing, activities and shows even in addition to all of the things that are mentioned above.

If you are not visiting someone who has a car that you can use, then you should probably rent a car because waiting around for public transportation in Los Angeles will use up most of your vacation time. Have fun.

Shop ’til You Drop in Phuket, Thailand! a Shopping Guide Written by a Local

Saturday, July 24th, 2010

Gifts, Souvenirs, Boutique Clothes & Jewelery

It can be fun to wonder along Surin Beach road  to discover the small souvenir shops and boutiques clothing stores.  As you walk down Surin beach road there is a small gallery where you can buy paintings, and a lovely boutique clothes shop Dharma bum.  You could also visit Twinpalms Hotel, and the ‘Island Shop’,  on the ground floor near to the juice bar, selling beautiful bikinis, necklaces and bags, and Palm Spa sells interesting teas, essential oils, and candles. At Palm Spa you could treat yourself to a fantastic steam and massage, you will emerge feeling a million dollars!  As you continue walk towards the end of the road there is a fascinatingly shop – Soul of Asia, which is great for browsing.

If you are visiting Royal Phuket Marina you may want to purchase some home-made chocolates and pasteries to die for. Royal Phuket Marina has a lovely furniture store with various items you could take home with you and spa.

Surin Plaza, and Canal Village are also great places to explore.  For example, Ginger (ground floor, Surin Plaza) has some interesting trinkets, jewelery, and gift items.

Within Canal Village you can find Jim Thompson Thailand’s famous producer of silk products including cushion covers, purses and other luxury items.  There is also a good coffee shop, clinic, travel agent, and souvenir shops.  It has an ATM and parking.

Local Thai Markets

The best local Thai markets is the Sunday market in Cherntalay, at the intersection by the Police station, every Sunday afternoon.  If you want to purchase everyday Thai style clothing, shoes and food this is the place to shop, beware buying toys for small children as the Thai products do not adhere to international safety standards.

Western Style Super Markets

Tesco Lotus is open from 9am to 10pm everyday, it has an ATM and parking, and it is located about 10 minutes from Club Lersuang.  Tesco Lotus is the nearest western style Super Market, it sells most grocery items including fresh milk, drinking water, fruit, vegetables, suncream, music, books, and newspapers; as well as a bakery and pharmacy.

Carrefour in (Jungceylon mall) Patong is much larger Super Market and it’s about 20 minutes away.  Other Super Markets such as Big C, and Tops can be found in the center of Phuket Island.  Local shops, grocery stores and Seven-Eleven convenience stores are on every main road.

Shopping Malls

There are two main shopping malls, Central Festival and Jungceylon.

Jungceylon in Patong is the nearest mall, and it has a large variety of shops, including Robinson’s department store, sports shops, a diving shop, food center, cinema, nail and beauty salons.  You can park underground but you may need to pay a small fee depending on how long you stay (show your shopping receipts).  It also has an excellent indoor market called That’s Siam, perfect for souvenirs such as Thai Silks, Pearls, Shells and local items.

Central Festival is located in the center of the island and is about a 30 minute drive, it has some designer brands like Guess, and everyday shops as well.  Its a great place to buy good quality items, ask for a 5% tourist discount card.

ATMs can be found at all shopping malls and large super markets, the nearest ATM’s are at Tesco Lotus and Surin beach road, near to the Tuk Tuk stand.

For more information on shopping, restaurants and things to do in Phuket, Thailand see our websites:

Phuket Vacation Apartments and Royal Phuket Marina Apartments

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