Quick Getaway Without Leaving Florida

Looking for a quick getaway without breaking the bank? Well, The Miami Herald came out with a really cool article on things you can do without ever leaving Florida. I thought you might enjoy...so here it is:

SWIMMIN' HOLES

They're all over the state, but the coolest are in Florida's springs whose waters, bubbling up from below ground, stay a refreshing 68-73 degrees year-round. Dozens of Florida springs are open to the public, and many of them in state parks with picnicking, hiking trails and other recreation facilities.

One of the most popular is Blue Spring, the biggest on the St. Johns River and a designated home for manatees in winter (swimming with the manatees is not allowed; they leave around the end of March). Summer visitors can swim, snorkel or scuba dive, fish or tour the river, and rent air-conditioned cabins on site.

• Details : Park admission is $5 per vehicle. Cabin rental, $85 (reserve through 800- 326-3521). Park information: 386-775-3663, www.floridastateparks.org/bluespring .
Ichetucknee State Park is the home of a highly popular cooling activity -- floating lazily down the spring-fed Ichetucknee River in an inner tube. The park can get so busy that it sometimes has to close until the crowds thin out.
• Details : Park admission is $5 per vehicle (no river use), tubing fee is $5 per person in the summer season, canoeing fee is $5 per person year-round. 386-497-4690, www.floridastateparks.org/ichetuckneesprings .
• Information on other state springs : Florida State Parks, 850-245-2157, www.floridastateparks.org .

ICE BAR
Put on your overcoat, step up to a bar made of frozen water and get a drink in a glass made of ice. You're in Orlando's new Icebar, one of only two in the United States. The temperature's kept at 27 degrees, and everything in the bar is made of ice -- chairs, tables, bar, glasses -- even a throne and fireplace.

''We only serve vodka, because it doesn't freeze,'' said Patz Turner, the managing partner.
It costs $19.95 to enter the Ice Bar for a 45-minute experience, not including drinks, and customers are supplied with a thermal outfit and gloves. Check website for $5 discount. Twinned with the Icebar is a larger, normal-temperature facility, the Fire Lounge, which offers live entertainment and bartenders who breathe fire.

• Details : Icebar Orlando, 8967 International Dr. (a few blocks from the Orange County Convention Center); 407-426-7555; www.icebarorlando.com .

COOL SKATES
Speaking of ice, a session of ice skating offers a real cool-down from summer's sticky climate. Florida has at least 18 indoor rinks scattered all over the state, including Jacksonville, Daytona, Orlando, Broward County, Miami area, Tampa area, Fort Myers and the Space Coast.
Prices vary, but at the Kendall Ice Arena in Miami, an average session costs $9, including skate rental. If you're a novice, most rinks have skating instructors, and some rinks sponsor hockey games.And don't forget to bring a sweat shirt or sweater -- it can get chilly on a floor of ice.

• Details : For a list of ice rinks, go to www.about.com , search for Florida Ice Skating Directory.

GO UNDERGROUND
Baby, it's cold inside! Well, maybe not really cold, but cool anyway in the only cave in Florida open to the public.

Florida Caverns State Park near Marianna in northern Florida, the temperature inside stays at 65 degrees year-round, no matter how hot and sticky it gets outside. You can get cool on a cave tour, where you come upon quite unusual stalactites, stalagmites and other formations. In the Cathedral Room, for example, the formations resemble fluted columns. The Wedding Room looks like a wedding cake, and the South American Room has a pond shaped like the continent.
Above ground are picnic facilities, nature trails and a golf course -- if you don't mind the heat.

• Details : Park admission is $4 per vehicle. Cave tours are given Thursday through Monday, $8 age 13 and up, $5 ages 3-12. Information: 850- 482-9598; www.floridastateparks.org/floridacaverns .

WATER PARKS
There's nothing like water to refresh a sweating soul, and Florida's many water parks provide plenty of opportunities to cool off. You can body surf in a wave pool, float on a lazy river, spray your enemies with water guns, play in waterfalls and fountains, and zip down watery slides and tubes.

About 18 water parks operate in Florida, many in theme parks, including Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach at Disney World, Adventure Island at Busch Gardens, Splash Island at Cypress Gardens, and Aquatica at Sea World.
But there are planty of stand-alone parks, including Orlando's Wet 'n' Wild, the granddaddy of all water parks and still one of the most popular.

• Details : For a list of water parks in Florida, go to www.about.com , search for Florida water parks.