Hello, I wanted to try something different this year, and decided to visit the Jacksonville, Florida area during late May instead the usual Wally Word vacation. I don't have a lot in mind except going to St. Augustine and maybe a day trip to Gainesville where I spent my grade school years many moons ago

Does anyone have any suggestions for things to to in the Jacksonville area?

Unfortunately - May is kind of neither here nor there. It's not the spring - but not quite summer yet either (IOW - the beach water is kind of cold - but there are plenty of nice beaches with lots of surfers). What kind of person are you - old - young - married - kids? I think St. Augustine is a nice trip for a day. Don't miss the Lightner Museum - the Fort - and the tour of Flagler College (especially the Tiffany windows).

In Jacksonville - we have a pretty good zoo (near an AB brewery which gives free tours). The Cummer Museum (art) is decent. So is the Museum of Science and History (excellent exhibit of Jacksonville/Florida history). There are areas (especially Riverside) with historic houses which are interesting architecturally. If you have kids - a day at the Jacksonville Beach fishing pier might be fun. We have some excellent microbreweries - and some good restaurants.

We have a minor league baseball team (the Suns) with a great new stadium. Inexpensive way to see some good baseball. There are also a lot of cultural events (ranging from the symphony to C&W to punk rock groups - check Ticketmaster for most events).

The major draw in May is golf. Dozens of good to great golf courses. There's a major championship here (the Players) May 8-11 (avoid those dates unless you want to go to the tournament). Do you play golf?

If you're a Nascar fan - Daytona has some attractions related to that.

You didn't mention what your budget is. You can get middling accommodations at a place like Jacksonville Beach for a middling price - or spend a luxurious couple of days up at the Ritz Carlton at Amelia Island (which has a brand new spa). I booked a pretty good deal at the Sawgrass at Marriott (Ponte Vedra Beach) for some guests who will be here this summer. Florida resident rate. Don't know if you qualify. The Marriott is not on the ocean - but it has a beach club and a shuttle. Also has 1 bedroom (unrenovated) "suites" with kitchens which might be nice if you have kids and don't want to eat out all the time.

In Gainesville - you can go tubing. Check out the new butterfly rainforest exhibit at the Museum of Natural History - and the Harn Art Museum (they are side by side).

I live in the area - and I can tell you there is nothing here that will knock your socks off except for the golf. OTOH - you can spend a very pleasant visit here if you plan around your interests. If you give us some more information - perhaps I can come up with more ideas. Robyn

Good suggestions, thanks. My wife and I are in our early 50s with a teenage son, so we are pretty open to different things to do. St. Augustine sounds good, we thought about visiting the Devil's Millhopper sinkhole in Gainesville (went there as a kid). St. Augustine is definitely on our agenda. I thought about dropping down to Ocala from Gainesville for the Silver Springs thing, I have never been there before. Museums sound good if they are interesting ones. I also thought about stopping off a the Stephen Foster State Park, not sure exactly where it is. I remember camping near there as a kid, but we aren't planning to do any camping this time. If there are rental bikes available at the Park, that might be fun. We have a week, and are not in any big hurry or into any extreme adventure stuff, just wanted to get reacquainted with the area and the culture mainly. More ideas are welcome!

Here is an article in today's New York Times about the "hot springs" in north Florida which might be of interest:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/04/11...ef=todayspaper