Letter From The Editor 

TAKE OFF. It's that time of year when most of us are looking to abandon our regular routines and put some adventure into our lives. I like to work in mini-vacations throughout the summer with the attitude that a band-aid is more like having an ongoing fixer-upper for my entire summer-state-of-mind. Quick, three-day, stretched-out weekends filled to the brim with non-stop tours, dinners, movies or a good small-theater play (something I never get to do during season) can give me the feeling I'm on vacation. Get some ideas from our Entertainment Calendar (page 106). I love these mini escapes. They recharge my batteries and revitalize the rest of the workweek. I particularly like road trips that start off with a planned destination and then change on a whim by exiting for a pit stop and finding an area that has more than just fast food and gas stations. Florida has always been a puzzle for me, yet I keep trying to put all the pieces together. Summers open up these opportunities because hotel rates drop so substantially ("Star Specials," page 46), the traffic is as mild as it's going to get, and people in general are in a vacation frame of mind. One quick trip that's a showstopper is to lock yourself up in your own house and not tell a soul. Invite someone interesting over and indulge in tray service all weekend - FIM has a few menus that are sure to entice ("Tray Chic" page 56).

TAKE IT OFF. Working a two-week vacation into the summer can be exhausting. First, you feel you have to make it worth your while, which means more money, more taxing itineraries and overall, more eating. These trips not only give me spending guilt, but extra inches that certainly don't help me in my "lose-25-pounds" goal. The last time I engaged in a "two-weeker" I ended up with 10 extra pounds that took a full year to drop. The weekender plan lets you off the diet hook on Saturday and Sunday, but then you're back on the treadmill on Monday through Friday. In theory it works. You might be standing still weight wise, but you're not gaining. God, we're obsessed with weight. Just this week I was up late watching "nothing" on the tube, flicking through station after station with content that only referred to one's body parts - either they were pushing pills, climbing on elliptical contraptions or selling Jenny Craig-type programs that have you buying food for elves. Personally, I'm not impressed with these quick-fix fads. I like fabulous food too much. And for the best, FIM recommends some "Delicious Destinations" (page 54) where eating is definitely part of the vacation agenda.

TAKE IT ALL OFF. What we're really saying here is that there's no hiding in Florida. It's pretty basic: Summertime is the time we pare down to just about as little as we can get away with. That means short shorts, shorter bikinis and flimsy wraps that barely cover ("Movin' & Groovin'" page 90). The beaches surround us: there's The Keys, Bimini (a short stint away), the Gulf Coast (all calm and serene), and the Atlantic shore (buzzing with beauties and miles of the best sunbathing in the country). So prepare yourself and get ready with that body, baby - from June through August it's summer show time in Florida and there's no escaping it.

Esther Q. Jackson
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief