August 2009 News And Events

WWW.FLORIDA-BACKROADS-TRAVEL.COM UPDATES

I have added a section on Northwest Florida beaches. Florida beaches are world famous, and the ones in the panhandle are especially beautiful.

More beach write-ups will follow. In all cases, I try to warn you where the nudist beaches are so you can put the blindfold on granny and the kids.

For more information, go to Northwest Florida Beaches.

The website also has more information about Florida authors, including James W. Hall, Elmore Leonard, Patrick Smith and Harry Crews

For more information, go to Florida Authors.

My home page now has a Twitter update feature. This way I can tweet about any new discovery like a great restaurant or a tremendous little town, and it will show up immediately on the home page.

I tried it recently at Sweet Mama's Island Cuisine in Naples and the Boca Grande Grill and Tiki Bar in Boca Grande. Twitter worked like a charm.

If you are interested in learning more about Twitter, go to Florida Heritage Travel At Twitter.

AUGUST 2009 FEATURED FLORIDA EVENTS AND FESTIVALS

At any given time there are thousands of Florida events and festivals in Florida's 8 geographical regions.

August and July are slower than most months because of the hot weather.

Here are some interesting events around Florida for August 2009.

DADE CITY

Pioneer Florida Festival. August 31-September 2. All-day entertainment: Gospel, Folk, Country and more. True Craft demonstrations, Arts & Crafts Show, Children's activities: Grandma's Hug-N-Farm, wagon & pony rides, puppet show. Antique cars and tractors, reenactment battle, community exhibit and lots of good food. Call 352/567-0262.

JACKSONVILLE

Jacksonville Zoo's Birthday-Back to School Summer Bash, August 22-23. Jazoo and friends celebrate his birthday and the upcoming school year. There will be cupcakes, games and prizes, music, visits from local mascots and more. At Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. Admission $13 adult, $11 senior, $8 children 3-12. 904-757-4463. More info at Jacksonville Zoo.

LAKE PLACID

12th Annual Caladium Festival. August 23-25. Visit the Caladium Capital of the World. Full Color Tours of Caladium Fields, Art contests, craft booths, murals, children's activities, wonderful food and much more. Free admission and parking. Information: 863-465-4331.

MELBOURNE

7th Annual FSCP Fais-Dais-Dos Cajun Festival. August 17-18. Two-day celebration of Cajun culture, food, music, dance and art presented by Space Coast Pops. Authentic spicy cajun foods, beer, 3 cajun-style bands; arts and crafts, children's area and more. At Wickham Park Pavillion, Wickham Road. 321-632-7445.

PORT ST. JOE

St. Joseph Bay Scallop Festival. August 1-2. Shipyard Cove, next to the Gulf County Chamber of Commerce in Port St. Joe. A family-oriented festival featuring live entertainment, arts and crafts, children’s rides, and food. Fried scallop dinners are available as well as scallops to take home and cook. Two days of fun and activities for the whole family. 850-227-1223.

In our current slow economy, some events are canceled on very short notice. I do my best to ensure that our information is correct and current, but I recommend you call before leaving for the event to make sure it's still on.

If these events aren't convenient for you, try this link for Additional Florida Events.

ETHNIC RESTAURANT OF THE MONTH

Maybe I should give you my definition of ethnic: any thing other than steak and potatoes and good old American southern cooking, hamburgers, hotdogs, pizza.

Ethnic food includes Cajun, Greek, German, Chinese, Japanese, Turkish, Vietnamese, Colombian. It sometimes includes Mexican and Italian, although these have become almost American food in recent years.

I love eating at good restaurants, American or ethnic.

This month I want to tell you about a wonderful southwest Florida Thai restaurant that I like.

Thai Star, 26521 S. Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs, Florida 33134. Tel: 239-992-9825.

This is a small cozy restaurant with a relaxed feeling and typical Thai paintings and carvings giving it an Asian feeling. It is a great place for lunch or dinner.

Bill Vilaysack is the owner and host at Thai Star, and is assisted by his wife, Vongphachan, who spends all of her time in the kitchen personally preparing delicious entrees.

Bill is originally from Laos, and has spent a lot of time learning his trade in the United States. For many years he worked in the catering group at South Seas Plantation on Captiva Island.

Many of the herbs and fruits used in Thai Star's meals are grown by Bill and his wife at home: basil, lemon grass, galangal, kafir limes and mangoes.

The food at Thai Star is great, with all of your Thai fvorites like Pad Thai, khao ad gai and many other stir fried dishes.

They also have lots of good soups and salads, including tom yum and tom kha gai. The food is always fresh and delicious.

Prices are reasonable, and they have wine and beer.

Bill waits on you personally, and always remembers what your favorites are. You can either tell him you want your usual, or try something brand new. Either way, you won't be disappointed.

Thanks for subscribing. We will see you next month with more updates and event information.

Regards, Mike Miller
Chief Backroads Traveler
www.Florida-Backroads-Travel.com