GULF BREEZE — The Gulf Breeze Zoo has over 900 animals and gives families three ways to enjoy the scenary. Walking path and petting zoo Walk around our lush Florida gardens and observe hundreds of animals, including primates, large cats, bears and…

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Gulf Breeze Zoo offers families a day of fun

Exercise riders walk thoroughbred horses through the starting gates during training on a foggy morning at Ocala Stud in Ocala, Fla., on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012.

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Photo: Ocala horses

My toes are curling just thinking about it. It’s that time of year again; time to venture off into the frigid north for the New York Times Travel Show ; time to paw through my closet looking for closed-toed shoes and sweaters and long pants. If you’re going to be in the Big Apple March 2-4, 2012 , make sure to visit this spectacular international celebration at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center (655 W. 34th Street, New York, NY 10001). Besides getting personal advice from yours truly on the best beach for you, you can find: Great travel deals, exciting sweepstakes and offers Family Fun Pavilion featuring a rock climbing wall, dive pool and Sea World Animals Book signings by your favorite travel experts More news to twirl your beach towel? Children under 18 are admitted free! See you soon. Brrrr…

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Come See Me at the New York Times Travel Show!

Come for the run and stay for the sun! Beach bunnies who are looking for a fast excuse to escape the cold should sprint down the Sixth Annual Sombrero Beach Run (MM 50, Marathon , Florida Keys ) on March 3, 2012 . Lots of folks agree it’s a peachy plan: more than 700 runners and walkers from every corner of the planet are expected to compete. The weekend event begins March 2, with a 5-7 p.m. registration kick-off party at Sombrero Beach. You can enjoy music, drinks and a full dinner there—and I’ll bet my sunscreen you’ll adore the sweet sands of Sombrero, one of the Florida Keys’ nicer beaches. Race day attractions include: Food Beverages Raffle prizes Music A full slate of community and Keys-wide events More news to float your flip-flops: The first 600 registered runners will snag a custom logo T-shirt and welcome bag. Awards will be given in a variety of categories, including a $500 cash prize to the overall male and female winners of the 15k. Specially priced Marathon-area accommodations are available. Participants must ask for the “Sombrero Beach Run Special.” Proceeds from the event benefit Keys Area Interdenominational Resources, which provides help for Keys families in need. Not planning on being in town the night before for the registration party? Don’t get your beach towel in a twist! You also can register on site at 7 a.m. on March 3. Details: The 15k combined challenge and 10k run start at 8 a.m. Individual 5k runners and walkers start at 9:15 a.m. Early registration for the 15k event is $35 per person in advance or $40 on race day. Students age 18 and under and U.S. military personnel can enter for $15. For 10k and 5k participants, pre-registration is $25 and race-day cost is $30. Students age 18 and under can enter for $10. For more information, call 305-289-9868 or check out the Sombrero Beach Run website. Insider Tip: Sombrero Beach offers some great snorkeling. I'm just saying.

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Sombrero Beach Run Sprints into the Florida Keys

Tampa – The ride starts in line. A few intimidated riders turn back, but Darren Dyer weaves through the queue. Dyer, 32, a Miami resident, has taken on about 40 of America's wildest coasters. After months anticipating the opening of Cheetah Hunt at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay , Dyer thinks he knows what to expect. Then he climbs into the seat. Launched out of the station at 30 mph, the ride instantly surpasses Dyer's expectations. The coaster curves left, then dips into a cavern. His stomach flips. Cool. It's one of the most technologically advanced attractions in the Southeast, Dyer says, adding, “The ride does not disappoint. My first thought after riding was one word: again.” For nearly a century, roller coasters have entertained the adventurous, pushed limits and even defied gravity. At the turn of the 20th century, they were a novelty, rare and experimental. In the 1920s, wooden coasters such as the Coney Island Cyclone began to pop up in amusement parks. In 1959, Disneyland unveiled the first steel coaster, which incorporated loops and smooth fast trains. Through the decades, an apparent contest developed among engineers to build the tallest, fastest and most innovative attractions. Cheetah Hunt, the newest coaster to open at Busch Gardens, uses a computer system to control the ride experience. When Busch engineers began developing the ride in 2005, they wanted to shock even the most experienced riders. Rather than build another chain-lift coaster, which relies on potential energy and gravity to propel trains, designers set out to mimic the speed of a cheetah using electromagnets to launch riders from zero to 60 miles per hour in seconds. The ride features three such launch points and runs on a track within a foot of the ground at some points. “Seven years ago I was watching Star Wars and there was a scene where vehicles flying close to the ground were zooming through tight spaces,” says Mark Rose, vice president of design and engineering at Busch Garden. “I wondered what it would take to build a low-moving coaster like that. Overtime, that idea evolved into Cheetah Hunt.” From the beginning, Rose says, he saw Cheetah Hunt as a challenge to bring new technology to a theme park known for its innovative thrill attractions. For five years, it remained in the planning stages as engineers worked to develop a complex computer system capable of controlling the ride. “We wanted to combine both speed and grace,” Rose says. “In the beginning, it's more of an art, then it becomes about the science of it and checking the forces involved to create a smooth and enjoyable ride.” Park officials tossed around ideas for where the coaster would go. An old monorail building near the park's Crown Colony Restaurant was vacant, so they decided to use it as a loading station. They contemplated sending the coaster through the Edge of Africa section of the park, which features a walk-through animal safari, but ultimately decided against it. Engineers went through 50 layouts before deciding on a final path for the ride, which stretches 4,429 feet. Theming was also important while designing the coaster, Rose says. When designers decided on a launch coaster, they compared the launch speed to the speed a cheetah could reach running out in the wild. From there, they expanded on the idea by working with zoologists at Busch Gardens to open a cheetah exhibit along with the ride. “It's important to properly integrate a coaster into the park,” Rose says. “If it looks like it was always meant to be there, that makes it a better attraction.” Construction on Cheetah Hunt began in late 2009. More than 400 workers from architects to electricians worked to bring it to life. A four-month testing process followed. “We spent a month checking the wiring before we ever moved the first train,” Rose says. “Then we pulled that first train along with a crane to make sure all our clearances were right and the alignment was perfect.” In addition to the three launch points, Cheetah Hunt includes one inversion (upside down), an inline roll and crosses over the park's sky ride. Riders are launched at 60 mph up a figure eight tower and then dropped into an underground trench. At one point, riders experience weightlessness for three seconds. “Each chapter of the ride builds on itself,” Rose says. “Unexpected elements make a coaster one of a kind.” Lindsey Mammen, representative for the creative team at Universal Orlando , said that when Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit opened at their Universal Studios park in August 2009, the big draw was the ride's inverted loop, where trains run along the top rather than inside the loop. Since riders don't go upside down, engineers were able to do different things with the ride, which at 17 stories is the tallest coaster in Central Florida . “The ride is unique because it gives riders a sense of freedom,” Mammen says. “They are confined to the ride vehicle with a lap bar as opposed to a shoulder harness. While guests never actually invert, there are a number of amazing maneuvers that create an exhilarating coaster experience, which coupled with the musical element, creates an unforgettable ride.” Rick Sylvain, representative for Walt Disney Imagineering, says with every ride built, the bar is set higher to give riders a different kind of thrill. A new coaster, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train , is currently under construction as part of a multiyear expansion of Fantasyland at Walt Disney World 's Magic Kingdom in Orlando. “It features a first-of-its-kind ride system in which the ride vehicles swing back and forth,” Sylvain says. Back at Busch Gardens, engineers are working to develop the park's next attraction, but the details remain under wraps. Rose says park engineers generally work five years ahead. When Cheetah Hunt opened, people from around the world waited two hours or more in line to ride. Rose says he remembers his first time braving the coaster. He was the first person to ride. “I watched the tests for so many months, but until you sit in the chair and are launched yourself, you're surprised.” Rose says. “I thought, 'Oh my goodness, this is unbelievable.'”

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Cheetah Hunt and the Latest and Greatest of Florida Roller Coasters

Beach chairs and umbrella line the white-sand beaches at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa.

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Photo: Beach chairs, Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa

If you’re a beach bunny within hopping distance of Sanibel Island , take note. Sanibel is offering a shell-ebration that’s one for the record books – literally! The Shell Show and Fair is commemorating its 75th year in 2012 with a shell scavenger hunt aimed at landing it in the Guinness Book World Records for being the largest shell scavenger hunt ever, and you can be part of it! Just splash down to Bowman’s Beach on Sanibel Island for a mass Sanibel Stoop event at 10 a.m. Feb. 17, 2012 . You’ll be part of an aerial photo and get to sign your name on a document that will prove to Guinness to prove that the island has broken the 208-person record. What the shell is the ‘Sanibel Stoop?’ Good question, beach bunnies! You commonly see people bending over on area beaches, looking for shells, since Sanibel is one of the top shelling destinations in the world.

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Help Break the World Record with the ‘Sanibel Stoop’ Feb. 17

Hang on to your Harley and get ready for some hog-wild fun! Bikeweek , the world's largest motorcycle event, is roaring into Daytona Beach March 9-18, 2012 . It features motorcycle shows and exhibits, concerts, racing at Daytona International Speedway , festivals, shopping, music and good times galore. I know you want a glimpse of what it’s like. Check out my slideshow! Insider’s Tips: Bikeweek is an adult-appropriate event. This is not a place to go if you’re in a hurry to get anywhere. It is the place to go if you’re looking for a good time. The Daytona Regional Chamber is holding a drawing for the Official Bike Week Motorcycle , worth a cool $35,000. Only 4500 tickets are printed, which means the odds of winning are much higher than in most contests. Yes, you should enter.

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Hog-Wild Fun: Daytona Beach’s Bike Week

The most-watched race in America, the Daytona 500, is held in February at the culmination of Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway.

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Photo: February’s Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway

The Dolphin Research Center in Marathon focuses on educational presentations, but dolphins still make an occasional showy leap.

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Photo: Dolphin Research Center, Marathon