Imagine stepping out onto a Florida beach. Hear the crashing waves as they rise up to meet the land. See the sunlight glint off the water. Feel the black tarballs squish between your toes. Wait, what? With the oil leak in the Gulf still dumping thousands of gallons of oil into the ocean, Florida's shores might be covered in it soon. So if your idea of a Florida vacation doesn't involve getting your flip-flops covered in oil goo, here's what you can do.
1. Change locations.
With more then 2,200 miles of beaches, it's unlikely that oil will cover all the beaches all the time. And since Florida is in the shape of a pennisula, a beach is rarely more then 1 or 2 hours away. So if your plan was to hit the beaches in Miami and oil comes ashore there, go north to Cocoa beach or go across Florida to the Everglades.
2. Change dates.
If your heart is set on a particular location and it's impacted by oil, consider changing the dates of your trip. It's not known how long it will take to clean up oil if it shows up. But if you can wait a month or two, it will give clean-up crews time to assess the damage and remove the worst of the spill.
3. Do more activities on land.
From theme parks to museums to water parks to theaters, many fun activities can be done in Florida without going anywhere near a beach. Whether it's exploring the depths of outer space at the Kennedy Space Center or relaxing among peaceful plants in the Harry P. Leu Gardens, you don't have to go to the beaches just to have fun.
The one thing you shouldn't do is cancel your trip altogether, especially if you already have transportation and hotel booked. Most airlines will not consider the spill to be a valid reason to cancel your flight, so you will usually be out the cost of the ticket if you cancel. And many hotel policies will charge a fee for canceling. Also, if you want to help those affected by the spill, bringing your business to Florida will help those struggling to recover from its impact.
Comments
Oil on the beaches will absolutely ruin your vacation. It would be wise to just avoid making any Florida Beach plans for the future. There are many other wonderfull vacation sites! And, did you read that Obama's administration ,even after this spill, is foregoing environmental studies for the next 29 offshore drill sites? What is wrong with Obama? Has he lost his mind?
Let's just hope the millions of gallons of oil floating in the Gulf do not get caught in the Loop Current, because that would carry it around the entire peninsula. This is really sad and could have horrible economic repercussions for Florida, a state already with one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation.
I'm still for off-shore drilling. I think bad things can happen, and if you restrict anything which has a risk to it, then we may as well not drive or ever go outside even. We just have to deal better with the crisis and be ready for them. It's like the problem with nuclear. There was one accident, in RUSSIA, and now everyone is paranoid of the best power source we have on the planet.
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