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Surf's Up! No matter what season of the year it is, great surfing can be found somewhere in America. Surfing has grown to be an iconic cultural phenomenon all its own, immortalized in song, film and fashion - and the search for the perfect wave. If you've been planning a timeshare surfing vacation, here are a few surfing beaches considered by the surfing world to be some of the "Most Fantastic Surf Spots in America."

1. North Shore, Oahu
   Rent an Oahu timeshare anywhere on the island, and you'll find your way to the North Shore. Famous as one of the top surfing areas in the world, there are some pretty hefty waves crashing on this shore all year round (see photo above). But winter is when the surfing here charges up to a whole new level. The giant storm-generated swells in the northern Pacific travel thousands of miles to break along Oahu's North Shore with some of the most imposing and massive waves on the planet.


2. New Smyrna Beach, Florida
   Rent a Daytona Beach timeshare and this phenomenal surfing area is a quick drive down the coast. Considered one of the most consistent surf spots in Florida, fantastic waves offer surfers fantastic rides at this surf beach. The subtropical climate here is perfect for summer surfing, and for growing special treats of coconuts and bananas!


3. Mavericks, California
   On the list of best American surf spots is not southern California, but this surf beach at Half Moon Bay. A timeshare rental in San Francisco will put you in good shape to experience one of the most popular spots in the sport of surfing. The water is chilly, so wet suits are recommended, but here the waves are gigantic. The annual Mavericks Surf Contest is held here pitting athlete against nature with the 50-foot waves that come roaring out of the Gulf of Alaska during the winter.


4. Manasquan, New Jersey
   Drive just an hour from your Atlantic City timeshare rental and you're in a spot considered to be one of the best surfing beaches on the east coast. Prime surf season in New Jersey occurs during the Fall months. The beach crowds are gone, and although the air temperature is cooler than summer, the Atlantic Ocean here generally remains warm through October. And the waves are at their peak, often generated by hurricanes miles away.


5. Tanker Surfing, Galveston, Texas
   For advanced surfers only! Rent a Galveston timeshare and check out this variation on the sport where surfers lie in wait in the Galveston ship channel to catch an impressively long ride on the wake of a giant ship. Just make sure you know what you're doing!

(Photo of the North Shore, Hawaii provided by aloha-hawaii.com)

Summer is family vacation time, and that also means its vacation budget-crunching time. You already know that timeshare rental is a great way to relieve the budget and make your family's vacation accommodations very affordable. Next is to think about affordable activities - how about some that are free?

When you plan a Florida timeshare vacation, here are 4 ideas for free activities:

1. Sunset Celebrations
   Don't think of this as a "ho-hum, you can see sunsets anywhere for free" activity. We're talking about a world-famous spectacular sunset! A Key West timeshare rental will put you in the perfect location to see sunsets that are so phenomenal that people travel from around the globe to enjoy this free event. In fact, sunsets here are considered worthy of real celebrations, complete with live band music and entertaining street performers.


2. The National Naval Aviation Museum
   A Panama City timeshare rental will not only give you sugary white sand beaches and emerald waters to play in, but just a quick hour and a half drive will take you to this amazing museum in Pensacola, complete with free parking and free admission. Here you can view over 150 restored aircraft, explore over 4,000 aviation artifacts, and enjoy hours of hands-on activities. A real bonus is the free air show the entire family can enjoy on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings March through November, when you can watch the thrilling Blue Angels practice. Also, on Wednesdays there is an autograph session with the pilots inside the museum.


3. Sun Splash Park
   Rent a wonderful Daytona Beach timeshare and you'll be able to take the family to the Volusia County Sun Splash Park that is located smack-dab on Daytona Beach, and it's free to the public. Open daily from sunrise to sunset, this great family-oriented park offers a shaded playground, volleyball courts, picnic areas, and an interactive "zero depth" water play fountain. All of that in addition to a powdery-soft sand beach and fun Atlantic Ocean waves.


4. A taste of Africa
   Rent a timeshare at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Lake Buena Vista, and let the kids enjoy an entire array of free kids' activities. Many different Africa-related free art and cultural activities are available by the pool for children of all ages, and at night the kids can sit around the fireside for some great storytelling.

The news flash is that Spaceship Two made its maiden flight on March 22, 2010, and vacationing in space is becoming more and more a reality. This first of several planned test flights took the Virgin Galactic spacecraft just a few miles up into the sky. But when space actually becomes a vacation destination, Spaceship Two will be taken up to 50,000 feet by its jet-propelled mother ship, WhiteKnightTwo, and then let go. Spaceship Two's own rockets will then fire, and off into space you'll go.

The space tourism industry is now open for business. The first real space tourist was Dennis Anthony Tito, a United States engineer and multimillionaire. In April, 2001, he spent 8 days aboard Russia's Soyuz spacecraft, orbiting the International Space Station. Since then several more people have taken tourism to the new heights.

Perhaps as soon as 2011 you'll be able to look out and see the curve of our blue planet as it sails through the black of space. The first space flights for tourists will be a 2-hour experience for which they'll be charged $200,000. Already there are 330 people signed up and Virgin Galactic has over $45 million on deposit. Eventually week-long trips will be offered, costing around $2 million. There are already several space tourism companies planning to build suborbital vehicles and orbital cities within the next two decades. Space hotels might be popular vacation spots in just 20 years

The good news is that you don't have to forego vacations on the planet now as you save your pennies for an out of this world vacation. While you're waiting to blast off into space, plan your earthly vacations with timeshare rentals. These remarkably budget-friendly, inexpensive modes of vacationing offer a lot of bang for your buck. You get bedrooms and living rooms and kitchens and decks and patios and tennis and hot tubs and swimming pools and - all sorts of wonderfully fun and exciting things right here on the ground.

If you just can't wait to become a space tourist, rent an Orlando timeshare or Daytona Beach timeshare and head for Cape Canaveral. Here you can practice by experiencing a simulated moon landing or a rocket ship blast off, and even try out that wonderfully delicious - space food. Cape Canaveral timeshare rentals are also available.

(Photo by slipperybrick.com)

Fifth in our series "Places Every Kid Should See" will take us into outer space - or at least to the launch pad. The Kennedy Space Center in Florida will bring the exciting story of the United States' space program to life for your kids. The Center is located on Cape Canaveral, a headland along the Atlantic Ocean known as Florida's "Space Coast." Rent either an Orlando timeshare (a 45-minute drive), or a beautiful Daytona Beach timeshare (a short hour's drive) for a great family vacation.

Today's children have grown up with space travel becoming more and more common place. Hardly a ripple goes through the public when a space shuttle is launched, a rocket blasts into space, or the International Space Station is mentioned.

The beginnings of human space travel is really the stuff of science fiction, and kids will get a thrill to see what it was like to take those first heady steps into space - the courage, the determination, the tragedies and the scientific breakthroughs that made it all happen.

The Kennedy Space Center is the U.S. government's installation that operates America's astronaut launch facilities. It has been the launch site for every U.S. human space flight since 1968. Its Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) is the 4th largest structure in the world by volume.

The Center is a major tourist destination, with a visitor's center and public tours available. Here your kids have the unique opportunity to not only explore past history but also see history in the making. Because this facility is constantly preparing for space launches, much of it is restricted. But that will only make it more exciting for your kids, knowing that they are at the actual site of America's space program.

The Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex offers a number of displays including actual space craft such as the Gemini 9 capsule and the Apollo 14 command module, and thrilling interactive exhibits including the Shuttle Launch Experience, and a simulation ride into space. Two IMAX theaters will give your kids the exciting experience of being inside the firing room during an Apollo launch, and a simulation of the Apollo 11 moon landing. A tour of the Space Station Processing Facility will allow your kids to see where modules for the International Space Station are tested.

Bus tours will take your family around the Cape Canaveral facility to see the VAB up close, a restored gigantic Saturn V rocket, and even transportation to the observation platform at Launch Complex 39, which provides unobstructed views of both launch pads, and the surrounding Kennedy Space Center property. If they're lucky your kids might even get a glimpse of one of the space shuttles standing on a launch pad in preparation for a blastoff. See all Florida timeshares.