As a Daytona Beach area mom who happens to work in tourism, I'm always interested to see what my two children (a 12-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son) love the best about our hometown. Last year I grabbed my copy of the Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau's Visitors Guide, and used it to find out. The kids chose the activities and dubbed it our Summer of Adventure -- and the results were nothing short of memorable.

We started with something of a dare -- parasailing over the Atlantic. It was big, it was daunting, and it was voted most likely to make us all "scream like girls." Of course, the fact that Daytona Beach Parasail offered tandom rides actually made it quite easy, since I could take each of them up separately. Their experiences were as individual as they were. My daughter the adventurer rocked the seat, belted Queen's "We Are the Champions" and shouted to our boat captain to send us higher
-- and then to dip our toes into the ocean. My son the contemplator of life whispered his impressions of the stillness, then marveled at the number of water towers the area boasts, how the birds were able to fly this high, and how the tether line could really be "the strongest cord ever made," as I'd promised him it was. The view from 1,000 feet was phenomenal, as was the experience.

The next weekend we opted for surf lessons with none other than local longboard legend Mimi Munro. She's my version of a surfing superhero: a petite surfista who rocks a size 0 bikini, solid biceps AND six-pack abs. It wasn't just that she could dance on the waves and make it look easy. What truly impressed me was the fact that she was able to convey
her grace, her enthusiasm for surfing, and her deep respect for the ocean to my children. We all had a blast, and we've been surf-junkies ever since.

While we do love the great outdoors, we're always up for a good story. The Museum of Arts & Sciences had plenty of stories to tell. We learned about the 13-foot-tall Giant Ground Sloth that was unearthed in a nearby park, about Batista's Cuban art collection, and about the local Root family's history-making connection with the original green Coca-Cola
bottle. We even got to see the Root's donations of passenger trains, a fully-stocked apothocary shop, race cars and even teddy bears. And when we finished inside, we ventured back outdoors to the raised boardwalk through the Tuscawilla Preserve. (The adjoining Tuscawilla Park boasts a popular disc golf course, by the way. It's free and open to the public, but trust me, it's more challenging than it looks -- so finding our discs was half the fun!).

Before the summer ended we also took in the Daytona 500 Experience, the Daytona Beach Boardwalk, SpeedPark Motorsports, snorkling at Blue Springs, and the Marine Science Center. This summer? It's anyone's guess what' they'll choose. But since we 'll all get a vote, I'm opting for a tasty breakfast at the Sun Glow Pier, a half-day deep sea fishing
excursion, and a trip to the Coke Zero 400. Talk about a wild ride!