Let's get serious -- driving your visitors around the crowded roads of Broward or Palm Beach county to get to the beach or the restaurant or the Everglades is OK if you like traffic jams and they don't mind not seeing it all. But there is a way around that which we figure is cheap at the price: a 30-minute chopper ride that gives your relatives and friends a bird's-eye view of the whole South Florida thing. Belted into the vibrating cabin of a Bell Jet Ranger, an Astar, or a Robinson R44, the out-of-towner will see a ribbon of white sand running 60 or 70 miles north and south from a vantage at least 1000 feet above the beach -- without the threat of a traffic jam. The Everglades lie to the west like, well, like a river of grass (Marjory Stoneman Douglas' famous phrase) and between the beach and the 'Glades, the chopper cowboy can see South Florida's famous urban sprawl. Pick a day that's windless (it's not safer, it's just more comfortable), talk your mom and dad into a little adventure, and don't worry about the bucks ($99 for a half-hour ride). It's worth it to say you showed them everything and get it over with.

Let's get serious -- driving your visitors around the crowded roads of Broward or Palm Beach county to get to the beach or the restaurant or the Everglades is OK if you like traffic jams and they don't mind not seeing it all. But there is a way around that which we figure is cheap at the price: a 30-minute chopper ride that gives your relatives and friends a bird's-eye view of the whole South Florida thing. Belted into the vibrating cabin of a Bell Jet Ranger, an Astar, or a Robinson R44, the out-of-towner will see a ribbon of white sand running 60 or 70 miles north and south from a vantage at least 1000 feet above the beach -- without the threat of a traffic jam. The Everglades lie to the west like, well, like a river of grass (Marjory Stoneman Douglas' famous phrase) and between the beach and the 'Glades, the chopper cowboy can see South Florida's famous urban sprawl. Pick a day that's windless (it's not safer, it's just more comfortable), talk your mom and dad into a little adventure, and don't worry about the bucks ($99 for a half-hour ride). It's worth it to say you showed them everything and get it over with.

It's hard to believe that this monument to bad taste has been with us for so long already, but it was back in April 1998 that Al Goldstein, publisher of the fine skin mag Screw, installed the giant stone sculpture of a disembodied palm and fingers in his back yard. Now on view to all who pass by his million-dollar mansion in Pompano Beach, the huge hand with extended middle finger was purchased by Goldstein after it appeared as a prop on the ABC-TV sitcom Spin City. The publisher, now in his mid sixties, isn't known for his refinement; in fact his overuse of the one-finger salute, especially on his New York City cable television show Midnight Blue, has been well-documented. We can only salute him in turn for bringing the sincere and gratuitous gesture to his South Florida friends and neighbors in such a big way.

It's hard to believe that this monument to bad taste has been with us for so long already, but it was back in April 1998 that Al Goldstein, publisher of the fine skin mag Screw, installed the giant stone sculpture of a disembodied palm and fingers in his back yard. Now on view to all who pass by his million-dollar mansion in Pompano Beach, the huge hand with extended middle finger was purchased by Goldstein after it appeared as a prop on the ABC-TV sitcom Spin City. The publisher, now in his mid sixties, isn't known for his refinement; in fact his overuse of the one-finger salute, especially on his New York City cable television show Midnight Blue, has been well-documented. We can only salute him in turn for bringing the sincere and gratuitous gesture to his South Florida friends and neighbors in such a big way.

Greater Trinity Baptist is literally west of the railroad tracks that separate Dania Beach's haves from the haves-not-as-much -- the traditionally white part of town from the black. In one year Rev. Louis Sanders drove off the drug dealers who used to lurk behind his church, scaring parishioners and forcing a momentous decline in attendance. Then he resurrected a solid community congregation that welcomes all comers. You don't have to be a believer or a Baptist, you don't have to be black (although most of the congregation is) -- you just have to give him a little respect. You'll get it back at you, with Sanders' patent warm welcome and a positive view of a community that has previously been in decline.

Greater Trinity Baptist is literally west of the railroad tracks that separate Dania Beach's haves from the haves-not-as-much -- the traditionally white part of town from the black. In one year Rev. Louis Sanders drove off the drug dealers who used to lurk behind his church, scaring parishioners and forcing a momentous decline in attendance. Then he resurrected a solid community congregation that welcomes all comers. You don't have to be a believer or a Baptist, you don't have to be black (although most of the congregation is) -- you just have to give him a little respect. You'll get it back at you, with Sanders' patent warm welcome and a positive view of a community that has previously been in decline.

It pays to have friends up north (i.e., Martin County). Otherwise we would never have found out about the Treasure Coast Wildlife Hospital, which provides short- and long-term care for wounded, sick, or orphaned critters 24 hours a day. More than 100 permanently impaired animals call this 25-year-old place home, including a one-winged bald eagle, a one-eyed pelican, and a six-year-old bobcat named Sophie who doesn't know how to be a bobcat because her mother got hit by a car when Sophie was only a few days old. We think Sophie has a good life right where she is. The dozen or so pelicans here like this place so much, they're raising a family. You'll also see crocodiles, alligators, and a white-tailed deer. Volunteers are available to answer your animal queries, and there's even a small gift shop with critter-related items. (It's hard to leave without a Tshirt, at least.) Visiting hours are Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is $2, and guided group tours are available.

It pays to have friends up north (i.e., Martin County). Otherwise we would never have found out about the Treasure Coast Wildlife Hospital, which provides short- and long-term care for wounded, sick, or orphaned critters 24 hours a day. More than 100 permanently impaired animals call this 25-year-old place home, including a one-winged bald eagle, a one-eyed pelican, and a six-year-old bobcat named Sophie who doesn't know how to be a bobcat because her mother got hit by a car when Sophie was only a few days old. We think Sophie has a good life right where she is. The dozen or so pelicans here like this place so much, they're raising a family. You'll also see crocodiles, alligators, and a white-tailed deer. Volunteers are available to answer your animal queries, and there's even a small gift shop with critter-related items. (It's hard to leave without a Tshirt, at least.) Visiting hours are Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is $2, and guided group tours are available.

This is a tough category in a county with such gems as Markham Park in Sunrise and the great beach parks maintained by the state, John U. Lloyd and Hugh Taylor Birch. Our pick is Snyder, an unpretentious city park of 93 acres that offers everything you need in a park, and all on a city budget. Snyder has two freshwater ponds, one with a football field-long swimming beach and weekend lifeguards to protect the kids; canoe and kayak rentals; hiking trails through sometimes dense foliage; paved trails for jogging, bicycling, or Rollerblading; a softball field; basketball courts; and picnic areas. It's clean, it's managed by some of the friendliest city workers you can find, and at twilight it's romantic. Snyder is also cheap. On weekends or holidays you'll pay $2 a person unless you're very young or very old, then it's $1.50. The weekday entrance fee is $1.50 or $1.

This is a tough category in a county with such gems as Markham Park in Sunrise and the great beach parks maintained by the state, John U. Lloyd and Hugh Taylor Birch. Our pick is Snyder, an unpretentious city park of 93 acres that offers everything you need in a park, and all on a city budget. Snyder has two freshwater ponds, one with a football field-long swimming beach and weekend lifeguards to protect the kids; canoe and kayak rentals; hiking trails through sometimes dense foliage; paved trails for jogging, bicycling, or Rollerblading; a softball field; basketball courts; and picnic areas. It's clean, it's managed by some of the friendliest city workers you can find, and at twilight it's romantic. Snyder is also cheap. On weekends or holidays you'll pay $2 a person unless you're very young or very old, then it's $1.50. The weekday entrance fee is $1.50 or $1.