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Get Away

Out and about

When you're ready to escape your four walls on a holiday weekend, your choices are limited, but fun outings can be found.

By SHARON KENNEDY WYNNE
Published December 22, 2005

Besides opening presents and eating too much, what is there to do on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? Since they fall on a weekend, you might think there would be some action around town.

But when even stalwart drinking holes like Carlie's in Pinellas Park and Dave's Aqua Lounge on Gandy Boulevard in St. Petersburg shut the doors early on Christmas Eve, getting out of the house may be a futile quest.

Most establishments - from bars to movies to museums - will take a break this weekend.

Derby Lane closes at 6 p.m. Saturday and takes Christmas Day off.

Most bars in Ybor City will be open Christmas Eve, but many will close early if the crowds aren't there, and a lot of them will open later on Sunday.

"It's not like we'll have a normal Saturday night, but we won't be empty," said Jodi Walther of Tampa Bay Brewing Company in Ybor City. "It's fun because it's like a nice calm day."

Ringside Cafe in St. Petersburg will close down its pumping sound system and shut its doors on Christmas Day, but it is hosting a Christmas Eve concert by the Jimmy Griswold Band at 9:30 p.m. Saturday for a $5 cover.

The Green Iguana prides itself on music every night, but the Tampa Green Iguana off Veterans Expressway will close on Christmas Eve. It will, however, open up at 3 p.m. on Christmas Day with a band to be announced. But the Green Iguana in St. Petersburg will close at 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve and open with only bar service Sunday at 9 p.m.

Part of the problem is finding help willing to work the holiday, said manager Rob Beebe, who hopes to have an all-volunteer staff Sunday night at the St. Petersburg Iguana. But business, he predicts, "will be minor."

Besides nightlife, there are a few other places open if you are looking for a diversion for - or from - the family:

The theme parks, from Disney to Busch Gardens, are open every day of the year. The week leading up to Christmas is one of Disney's busiest. At Busch Gardens, the crowds are fairly light, said spokesman Gerard Hoeppner. But that all ends on Dec. 26, when Busch sees its peak week of business at the end of the year.

Most movie theaters plan to close by midafternoon Saturday and reopen Sunday afternoon with new releases including The Producers and Rumor Has It. (See reviews in Floridian on Sunday).

The manatee viewing center lets you check in on the manatees that congregate in the warm water of the discharge canal near Tampa Electric's Big Bend power plant. The center has a walkway, observation deck and displays on manatees. Located at Big Bend and Dickman roads, Apollo Beach; www.manatee-teco.com for information and directions.

After a nice stroll, check out Clearwater Beach's year-round daily festival, Sunsets at Pier 60, with artisans, crafters, street performers and music and a playground. It starts two hours before sunset and lasts four hours next to Pier 60.

Tampa's Museum of Science and Industry is open, too. Though the current special exhibit "Bodies: the Exhibition," featuring preserved cadavers, may not be a great way to entertain small children or squeamish relatives, out-of-towners might find the hurricane center and Florida-focused exhibits particularly interesting. MOSI is at 4801 E Fowler Ave., Tampa. Admission ranges from $12.95-$29.95, depending on the package purchased. The IMAX theater will be open as well.

The Florida Botanical Gardens are a pleasant and free place to walk off the Christmas cookies. The gardens have more than 10,000 plants, including roses, topiaries and sculptures, and holiday lights will be on from 6 to 10 p.m. nightly. The gardens are in the Pinewood Cultural Park with Heritage Village and Gulf Coast Museum of Art; 12175 125th St. N, Largo.

Or stroll the boardwalk at the 210-acre Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park in Homosassa. The park has a lights celebration from 6 to 8 p.m. through Saturday night. The park is open regular hours, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

[Last modified December 21, 2005, 10:49:05]