With stories about sports stars running dog fighting rings, and other beating their wives, or just being, in general, not “nice guys”, it’s absolutely fabulous that we have a “nice guy” like Vincent Lecavalier to look up to here in Tampa Bay. Actually, I’ve met several of the Tampa Bay Lightning players, and they’re all nice guys. It seems that hockey, as a sport, has more nice guys than other sports, and Vinnie is a gem.

Vinnie’s charity foundation, along with his corporate partners (Kane’s Furniture and DEX Imaging), has announced they’ll be donating $3 million towards the construction of the new building for All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. I have a huge soft spot in my heart for All Children’s - I’ve not only been there with 2 of my own children, but my niece was there when she was just 1 for a long illness. This isn’t the first time that Vinnie Lecavalier has helped the hospital. With each goal he scores, he donates $1,000. With each assist, he donates $300. Since he started doing that in 2003, he’s donated over $70,000 to All Children’s.

The $3 million dollar gift will go towards creating a special wing called the Vincent Lecavalier Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. The corporate sponsors will provide half of the money, and the rest will be raised through events held by Vinnie’s foundation, like his poker tournament in Tampa on November 12.

A recent post I made on my travel blog about visiting the concentration camps (would you, or wouldn’t you?) reminded me about The Florida Holocaust Museum located in downtown St. Petersburg. When I was in college a few years ago, I spent an afternoon there by myself as part of an assignment, and now that my children are a bit older, I’d like to take them to experience the museum. There’s a new Anne Frank exhibit starting on September 29th, and running through December 23rd, and I think it’s an excellent way to show my children a bit of history. My girls have read books about Anne Frank, and my son understands a bit about World War II, so this will be a little more knowledge for them.

A History For Today will show the history of Anne Frank and the family’s story before and after the Nazi reign. The exhibit will feature photographs taken by family patriarch Otto Frank of his young daughters, Anne and Margaret. Many of the 70 photographs in the collection have never been seen before. This exhibit will be located on the 2nd floor.

Downstairs, you’ll find the regular exhibit, which at the time I visited, included a real boxcar used to transport Holocaust victims to the concentration camps. The main exhibits include pictures and artifacts from the time, and it’s a very sobering experience. The museum is a place for quiet reflection and reverence, and I urge you NOT to take children who can’t act appropriately.

The Florida Holocaust Museum is located at 55 Fifth Street in St. Petersburg, FL. The museum is open from 10am til 5pm every day, but they are closed on Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Admission is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors and college students, and $4 for students under 18. Children under 16 must be with an adult. Cell phone use, photography, video, and audio recordings are not permitted. Parking is free.

It’s that time of year again - pirates will be invading Tampa Bay soon for Gasparilla!

The Gasparilla Children’s Parade will be held this Saturday, January 20, 2007, from 3:30pm til 6:30pm. It takes place along Bayshore Boulevard, following the same route as the Gasparilla Parade of the Pirates. It will begin at Bay to Bay Blvd. & Bayshore Blvd., proceed north along Bayshore, and end at Watrous/Orleans Aves. & Bayshore (approx. 1.4 miles). You can purchased reserved general admission seating in an assisgned bleacher section for $12 per person. The seating is first come first serve on the daye of the event, but you must have a ticket.

The history of Gasparilla:

The name and foundation of Tampa’s traditional Gasparilla Carnival come from legendary pirate Jose Gaspar, “last of the Buccaneers,” who terrorized the coastal waters of West Florida during the late 18th and early 19th century. Gaspar, given to calling himself “Gasparilla,” served as a lieutenant in the Royal Spanish Navy for five years until 1783 when, upon seizing command of a Spanish sloop-of-war, he with his fellow mutineers set sail for the Florida straits. And so the young Spanish aristocrat-turned-pirate began an adventurous life as outlaw of the sea.

If you’ve never been, the children’s parade is quite a bit tamer than the adult event, and it is alcohol free.

Come to the 2007 Florida RV Supershow at the Florida State Fairgrounds, 4800 N. US Hwy. 301, Tampa, FL and see TrailManor the full sized travel trailer that tows like a pop-up and fits in your garage.

January 17th - 21st
Wednesday - Saturday: 9 am - 6 pm
Sunday: 9 am - 5 pm

Wednesday is seniors citizen’s day - $1 off admission

TrailManor travel trailers can be viewed at www.trailmanor.com if you can’t make it to the show!

This years Martin Luther King, Jr. parade in St. Petersburg is one of the biggest in the country. Parade officials estimate that spectators from from as far away as South Florida and Georgia, and attendance will be as high as 50,000.

The parade began at 1:15pm today at Third Avenue S. and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street, and will be ending at Vinoy Park. The FAMU marching band will not appear this year due to a scheduling conflict.

It’s amazing to me that a city with so much racial unrest is able to put on such a spectacular event honoring Dr. King. What do you think?

This weekend at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, train enthusiasts of all ages will be able to visit the Great Train Expo - America’s coast to coast train show. You’ll find model railroads, toy trains, dealers and collectors at this huge show of exhibits and demonstrations.

The show will be going on this weekend (Saturday 12/30 and Sunday 12/31) from 10am til 4pm daily. Admission is $7 for adults and kids under 12 are free. Kids of all ages will love the model railroads on display (and operating!) and the hundreds of tables of trains and toys. If you’re looking to dispose of an old toy train, this is the perfect place. You can get appraisals and get offers from multiple dealers under one roof!

This past October, I walked in the 3-Day in Philly. If you don’t know what the 3-Day is, it’s a 3-Day Walk of 60 miles (20 miles per day) to raise money for breast cancer research. Each participant this year had to collect $2200 donations (the amount raises each year usually) in order to participate in the walk. The event in Philadelphia raised over $6.5 million!

So you’re probably wondering, why did a girl from Tampa fly to Philly to walk in the cold and rain? Good question. I walked with my sister (also from Tampa) and friends from Michigan, Tampa, and Maryland. We decided that Philadelphia would be the best place that was central for all of us. I did inspire friends to walk in Tampa, and for the 2007 walk, I’ve decided to join them.

You can help me reach my goal of $2200 with a SMALL donation and in return, get some free advertising for your website or blog. If you donate $20 to my campaign, here’s what you get in return - I’ll thank you (and link to your blog or website) in a post on 3DayMom. You’ll also be linked in my sidebar for the next TWELVE months as a 3-Day sponsor. 3DayMom is a PR4 website, which means your blog or website will receive the benefit of being linked from a high pagerank and high traffic website. Try and get advertising like that for $20 elsewhere!

To donate, just visit my official 3-day website at: http://the3day.org/tampabay07/colleenc

Not to mention, you’ll have my gratitude, AND you’ll be helping to fund important breast cancer research and outreach programs.

If you are unable to donate online with a credit card or check, you can donate by Paypal by sending your contribution directly to me (colleen_ccATyahooDOTcom) and I will use my PayPal debit card to make the contribution in your name. Your donation will appear in the official tally just as if you had done it yourself.