Tampa, Orlando Among Best Cities For Recreation

If you’re looking for a place with the best variety of indoor and outdoor recreation, clearly, central Florida is the place to be.

Okay, so right off the bat, we can say that this doesn’t surprise us. However, the fun people at Wallethub.com needed to put it in writing. They looked at cities across the country and figured out who has the most, cheapest and best activities. They also looked at the weather.

Two of the top 4 cities on the list were Orlando and Tampa. The #5 city is Scottsdale, Arizona. #4 is Tampa, followed by #3-Cincinnati, Ohio, #2-Orlando and #1 is Las Vegas, Nevada. St. Petersburg landed at #18.

Breaking down their numbers a little, in the category of ‘Entertainment and Recreational Facilities,’ Orlando was #1. In that same category was #7. Tampa’s weather ranked #13, while Orlando ranked #28.

[Source: Wallethub.com]

Mason Dixon's 15 Favorite Summer Blockbuster Movies

• 15 "Dirty Dancing" (1987)

  With a fantastic mix of new songs and songs from when it takes place, Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach and Cynthia Rhodes make a great cast. By the way, you can see Patrick Swayze and Cynthia Rhodes in the video for “Rosanna by Toto, which came out 5 years earlier.

• 14. "National Lampoon's Vacation" (1983)

  They got it all started with Clark and Ellen Griswold as they made their way to Wally World. Without “Vacation,” I wouldn’t have my favorite all-time Christmas movie!

• 13. "Shrek" (2001)

  You can’t go wrong with a donkey and an ogre. Oh, and a Lord Farquaad.

• 12. "Weekend at Bernie's" (1989)

  They were the only ones who knew. They just had to make sure everyone though Bernie was still alive.

• 11. "Grease" (1978)

  The sing-along showings of “Grease” still fill up theatres.

• 10. "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" (1982)

  Possibly the best family sci-fi film of all time.

• 9. "Caddyshack" (1980)

  Still an immensely quotable film. Even if you’re not a golfer, this cast makes the links funny.

• 8. "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986)

  The perfect way to have so much fun in a single day. Some great advice from Ferris? “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

• 7. "Ghostbusters" (1984)

  The movie stands the test of time. They tried again a couple of years later, and it wasn’t quite as good. They tried it with a female cast a few years ago, and that didn’t work either. They tried it one more time in “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” and it was directed by Jason Reitman, son of Ivan Reitman who directed the original and… it worked. If you haven’t seen it, watch for lots of Easter eggs.

• 6. "Stand By Me" (1986)

  The story by Stephen King brought to the big screen by Rob Reiner. Toss in kids like Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell and Kiefer Sutherland.

• 5. Top Gun (1986)

  It took a long time to finally get a sequel. Go back and watch the original one again. Then watch “Top Gun: Maverick” yet again.

• 4. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981)

  The beginning of a franchise. Hard to believe they’re about to make another one.

• 3. "Independence Day" (1996)

  This wasn’t E.T’s family. These visitors were not here to be our friends.

• 2 "American Graffiti" (1973)

  Wow, what cars they had in this movie, and you know I’m a car guy!

• 1. "Jaws" (1975)

  It’s the one that began the ‘summer blockbuster movie’… It’s also the one that scared people out of the ocean!