FERNANDINA BEACH -- Hotels and lodges in North Florida hope to draw tourists from Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., looking to get out of town before the inauguration of President-elect Obama Jan. 20.
Former D.C. natives Shannon and Bob Tidball said they are offering up their Amelia Island bed and breakfast as the ultimate vacation from the inauguration.
"It's going to be as nonpolitical as possible," said Bob Tidball. "People want to get away from it. We don't want to stuff it down their throats."
Millions of people will be in the nation's capital to witness Obama's historic swearing-in, but many said they want to avoid the crowds.
"I don't even want to be in town," said one Washington resident.
"Everyone says they're going to leave, if at all possible," said another.
When they do skip town, a group of Florida hotels want to cash in, offering 20 to 50 percent off the price of accomodations for people from Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
"The weather in January in D.C. is pretty bad. It's going to be cold. It's going to be wet. It's going to be rainy," Bob Tidball said. "This will be a much better option. It's 70 degrees today, and the traffic is pretty light."
"Democrats and Republicans alike can share an appetite for good food, and we have a lot of that with 10 restaurants," said Richard Goldman, spokesman for the Amelia Island Plantation Resort.
Reservations for the posh resort have been going fast. The 20 percent off already reduced rates has people trading in the red, white and blue for the greens of the golf course.
"What we're trying to create is a way to get away from the political scene," Goldman said.
The Tidballs said they guarantee visitors will be given the presidential treatment, and even disgruntled Republicans will find peace.
"I believe [Nassau County] leans towards the Republican side, so obviously Republicans will feel welcome here, but so are Democrats," Shannon Tidball said. "The idea is to get away and have fun. We're all Americans."
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