What makes a perfect vacation?

Chances are, this won't be the summer I finally learn to play tennis, speak fluent Spanish, or create masterpieces out of mosaics. But because it's summer, my mind is wandering to all the new talents I might uncover if I only had the chance.

Maybe it's a holdover from childhood, when summer actually did promise long days of freedom, but as the days get warmer our thoughts turn to time — as in how we 'd like to spend it, if only we could find it.

In this issue of Gainesville Magazine, we've undertaken the pleasant task of contemplating the wonderful world of leisure. Within these pages, we'll introduce you to people who have transformed precious time off into opportunities for fun, but also for personal growth. You'll meet two couples who decamp every summer to the Chautauqua Institution, the upstate New York haven that combines a small-town setting with a nonstop menu of intellectual and cultural fare. And the architect who channels her inner metalworker at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. And the Florida Museum of Natural History Butterfly Rainforest docent who joined the museum's expedition to Mexico to witness the miracle of the Monarch butterfly's migration — one of several such trips the FMNH offers. And the couple who combine a love of travel with a passion for the waltz.

And if these "leisure learners" inspire you to look into some options for yourself, you'll find some intriguing possibilities here as well, both close to home and farther afield.

If you are a golfer, you are in luck this summer. Local courses are offering their own stimulus plans to keep players on the greens. From lower fees to free meals, we highlight the new enticements (as if golfers really need any.)

And you'll notice a first for the magazine — our first golf star on the cover. Colombian Camilo Villegas once thought of the game simply as his ticket to a University of Florida business degree. Now, his striking looks, "Spiderman" putting style and success on the course have made him a PGA fan favorite — and a one-man corporation. Sports writer Pat Dooley profiles Villegas and four other top former Gators on the Tour today.

Other summer offerings in these pages — a guide to the perfect burger (and that includes one crafted from bison), mind-agility games, one-piece wonder bathing suits that are decidedly unlike your grandmother's, and some travel sojourns to nearby Savannah and Asheville.

We thank you for your support, as always, and wish you a summer filled with endless days to spend just as you wish.