You might be interested in my posting from a few weeks ago regarding seaplane ratings:
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthr...hreadid=107960
California was mentioned, but Florida may be a little easier (and cheaper) for you to get to. Also, flying in Florida is probably a little cheaper than California.
As someone who now has a seaplane rating but wasn't allowed to solo (because they just don't allow that at Brown's), I can say that it was well worth it. Why? Well it is a different type of flying, different type of airplane, new experiences, new skills, etc. And let's not forget that it was fun. The most cost effective way would be to combine the course with a flight review, but even if you just go off and do it for no good reason, I think it is worthwhile. Besides, I entertain thoughts of a parallel universe that has me flying around the carribbean in a floatplane perhaps like
this one.
