Author Archives: floridatraveler

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About floridatraveler

Emeritus Professor of History and travel and textbook writer M. C. Bob Leonard makes the Sunshine State his home base. Besides serving as content editor for several textbook publishers and as a college professor, he moderates the FHIC at www.floridahistory.org

Last Days of Rebel Florida: Confederate Gold, Suicide, Escape

Posted on April 20, 2015 by floridatraveler

150 years ago the Civil War was ending and events in Florida were starting to get dramatic, even though much of the state was still in Confederate hands. On April 1, Governor John Milton, worn down by the stress of … Continue reading →

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Florida Has Largest “World Football” Stadium Now

Posted on April 13, 2015 by floridatraveler

In Florida – the land of college and professional football – it might be difficult for state sports fans to discover that the new Orlando City Soccer Team of the MLS is playing in the Florida Citrus Bowl (70,000), giving … Continue reading →

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Apalachicola’s Great American Botanist Lived A Wild Life

Posted on April 6, 2015 by floridatraveler

Dr Alvan W. Chapman was born in Massachusetts in 1809, educated as a physician at Amherst, and came to Quincy, Florida, at the age of 26.  A few years later he moved to the booming, port village of Apalachicola, where … Continue reading →

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Florida’s Most Challenging Public Golf Courses

Posted on March 30, 2015 by floridatraveler

There are 1,481 golf courses to choose from in Florida if you have the time and money, but a lot of vacationers assume that the best golf courses are private bastions of the rich.  Here are some famous public courses where … Continue reading →

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Extreme Florida Vacations Are Just A Click Away

Posted on March 23, 2015 by floridatraveler

Most Florida tourists and snow-birds are satisfied with a trip to Disney World and a good beach, but thousands of others take advantage of Florida’s climate and terrain to engage in extreme sports and unusual adventures.  Floridians, of course, get these … Continue reading →

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Florida’s Most Walk-able Tourist Towns

Posted on March 16, 2015 by floridatraveler

It’s Spring Break time in Florida and the streets are packed with automobiles and tired, disgusted tourists.  Last weekend cars lined up for ten miles trying to get onto Clearwater Beach.  After two hours in a traffic jam, they found … Continue reading →

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Disney’s Flower Power Even Surpasses The Gardens of Versailles

Posted on March 9, 2015 by floridatraveler

The 2015 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival just opened at Walt Disney World and thousands of flower lovers are arriving to see the new Disney character topiaries and blooms. A few years ago Alain Baraton, head gardener of the famous Gardens … Continue reading →

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Florida’s Baseball Icons Are Open For Spring Visitors

Posted on March 3, 2015 by floridatraveler

This week opens another season of Florida’s Grapefruit League and there are still baseball sites that true fans should visit if they are in the state. MCKECHNIE FIELD in Bradenton has been a spring baseball facility since 1923.  For years … Continue reading →

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Florida: Home of Sports Hall of Fames

Posted on February 23, 2015 by floridatraveler

Florida is not only a state where 95 million vacationers visit to get some sunshine on the beaches, play some golf or tennis, or even go fishing; Florida is a state that hosts a number of great sports Hall of … Continue reading →

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Florida’s Best Tropical Gardens – It’s Azalea Season

Posted on February 16, 2015 by floridatraveler

While people in my native Boston are digging out from six feet of snow, visitors to my new home in Florida are touring the state’s  spectacular tropical gardens.  February to April is azalea time and even North Florida’s gardens seem to … Continue reading →

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