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

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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Florida Spring Baseball 100 Years Ago: Black and White

Posted on February 8, 2015 by floridatraveler

Florida newspapers are starting to run articles about the upcoming Florida Grapefruit League. Professional baseball has a long history in the state. The first exhibition game took place in Jacksonville in 1888 between the Washington Nationals and New York Giants. … Continue reading →

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Florida’s Best Wineries Are Growing Attractions

Posted on February 2, 2015 by floridatraveler

Florida will never compete with California or France for its vineyards. Most Florida wineries produce variations of sweet and semi-sweet muscaline grape wines. Traditionalists like my wife will not be very impressed with these fruit-oriented wines, designed to attract customers. … Continue reading →

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Florida Food: In Search of the Perfect Deviled Crab

Posted on January 25, 2015 by floridatraveler

There are a lot of Florida food favorites such as Key Lime Pie and Stone Crab Claws, but no food can cause more debate than the humble Deviled Crab. A deviled crab (called croqueta de jaiba in Spanish) is a large crab meat … Continue reading →

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The Tamiami Trail Was Conceived 100 Years Ago

Posted on January 18, 2015 by floridatraveler

In 1915 a group of Fort Myers businessmen began a plan to build a Tampa to Miami highway along the curving coastline of Southwest Florida and then across ninety miles of the most famous swamp in America, the Everglades. Their … Continue reading →

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Florida’s Faux Lighthouses Are Attractions In Themselves

Posted on January 13, 2015 by floridatraveler

Florida has 32 once operating lighthouses along its thousand miles of shoreline and they are popular tourist attractions.  There are also dozens of lighthouses that have become popular landmarks even if they never saved a ship at sea. Faux or … Continue reading →

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It’s Manatee Viewing Time In Florida

Posted on January 4, 2015 by floridatraveler

Between January and March Florida’s manatee population heads toward the warmer waters of Florida riverside springs and  power plants.  It is an important time for the survival of the manatees who numbered 4,831 a year ago despite a record 829 … Continue reading →

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Florida Enters 2015 With A New Political Status

Posted on December 31, 2014 by floridatraveler

Florida has officially replaced New York as the third most populated state in the United States and with its new position, Florida becomes an even greater political target in the 2016 Presidential year. For the first time in its history … Continue reading →

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