Category Archives: florida education

PANAMA CITY – NOT THE BEACH BUT THE CITY

Its is SUMMER TIME and this is the main tourist season for PANAMA CITY BEACH, the beach center for the so-called “Redneck Riviera.”  I first saw PCB as a student at Florida State University and I was amazed at the … Continue reading

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My Favorite Florida Drives: INDIAN RIVER LAGOON

This is part of a series of driving tours I will present in the next few months with an emphasis on Florida’s natural beauty, historic architecture, and attractions. Most people vacation in Orlando, Daytona Beach, or Central Florida visit the John … Continue reading

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A Salute To Those Caring For Florida’s Damaged Wildlife

All polls indicate that besides the sun and the beaches, visitors and residents alike admire Florida’s tropical environment which includes wildlife and plants. With twenty million residents, several million snowbirds, and over one hundred million visitors there is less and … Continue reading

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Women Who Changed Florida: My Honor Roll

I was asked at a conference if I thought Janet Reno was the greatest woman in Florida history.  She was the first female Attorney General in the USA, but she was appointed at a time Presidents realized Cabinets should resemble … Continue reading

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Florida Is Ousting Changing Clocks To Get More Sunshine

Florida lawmakers in the Sunshine State want snowbirds, tourists, and residents to get more “sunshine” on their vacations. The bill called the “Sunshine Protection Act,” would ask the United States Congress to give the state permission to make Daylight Saving … Continue reading

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Florida’s Immigrant Experiences Are Great Tourist Sights

Florida is one of the most diverse states in the nation and its history of immigration provides visitors and residents alike with many attractions that reflect this story. I have spent many decades teaching in Tampa’s historic Ybor City, which … Continue reading

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It’s Not Your Dad’s Kennedy Space Center Anymore

If you haven’t been to the Kennedy Space Center in recent years, you will shocked to see how the educational-entertainment complex has “rocketed” into the twentieth-first century in terms of tourist attractions. The VAB is the most amazing building in … Continue reading

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The Shortcut Road: Jacksonville to Ocala: US301

My family started coming to Florida from New England during the Christmas holiday in the late 1950’s – before the Interstate Highway system was completed.  Our “short-cut route” to get from the East Coast of Florida to the West Coast … Continue reading

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Halloween Special: Florida’s Most Haunted House Awaits

As a historian I sit quietly while scores of television shows and movies and books describe flying saucers and uprisings from demons and zombies and witches and of course the Great Yeti hanging out at Disney Animal Kingdom when he … Continue reading

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Florida Hurricane Myths Are Many

Contrary to the image of many Northerners and visitors to Florida the summer months are the not the greatest time for Florida hurricanes.  September is often viewed as a great time to come to Florida and enjoy warm weather, amusement … Continue reading

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