Seven Women Who Changed Florida History

Posted on August 23, 2016 by floridatraveler

One hundred years ago Florida was the only state in the South with less than one million residents, but things would soon change in every aspect of society in Florida.  Many people played major roles in Florida history – here are seven women who helped change Florida history.

Julia DeForest Sturtevant Tuttle (1848-1898) is the only woman in United States history, who is viewed as the founder of a major American metropolis.  After the death of her husband, Mrs. Tuttle invested in real estate  along the Miami River at a time when it was a wilderness of scattered farms.

FLORIDATRAVELER julia tuttle

While the story she sent railroad baron Henry Flagler a bouquet of orange blossoms and oranges after a North Florida freeze is a romantic myth, it is no fiction that Julia Tuttle pressured Flagler with land at the mouth of the Miami River and convinced him to extend his railroad.  By the time the trains reached Miami, the settlement was a booming town.

No one has meant more to the development of Florida literature and culture than Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1896-1953) whose Pulizer Prize The Yearling and autobiographic Cross Creek inspired a generation of Florida authors.  Today her farm at Cross Creek, south of Gainesville, is a major literary attraction for tourists and natives.

FLORIDATRAVELER marjorie rawlings

Outside of Florida Mary McLeod Bethune is best remembered as President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s national adviser, but in the Sunshine State she is viewed as the woman who started a college for African-American women in Daytona Beach,. The school merged it with a male college, and she served as College President  for over twenty years, at a time few women headed coed colleges.  Her house and grave-site in Daytona Beach are visited  by educators across the globe.

floridatraveler MARY BETHUNE

May Mann Jennings (1872-1963) was the wife of Florida Governor William S. Jennings, but more importantly used her status to improve women’s suffrage, educational funding, historic preservation, prison reform, and child welfare.  She started the Florida League of Women Voters and pioneered the start of the Florida Park Service.  She was a Victorian women whose civic career lasted seventy years.

FLORIDATRAVELERmayjennings

Zora Neale Hurston put the African-American town of Eatonville on the map with her award-winning Their Eyes Were Watching God and her autobiographic Dust Tracks. Besides four novels and hundreds of short stories, she was a folklorist for the PWA in Florida, capturing the culture of African-Americans in a more rural era.

FLORIDATRAVELER zora hurston

No one talks about the Florida environment very long without mentioning Marjory Stoneman Douglas (1890-1998), who fighting for the survival of the Everglades at age 108.  He book The Everglades: River of Grass is one of the most noted non-fiction works in Florida literature.  Her house at 3744 Stewart Avenue in the Coconut Grove is a National Landmark.

FLORIDATRAVELER marjorie s douglas

Jacqueline Cochran (1910-1980) was a major aviator who pressured the military into accepting women into the field of aviation.  She was the first woman to break the sound barrier; the first to fly bombers across the Atlantic; and the first civilian women to win the Distinguished Service Award.  She once held more speed, altitude, and distance records than any other pilot in the world, male or female.

FLORIDATRAVELER jacqueline cochran

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New Hotel Boom Hits South Florida

Posted on August 16, 2016 by floridatraveler

Florida has 370,000 hotel rooms in 16,374 hotels.  It is the only state that is covered by three AAA travel guides.

Despite these statistics the Great Recession slowed down new hotel construction particularly outside South Florida.  Today huge hotel projects are springing up from Pensacola to Jacksonville to Key West, many of them much needed boosts to tourist locations that have not seen much new facilities or seen older hotels converted to more profitable condominiums.

South Beach still leads the way with many older buildings being totally redone.  A great lower priced option in the Lincoln Road area is Haddon Hall or “The Hall”, the first Joie de Vivre East Coast boutique hotel.

Floridatraveler THE HALL

 Designed by Robert McKinley with a little white Art Deco, some Rio and some Caribbean, The Hall has just 163 rooms and an unusual 1.4 acre playground, uncommon for crowded South Beach.

Up in Hollywood Melia Hotels has opened the Melia Costa Hollywood Beach Resort, a six story condo hotel with five restaurants, a spa, a rooftop infinity pool, and 304 rooms. The hotel will impact a area of slow beachfront growth.

floridatraveler MELIA HOTEL HOLLYWOOD

Even the Florida Keys is undergoing a wave of new resorts.  The Playa Largo Rsort, a Marriott Autograph hotel, is the first hotel in the Key Largo area in two decades.

The 155 room resort is spread across 14 acres of prime real estate and features bi-level cottages, three restaurants, a secluded white beach, and a real island feel.

floridatraveler PLAYO LARGO resort

Key West has several new hotels but a great choice for families who don’t want to be surrounded by the noise of Duval Street might want to head to the quiet side of the island to The Gates Hotel.  The modern, minimalist resort features the poolside Rum Row Bar with its own rum distillery and the funky Blind Pigs tapas restaurant.

floridatraveler the gates key west

With its 119,800 hotel rooms, second only to Las Vegas, Orlando continues to sprout new hotels like weeds.  The big resort guys have opposite extremes.  Universal Studios is building a second family resort with Loews Sapphire Falls Resort.

Walt Disney’s new super-resort is the very upscale Four Seasons Resort hidden on the property from all the parks and congestion.  The 444 room golf course style resort has high cost restaurants: the Italian Ravello, the Spanish style Capa, and the clubhouse Planca.

floridatraveler four-seasons-orlando-

But don’t worry if this is a place just for adults.  Mickey and Company find the place at breakfast time and the five acre Explorer Island with its lazy river is the largest poolside recreation area at WDW.  Instead of crowded Disney buses, guests here take plush motor coaches to the parks.

All across Florida new hotels are changing the waterfront of older hotels.  In Panama City a large Spring Hill Suites by Marriott is filling a hole by the Bay County Pier on Front Beach Road.   At Daytona Beach the 29-story condo Hard Rock Hotel at 777 Atlantic Avenue will be a monster of an addition.

Even Clearwater Beach, where many hotels became condos, there are new places like the Opal Sands Resort, with its 230 rooms with full Gulf of Mexico views, and the new Hampton Inn and Suites.

Look up these hotels if you’re heading that way in Florida

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The Story of Florida Starts With Two Myths

Posted on August 9, 2016 by floridatraveler

The first thing any Florida school child learns about their home state is probably:

 While searching for the Fountain of Youth, Ponce de Leon discovered Florida.

That’s not just a myth.  It is a Double Myth!  Here is the real story about the guy who starts the Florida chapter (the longest chapter) in the history of the United States.

floridatraveler PONCE DE LEON

In 1513 Ponce de Leon and most of the educated navigators of the Caribbean knew of the existence of a huge chunk of real estate above Cuba.  Whether it was an island or connected to the North American mainland was not known for certain and that was the key fact.

The 1502 Portuguese map known as the Cantino map shows not just Florida but a slice of the Southeastern Atlantic coastline.

FLORIDATRAVELER 1502 Cantino_Map_-_North_America

The Western Part of the 1502 Cantino map clearly shows Florida

  The 1511 map made by Italian born historian for Spain Peter Martyr map clearly shows Florida and its relationship to other Spanish colonies.  Did Ponce de Leon known about these maps?  While I am sure he never saw them, as a key administrator for the Spanish Government and a man thirsting for information about unoccupied lands, Ponce de Leon certainly heard stories about Florida from Cuban fishermen and slave hunters, the probably first visitors to Florida.

FLORIDATRAVELER Peter_Martyr_Map

Peter Martyr’s 1511 map was made for Spain

So why did Ponce de Leon journey to Florida?  Surprisingly not for the reasons you might expect – gold, health, religion.

Ponce de Leon came from a well-known but modest Spanish family and sought his fame as a soldier like his heroic grandfather.  The defeat of the Moors ended this opportunity but the Columbus discovery of the New World in 1492, offered a new challenge.  His friends in high places got him a position on Columbus’ second voyage.

King Ferdinand, thinking Columbus had just reached islands off the coast of Asia, gave the Italian explorer and his heir’s ownership of all lands Columbus discovered.  Spain ignored this contract when placed their people into positions of exploration.

floridatraveler PONCE DE LEON HOUSE

This Dominican Republic plantation house was owned by Ponce de Leon

In 1508 Sir Ponce de Leon was sent by the Spanish Crown to conquer the Taino Indians of Puerto Rico and establish a colony of which Ponce would be first Governor.  He was rich in lands, powerful in influence in Madrid, happily married,  and in fine health, when Ponce de Leon’s world would change.

The Spanish High Court ruled that Puerto Rico and other islands discovered by Christopher Columbus were the domain of the Columbus family and Ponce de Leon was unceremoniously removed from office by Diego Columbus.

floridatraveler Diego_Colombus

Diego Columbus and Ponce de Leon were not friends

Ponce de Leon sought redemption and Florida was the solution.  The strange peninsular had not been explored by Columbus and if it were not an island, which most sailors thought was the case due to the Florida Straits and ocean flows, then Ponce de Leon could be made Governor by the Spanish King.

On April 3, 1513, Ponce de Leon arrived off the Atlantic Coast of Florida and started the history of my state.   He would sail along both coasts to verify its status as a peninsular attached to North America.

floridatraveler PONCE DE LEON route

We can not verify exactly where he touched Florida and Florida towns have fought over the locations ever since.  One thing is certain.  Thanks to Ponce’s ship logs and writings as a politician and as an explorer – he did not even mention the story of the Fountain of Youth.  It was not even a public issue to him.

floridatraveler PONCE ON SPANISH STAMP

In all fairness to myth writers, I must note that Ponce de Leon’s boss – King Ferdinand of Spain – was aging and believed in the Fountain of Youth.  So if Ponce ever found it, he would certain ship a few barrels back to Spain.

 

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Pass-a-Grille: The Original Tampa Bay Beach Town

Posted on August 1, 2016 by floridatraveler

PASS-A-GRILLE BEACH, the Southernmost of Pinellas County’s barrier beaches, was the first beach community on the Gulf of Mexico to develop as a weekend residential spot for successful Tampa and St. Petersburg residents. Originally, home to fishermen, homesteaders, and lumber men like Zephaniah Phillips, the island opened up when Roy S. Hanna and Tampa cigar magnate Selwyn Morey started in the 1880’s to develop lots for houses and hotels and a ferry service.  The completion of a bridge from the mainland came twenty years later.

James H. Forquer, manager of St. Petersburg’s Detroit Hotel, set up a floating hotel for excursionists and in 1898 George Henri Lizotte, a French travel agent for Thomas Cook Company, opened the first permanent hotel.

FLORIDATRAVELER passagrille-beachPOSTCARD

Merged with St. Petersburg Beach since 1957, Pass-A-Grille maintains its arty and bohemian life style, in part, because the village is but one block wide and 31 blocks long. There are restaurants on the Intracoastal Waterway and the Gulf of Mexico.

WHERE TO START: The island is ideal for walkers if you PARK AT THE SOUTH END OF GULF WAY by the beach. DRIVERS would appreciate the weekdays when you can loop around the narrow roads.

DRIVE EAST ON FIRST AVENUE toward Pass-A-Grille Channel to see how condos and apartments now block the point. Only 103 First Avenue, a two story frame with an old metal stove chimney is an early house. (1) LANDS END is a cottage colony at the very tip of Pass-A-Grille with a view toward the mouth of Tampa Bay. The island to the south is Fort DeSoto Park.

TURN LEFT (north) ON GULF and PASS SECOND AVENUE. On your left are four early 1920’s cottages: (2) 200 Pass-A-Grille, a fine 2 1/2- story frame structure with a large front porch.

TURN LEFT ON THIRD AVENUE. All the cottages on your left predate 1925, including the (3) DR. EDMUND MELVILE HOUSE(1906), 104 Third Avenue, a two story that was moved from the Point to make way for apartments. At 110 Third Avenue was the (4)THOMAS WATSON COTTAGE SITE, the winter home of Thomas Watson, co-inventor of the telephone.

FLORIDATRAVELER 103 12th avenue 1923 2 story

1923 Cottage With In-Law Apt at 103 12th Avenue

TURN RIGHT ON GULF and then RIGHT ON FOURTH AVENUE.

On your left is the (5) HOTEL CASTLE (1906) one of the older beach establishments and an unusual style of a beach colony. On your right is the (6) FIRST SCHOOLHOUSE (1912) , 105 Fourth Avenue, a one room school, now a residence. Across the street lived William Staub, editor of the St. Petersburg Times (111 Fourth) .

At the end of the block on the right is the (7) HAROLD McPHERSON HOUSE (1903), 308 Pass-A-Grille, once an old fish camp, now a large frame house.

TURN LEFT ON PASS-A-GRILLE.

The next four houses on your left are fine older homes. The first one is the (8) WALDRON HOUSE (1910), 400 Pass-A-Grille, with a wonderful stone fence and cement yard.

TURN LEFT ON FIFTH AVENUE where old cottages line both sides. The first house on your left is the (9) CAPTAIN RANDON MILES HOUSE (1900), 102 Fifth Avenue, one of the island’s oldest, complete with fluted chimney. The last house on the left is the (11) JAMES SIMMONS HOUSE (1911), 108 Fifth Avenue, a big waterfront owned by the New York Congressman.  Babe Ruth was wintered here in a long gone cottage.

TURN RIGHT ON GULF and right on SIXTH AVENUE. This entire block is mostly 1920’s cottages. The last house on the left stands where Zephaniah Phillips  built his saw mill in 1884.

TURN LEFT ON PASS-A-GRILLE and LEFT ON SEVENTH.

The first house on your left is the (11) AMELIA WILLIAMS HOUSE (l9l9), 612 Pass-A-Grille. At 608 Pass-A-Grille is the (12)ZEPHANIAH PHILLIPS HOUSE (1886), probably the oldest home on the island. On your right is the 1917 (13) V. K. OUTLANDS HOUSE (1917), home of a noted poet, batter known locally as the “Cat Woman.” Here and at 702 Pass-A-Grille were located the Old Spanish Fishing Ranchos in the 1880’s.

FLORIDATRAVELER 702 PassAGRille 2.3 million

Selling at $2 Million is 1925 house at 702 Pass-A-Grille

At 102 Seventh Avenue is the (14) GEORGE GRANGER HOUSE (1901), one of the five oldest beach cottages in Pinellas.

TURN RIGHT ON GULF WAY and RIGHT ON EIGHTH AVENUE, downtown Pass-A- Grille.  The two story buildings with their open or enclosed second floor porches give downtown a frontier look except at 111 Eighth, a delightfully tiny pink storefront advertising “psychotherapy.” A block away is the towering HURRICANE RESTAURANT, where people drive for miles for a grouper sandwich and a sunset.

FLORIDATRAVELER Hurricane-Seafood-Restaurant

The Rooftop at Hurricane Restaurant Is A Party Spot

Next door at 107 Eighth Avenue is the (16) JOSEPH MERRY BAIT SHOP(l911). The fancy building at 106 Eighth Avenue is the 1913 (17) J. J. DUFFY GROCERY, started by the first Mayor and major developer of this area. The Coin Shop is housed at the (18) CAPTAIN KEN MERRY BUILDING (1936), 105 Eighth Avenue, once the Kay Metz store. At 102 Eighth Avenue was the (19)JAMES MASON HOUSE (1923), one of the earliest hotels.

TURN LEFT ON PASS-A-GRILLE and LEFT on one-way NINTH AVENUE.

On your right is the Pass-A-Grille Park. On your left at 808 Pass-A-Grille is the (20) JUDGE L. S. SCHWERDTFEBER HOUSE (JEWETT VILLA)(1908), a big house with three dormers. The Seaside Grille Pavilion across Gulf Way along the public beach continues a tradition started in 1905 by Charles S. Page who opened a beachside snack bar. This postcard of the PASSA-GRILLE HOTEL AND CASINO is dated 1921.
TURN RIGHT ON GULF WAY and RIGHT ON TENTH AVENUE.

One can’t miss the (21) PASS-A-GRILLE COMMUNITY CHURCH (1911), 115 Tenth Avenue, now a history museum for the Pinellas islands. Stop by and visit the exhibits if the building is open. (22) 105 Tenth Avenue once housed the 1913 Women’s Club but it moved to 2201 PassAGrille Way in 1938.

FLORIDATRAVELER museum passagrille

The Museum Once A Church

At 103 Tenth Avenue is the (23) E. C. KITTRIGHT HOUSE (1903), one of the island’s oldest and moved from downtown. At the end of the block is the 1906 (24) ALPHONSE THAYER HOUSE, 1000 Pass-A-Grille. The art gallery on the back side was the studio of noted artist Ralph McKey.

TURN LEFT ON PASS-A-GRILLE past the 1910 Mac Granger House at 1002 Pass-A-Grille, and TURN LEFT ON ELEVENTH AVENUE. At 109 Eleventh Avenue is the delightful (24) CHARLES BEINERT COTTAGE, (1921), better known as the “Staten Island Cottage.”

FLORIDATRAVELER seacritters on intracoastal

Sea Critters Restaurant Over the Waterway

This ends of the original Pass-A-Grille district. At 113 Twelfth Street is the (25) VASHTI BARLETTE COTTAGE (1918) and at 1202 Pass-A-Grille Way is the (26) HAROLD McPHERSON HOUSE.  Film fans might want to travel north to the yellow cottage at 1805 Pass-A-Grille, the 1927 home of movie actress Norman Talmadge.

 

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Florida’s Pirate Legacy: Myth or Reality?

Posted on July 26, 2016 by floridatraveler

Being next to the Great Spanish Gold Fleet routes and the tropical waters of the Caribbean, Floridians love their stories of pirates and buried treasure as much as any region of the United States.  No less than 17 cities celebrate some sort of pirate festival.

Speaking of pirate lunacy – Saint Augustine has two celebrations to honor people who ransacked and raped their community.

In reality Florida was located on the northern edges of the region that was the golden age of piracy between 1630 and 1730.  There was little treasure in Spanish Florida and attacking the gold fleets when it left Havana, fully escorted by warships was suicidal.

FLORIDATRAVELER pirates gold fleet map

Florida Was A good Place To Hide After Getting Treasure

So what Florida pirates are real and what pirates are fakes?   Who was a real Florida pirate? Here are some historical facts:

REAL: Henry Jennings.    Jennings, an 18th century British privateer turned Bahamian pirate, got the biggest payday in Florida pirate history.  Tipped off that the 1715 Spanish treasure fleet crashed off Fort Pierce in a hurricane, Jennings organized three ships and 150 opportunists and attacked the Spanish salvage crews recovering cargo in shallow waters.  Jennings set sail for Jamaica with 350,000 coins taken from the Spanish workers.

FLORIDATRAVELER pirate henry jennings

REAL: Black Caesar I.  Since 30 to 50% of the pirates were Africans, it was not shocking there were two pirates called Black Caesar.  The first, a huge African chieftain who escaped on a sinking slave ship, set up shop at Caesar’s Rock near Elliott Key and built up a crew to attack Florida Keys shipping.  He later joined Blackbeard’s crew and was captured by the British navy in the Carolinas. Records show he was hung in Williamsburg in November of 1718.

FLORIDATRAVELER pirate black caesar

MYTH: Black Caesar II.   The second BC, also known as Henri Caesar, was said to be a Haitian Revolutionary who set up camp in Southwest Florida and later joined Jose Gaspar in attacking Spanish shipping.  It was told he was captured and burned alive in Key West, but no records or documents have been found with match any of his listed achievements.

REAL  BUT NO to Sir John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake. They are officially not pirates since both were served as privateers to Queen Elizabeth, and their attacks on Spanish colonies were promoted by England. During the American Revolution, the US Government turned hundreds of pirates into “privateers” if they attacked British shipping.

REAL to Captain Robert Searle.   In violation of orders from the Governor of Jamaica, Searles attacked the sleeping citizens of Saint Augustine in May of 1668 and seized the Royal coffers with the city payroll.  He killed sixty people and looted the city.  His actions forced the Spanish to construct the present fort in Saint Augustine.  Searle fled to South America with both Spanish and British forces after him.

FLORIDATRAVELER searles invasion

Searles Invades Saint Augustine Every Year

YES  to John “Calico Jack” Rackham and Anne Bonny. This English pirate captain in his calico clothing wed Anne Bonny in New Providence in 1719, stole a Britis sloop, and engaged in pirating along the Southwest Florida coast.  One of his crew was another female pirate Mary Read.

FLORIDATRAVELER pirate calicojack FLORIDATRAVELER pirate ANNE BONNEY

Pirates Calico Jack and Anne Bonny Hit Florida

Calico and Anne “honey-mooned” at Lovers Key near Fort Myers, but the idea having women aboard as bad luck turned true when they were captured. Calico Jack was hung in Jamaica.  Mary died in childbirth, but Anne Bonny escaped the hospital where she said she was pregnant.

No to  José Gaspar.   No mention of Gaspar appears in writing before the early 20th century, and no archival or physical evidence of his existence has ever been found.  Most historians have traced the stories of Gaspar to John Gómez (also known as Juan Gómez and Panther John), a real person who lived in a shack on isolated Panther Key near Marco Island.  The celebrators in Tampa don’t care if their beloved pirate is real or not.

No to Blackbeard (Edward Teach) and Captain Kidd.  Both were real but did their pirating to the North of Florida.

FLORIDATRAVELER pirate luis aury

Luis Aury Took Over Amelia Island

Yes to Luis Aury.   I view this French privateer as Florida’s last real pirate. Allying with Scottish revolutionist Gregor McGregor, Aury took over Amelia Island in Spanish Florida in the name of the Republic of Mexico, but his goal was to establish a separate nation.  Fearing chaos on the frontier, President Monroe intervened to oust Aury’s forces.  When Aury’s ships left Florida, it was the last serious pirate fleet to hit the land.

 

 

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Floridians Love Their Shell Game

Posted on July 18, 2016 by floridatraveler

When people visit Florida, they expect to find good seafood and they are usually not disappointed.  We Floridians love our grouper sandwiches and have competitions to locate the best sandwich in our area.

But Floridians really have a thing about shell fish, maybe it is because not all products are available to catch and eat around the year.  When I was in college many moons ago,  my fraternity would go to a rundown Art Deco place called South Beach where some old hotels rented by the hour.  Our destination was not the beach but a  restaurant called Joe’s Stone Crabs.

FLORIDATRAVELER fl stone crabs on table

The landmark to the shell is still operating down at the tip of Washington Avenue — or should I say it will reopen in mid-October when the harvesting of Florida stone crabs reopens.  Despite being closed from May to October, this restaurant is the #3 grossing independent restaurant in the USA, taking in $36 million dollars in sales last year!

Outside of Louisiana, many people identify oysters with Florida and oysters is still an important crop with 2.6 million pounds of meat taken each year, mostly from Apalachicola Bay.  This industry, unfortunately, is under threat from water-flow issues, mostly coming from Alabama and Georgia.  Without pollution, the raising of oysters is a non-polluting and sustainable industry.

FLORIDATRAVELER oystering apalachicola

There is a new shellfish aquaculture that is booming from Miami to Pensacola.  It is clam farming.  In 1994, when most net fishing was banned, many fisherman started to turn to clam farming.  The hard Atlantic clam dominates the industry, but since 2013 some ten clam farms have been developing the softer Venus clams.

Venus clams have beautiful shells and a sweet flavor that shocks most newcomers. This industry really sounds like farming.  Today there are some dozen Florida firms that produce clam seeds which are then sold to some 150 clam farming firms, who raise the clams in mesh bags at the bottom of the bay for 2.5 to 3 years.  They sell the clams to wholesalers and individual fish stores and restaurants.

FLORIDATRAVELER seeds of clams in hand

These Are Clam Seeds Ready For “Planting”

Only Virginia grows more clams than Florida, but with a larger shoreline the clam industry is certain to grow.  Since clams filter the water, this is a natural and clean business to operate in Florida waters.

FLORIDATRAVELER clams at Southern Cross Cedar Key

Southern Cross at Cedar Key Turns Seeds Into Clams

We can not forget the spiny lobster since the two day open sport season begins next week. Thousands of divers will be hitting the water to get their daily limit of six adult  lobsters with a caraspace over three inches. As a former New Englander, I know that these Caribbean lobsters are small, lack big claws, and won’t win a seafood contest in Bangor.

FLORIDATRAVELER SPINEY LOBSTER

But where in New England can you dive into 85 degree water in a swimsuit and grab yourself a lobster dinner?    On August 6 the regular spiney lobster season begins for seven months with the same six lobsters per person limits.

And less we forget, the Florida shrimp industry is still a $57 million dollar industry with shrimp boats from Amelia Island to Pensacola.  Even here there are changes.  Wood’s Fisheries in Port St Joe have been shrimping for 150 years, but today some of their shrimp come from tanks located twenty miles from the Gulf.

 

 

 

 

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Things No One Told You About Florida

Posted on July 12, 2016 by floridatraveler

In the forty years I have taught college students about Florida, there are some facts and information that always surprise the students.   Here are some things that most Floridians are ignorant of or have a false impression.

Florida Was Once Africa

Geologists studying Florida’s ancient rock well beneath the surface can verify that millions of years ago when the ancient super-continents split apart, collided, and even rifted again, a section of the northwest African coast became attached to North America. Long before West Africans arrived on these shores, a piece of their native homeland was waiting for their arrival – that piece was Florida.

FLORIDATRAVELER laurasia

Contrary to Most Almanacs – Florida Is The Biggest

Most almanacs list Georgia as the largest state east of the Mississippi with Florida second.  Due to Georgia’s rectangular shape and Florida’s thinner design, most people will accept that information on “face value.”

In actuality Georgia is just the Eastern state with the most land area (57,906.14 square miles) followed by Wisconsin’s 54,310.10 square miles and Florida’s 53,926.82 square miles.  But this figure does NOT include lakes and rivers inside the states.  When you add the water: Florida leads with 65,754.59 square miles, followed by Wisconsin’s 65,497.82, and Georgia’s 59,424.77 square miles.

FLORIDATRAVELER Lake_Okeechobee

Lake Okeechobee Is Ocean-like and Dangerous In Storms

If you don’t think adding water is important, I suggest you drive around Florida’s largest lake Lake Okeechobee.

The St Johns and the Nile Are Not Alone

Someone obviously from Northeast Florida has drilled it into the head that Florida’s longest river, the St. Johns, and the Nile are the only rivers that flow north.  I guess that makes sense to people because on a map gravity tells you rivers can’t go northward.

FLORIDATRAVELER upper stjohns river

How silly!  The elevation of the terrain, no matter how minor, shapes the direction of a river.  There are at least 225 rivers going north around the world.  The Bighorn River in Wyoming and Montana at 461 miles is the longest north flowing river in the USA.

But don’t feel badly about this Northeast Floridians for the 310 mile St. Johns River is unique in many ways.  It starts at an elevation of just 24 feet above sea level and slowly flows northward in many areas almost next to the coastline before it reaches the Atlantic Ocean northeast of Jacksonville.  Try to find another river that does that trick!

Florida Is Huge Thanks To Its Shape And Water

Driving from Pensacola to Key West on the route suggested by AAA will take you 831 miles and over twelve hours.  Going from New York City to Chicago via I-80 West is just 789.1 miles.

FLORIDARAVELER road to key west

Don’t Expect a Divided Six Lane Highway To Key West

Florida Shares Something with the USA That Other States Lack

Much of the history of the United States was going westward to the Pacific.  Today the United States is a two coast country with the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Florida is the only state in the nation with two coastlines – the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

FLORIDATRAVELER gulf-coast-shoreline-naples-

Naples Is Near The Gulf Beach Tip

No place in Florida is further than ninety miles from the ocean.  Florida’s coastline of 1,350 miles is second only to gigantic Alaska and much bigger than California’s third place at 840 miles of coastline.   Hawaii is 750 miles of coastline.

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Florida’s Military Museums Honor Our Veterans and More

Posted on July 6, 2016 by floridatraveler

There are 1.5 million Floridians who served in the United States Armed Forces so it is not surprised that there are dozens of memorial gardens and local museums to honor the military past and present.  My father met my mother while training at Drew Field for the Third Air Force (Army) and Florida was home to dozens of airbases and other training facilities.

There are several dozen large museums that not only provide a great family excursion, many of them are free to the public and supported by the contributions of Floridians who wish to honor our service men and women.

FLORIDATRAVELER air force canaveral 45 sheets of glassLC-26_equipment

Cape Canaveral Rocket Launch Room

Here are some of the most distinguished museums and attractions and some that cover a specific area.

The National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS in Pensacola is home to the amazing Blue Angels and is one of the largest and most beautiful air and space museums in the world. There are over 140 beautifully restored aircraft representing Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Aviation and an IMAX Theater.

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The museum is free and due to increasing security around American military installations, you might want to call (800) 327-5002, or go online to see if any exhibits or areas are restricted.

Eastward along the Panhandle’s white beaches is the huge Eglin Air Force Base, home to the Air Force Armament Museum, open everyday but Sunday.  Call (850) 651-1808 for the latest information.

FLORIDATRAVELER air force armament museum map

The Air Force Armament Museum is the only museum in the world dedicated to the collection, preservation and exhibition of artifacts and memorabilia associated with Air Force Armament and its platforms of delivery. It is not bunch of photographs but a fleet of vintage military aircraft including the fastest plane ever built – the SR-71 Blackbird!

Florida’s military museums are not just airplanes.  I love the Navy Seal Museum on North Hutchinson Island in Fort Pierce.  Located near where the Naval Combat Demotion Units and Underwater Demolition Teams, the forefathers of today’s SEALS, started training, the museum captures the secret world of these brave divers.

FLORIDATRAVELER naval seal museum

Up the Atlantic Coast are the huge rockets of the Air Force Space and Missile Museum, located at Complex 26 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

It includes artifacts from the early American space program and includes an outdoor “rocket garden” displaying rockets, missiles and space-related equipment chronicling the story of the US Air Force.

FLORIDATRAVELER rocket garden at airforce canaveral

The museum is open to the public as a part of the “Cape Canaveral: Then and Now” tour offered by the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex four days  per week and by free tours offered by the Air Force 45th Space Wing Community Relations office.

For a more personal look at Florida during World War II, you might want to visit the unique NAS Fort Lauderdale Museum, also known as the Link Trainer Building #8.   The site near the airport has reconstructed the barracks where pilots lived and trained – few exist today and none like you stepped back into the 1940’s.

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You’ll recognize quickly that one of the rooms replicates the 1943 bedroom of a 19-year old trainee named George H. W. Bush.  The buildings support beams of Florida Eastern Dade County Pine are made of a now extinct tree.

For more recent American history you might want to visit the small but imposing Museum and Library of the 2506 Assault Brigade in Miami at 1821 SW 9th Street. It is the story of the fatal Bay of Pigs Invasion and all the Cuban-Americans that took part in that event.

There are a number of museums containing ships from American wars.  The most impressive is the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Ingham Maritime Museum in Key West.   The Ingham is the most decorated vessel in U.S. service, the only Coast Guard ship earning two Presidential Unit Citations.

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There is an admission charge since this is a non-profit venture to preserve and honor one of the two last remaining cutter ships from World War II.

Every region of Florida has one or more military museums or parks.  In the Tampa Bay area, I love the Armed Forces History Museum in Largo.  The AFHM houses in its 35,000 square feet of indoor space fully operational tanks, jeeps, and armor, while outside are airplanes, even a replica of Chuck Yeager’s Supersonic Jet Bell X1, which broke the sound barrier.

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Join the WWII Troops In France in 1945

One of the more unusual museum elements is the recreation of military environments such as walking through an underground WWI bunker, spying on a Japanese island observation tower, and creeping along a French street after the Normandy invasion.

It is a great family experience to visit Florida’s military past.

 

 

 

 

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Florida’s Best State Parks With Great Beaches

Posted on June 28, 2016 by floridatraveler

Florida has miles and miles of great beaches, but more and more of them are lined with condos and multi-storied hotels.  If you want a Florida beach with a wonderful all-natural view, you might consider a Florida State Park.

For too many visiting vacationers, Florida’s State Park system is still the most underrated tourist attraction.  Here are my favorite Florida State Park beach settings.

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Bahia Honda State Park, Bahia Honda Key

 The Florida Keys is wonderful for diving and fishing and boating, but good natural beaches are shockingly rare.  Sitting almost under the Overseas Highway at MM37 is this wonderful park, with two beaches, great snorkeling spots, and glorious sunsets.  Like all major Florida parks, there are campsites and cabins, but they fill up fast all year round.  The Sand and Sea Nature Center is a great addition to the park.

St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Port St. Joe

 You can’t miss the St. Joseph Peninsula State Park on a map of the Florida Panhandle for it resembles a reversed Cape Cod.  With 9.5 miles of usually empty snow white beaches extending northward beyond the end of the road, the park is vast.  Exploring it past the cabins and Class A RV park, and campsites, you will see towering dune formations, heavy forests, and wildlife that seem oblivious to your presence.

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St. Joseph: The bay to the right and the Gulf to the left

Go to the bay-side and you’ll see clear water for snorkeling and kayaking.   While the summer is the big time for the Panhandle, winter visitors get the treat of sharing their views of nature without other humans.

Caladesi Island State Park, off Dunedin

 While you can actually walk from North Clearwater Beach over to Caladesi, most people take the ferry from Honeymoon Island to this great barrier island.  Selected as America’s best beach in 2008, Caladesi has more than white sand beaches.  It has a terrific three mile nature trail, a full marina, concessions, and recreational rentals.  The best part of this park is it is minutes away from the large cities of Tampa Bay.

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 Sebastian Inlet State Park, South Melbourne

 Famous as the most consistent surfing location on Florida’s Atlantic Coast, Sebastian Inlet is also host to a great state park which gives access to miles of lagoon side kayaking, boating, and fishing.  There are few outdoor activities you can not do at Sebastian Inlet.

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North of the Inlet is the State Park on left and surf on right

The Visitors Centers are actually in two unique museums: the McLarty Treasure Museum, housing some of the treasure of 1715 Spanish fleet wreck off the Inlet, and the Sebastian Fishing Museum, which shows how good fishing is off the jetties.  People have indeed found Spanish coins on the beaches in this area.

Lovers Key State Park, Fort Myers Beach

 South of Fort Myers Beach, minus the motels and condos, is Lovers Key State Park with its two miles of natural beach and winding inlets and lagoons.  To get to the beach, you park and take a tram over a bridge.  You are surrounded by nature at this park.   It is said this was where the famous female pirate Anne Bonny “honeymooned” with her pirate cohort “Calico Jack” Rackham.    With five miles of hiking and biking trails and canoe and kayak rentals, you too can play pirates in paradise.

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Grayton Beach State Park

There are miles of wonderful beaches in the Panhandle, but Grayton Beach State Park has soon stunning features.  The 2,000 acre park has a rare coastal lake surrounded by towering dunes and a forest of magnolias and scrub oaks.  The one mile beach of sugar white sand is rated in every beach poll, but few people realize how good the camping and cabin sites are.

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Dunes at Grayton (Photo by Laurie Ausley)

This is one spot where you can do excellent saltwater and freshwater fishing within ten minutes of each other.  The park gets high marks for kayaking, canoeing, and paddle-boarding.

Big Talbot Island State Park

 The Boneyard Beach of Big Talbot Island is the place to pretend you are in a Robinson Crusoe situation.  The beautiful sand beach is strewn with the bleached skeletons of thousands of dead trees whose shapes twist oddly in every direction.   There is no camping at this place.  It is reserved for enjoying nature with picnics, kayaking into the swamps, bird-watching, and maybe an isolated picnic.

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Big Talbot Looks Like An Adventure

Big Talbot is the location that has won dozens of National Gold Medals for geo-seeking games.  Almost every weekend you will see a group of treasure hunters looking not for Spanish coins but for natural landmarks.

 

 

 

Posted in adventure vacation, attractions, conservation, environment, florida history, Florida parks, Florida sports, Historic Buildings, museums, Recreational Experiences, travel | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Florida and Alligators – A Love-Hate Relationship

Posted on June 19, 2016 by floridatraveler

Last week was a very negative week for the Sunshine State and particularly for Orange County (Orlando) with the mass assassination at the Pulse nightclub and the killing of a two year old Nebraska boy by an alligator at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa at Disney World.

I’m sure many people were shocked there were alligators in a man-made lake, the Seven Seas Lagoon that millions cross every year to get to the Magic Kingdom.  How can this be?  The reality:  If it is fresh water and its Florida – there are gators.

Long time Floridians know that June is the end of the alligator mating season which starts in April with the loud bellowing of male gators in search of females and the romance cycle continues in May and sometimes June.  The development of Florida into the third most populated state in the nation has put both man and gator at greater risk. Male alligators in particular will travel across Interstate highways and golf courses to locate that lucky pond with a female gator.

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May 2016: in mating season gators can be mean-spirited.

May and June is a dangerous time for small dogs and even cats whose owners reside alongside Florida lakes.  Nighttime is when gators come out to eat and all across the Deep South you can floodlight the nearest canal and be surprised to see the shiny eyes of alligators staring at you.  There is a good reason to build seawalls if you live on a Florida canal.

There are 1.3 million gators in Florida and almost 20 million people.  The fact that there are just one or two fatal gator attacks in Florida each year on the average is a statistic that shows that gators usually avoid humans and are mainly active at night.

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Sarasota statue spoofs Florida icons of old people, gators, and crime.

Florida and alligators have a strange love-hate relationship going back to the earliest paintings of Florida made by French artist Jacque le Moyne in 1564 at the colony of Fort Caroline on the St Johns River.  LeMoyne was shocked to see the Timucuans clearing the land and killing what Le Moyne viewed as giant creatures.  Of course, explorers wanted to see these gators when they saw the art work.

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Florida gators were never 40-foot monsters.

Alligators have played a key role in the promotion of Florida as a tropical and exotic place.  By 1900 there were thirty alligator farms in Florida since it was easy to catch gators and stick them in a pit and charge admission.  To boost sales, we got gators to jump for fish and hired Seminoles to wrestle gators.

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The gator became the mascot of the University of Florida.   The gator became a popular symbol on Florida souvenirs.  Now we eat alligators at many Florida restaurants.  Gator tastes like chicken.  Gator meat is low in fat and cholesterol and high in protein. It is available in a variety of cuts including tail meat fillets, ribs, and kids meal nuggets.   My wife would like us to eat all the gators in Florida.

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 Go Gators! But stay out of my backyard!

But alligators have been around since prehistoric times.  They are survivors and removing them from a lake is a difficult task.   Some new gators might show up the next mating system for bull gators drive the smaller male gators to look for new places to stay – like your backyard pool.

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