Florida The Diverse State. Review on Florida

Although it gets awfully hot and sticky in July and August, Florida has a lot to offer as a place to live or a place to visit. I always kind of thought of Florida as three different states. North Florida is a lot like south Georgia in that there are a lot of rolling hills, towering oak trees draped with Spanish Moss, canopy roads and some of the best large mouth bass fishing in the country. From Jacksonville on the Atlantic coast west on I-10 to Tallahassee and then on west to Pensacola on the western side of the panhandle and on the Gulf of Mexico, there are a lot of big hardwood trees and pines and streams. Jacksonville is a port city with lots of shipping in and out plus there is a lot of Navy activity in the area. tallahassee is the state capital and the hub of state government. Tallahassee is also the home of the Florida State University Seminoles and their coach Bobby Bowden. Florida State has been the winningest football team in the nation for the decade of the 90s. Tallahassee is also home to Florida A&M University which is one of the premier predominantly Black universities in the US. Pensacola is a Spanish architecture mecca and Pensacola Naval air Station is the home of the BLUE ANGELS, the Navy's precision flying team.

Just to the southeast of Pensacola and to the south west of Tallahassee is Panama City Beach. This is a very popular area for spring break for the college kids and has some beautiful white sand beaches.

The central part of the state is the citrus belt and has some of the best oranges and grapefruit you will ever taste. All you see for miles in some places is citrus groves. Central Florida also has some beautiful springs and spring fed lakes like Weeki Wachee and Cypress Gardens. Central Florida is also theme park heaven. Just outside of Kissimee is Walt Disney World and Epcot Center and Florida Sea World. On the westside in Tampa is Busch Gardens with its wild animals in natural habitats and some good rides too. I personally like Busch Gardens more than Disney World. Also on the east coast is Cape Kennedy where they launch all the space shots.

The southern part of Florida is more like what most people think of when they think of Florida. Beaches and Palm trees. Also there is the Everglades National Park. This is thousands of acres of swamp and should be seen on an air boat tour of the area.

Head south out of Miami on US Highway 1 and eventually you will come to the quaint village of Key West. This was the home of Ernest Hemingway and his home is now a museum open to the public. Be sure to pick up some conch chowder and conch fritters while you are there. They are local delicacies made from a sea shelled mollusk. They are very tasty. You might also want to try a piece of REAL Key Lime Pie. Key West is the only place in the US where you can walk from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico in about fifteen minutes. Interestingly, Key west and Pensacola are about 250 air miles apart, but if you drive from Pensacola to Key West, it is over 900 miles.

A person could easily spend a month seeing Florida. There is a lot to do and no matter where in the world you are from, There are people of your ethnic background in Florida.