State 7:
Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!
I will be featuring the states we have visited alphabetically. If you are looking for Connecticut or Delaware, we’ve never been to either of those states (except to drive through the Delmarva Peninsula without stopping) so the next state is
Florida
Florida became the 27th state on March 3, 1845. The capital is Tallahassee.
We started vacationing in Florida back in the 70’s and have traveled all around the state both before and after our RV travels began. For many years we traveled to the Florida Keys at least once a year. We’ve traveled all along the Atlantic Coast, Gulf Coast, to small towns and big cities, gone scuba diving and snorkeling in the beautiful coral reefs, caught many fish, boated to remote islands, visited museums and lighthouses, attended sporting events, tasted amazing seafood and key lime pie, explored two national parks and a national seashore, observed graceful birds and other wildlife, kayaked and canoed in the rivers, swam in the springs, watched many sunsets, and walked on some of America’s most beautiful beaches.
Florida is famous for it’s beautiful beaches and theme parks.
There’s so much more to the Sunshine State than it’s beaches and theme parks.
With it’s many birds, wildlife, and beautiful landscapes, Everglades National Park is one of my favorite national parks.
The only way to get to Dry Tortugas National Park is to take a boat ride or seaplane trip from Key West.
Explore Fort Pickens and walk on miles of sugar white sand beaches in Gulf Islands National Seashore .
There are many small islands accessible only by boat. Picnic Island in the lower keys was one of our favorites.
Cedar Key is one of the small waterfront towns we love to visit.
I loved the Art Deco buildings in South Beach Miami.
It’s always fun to stroll along the waterfronts.
There are interesting structures to discover. The Perky Bat Tower on Sugarloaf Key was built in 1929 to house bats to help control the mosquito population. Unfortunately, the bats flew away and never returned.
The Spring House in White Springs on the Suwanee River was a huge tourist destination in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
There’s a famous headstone in the Key West Cemetery.
U.S. Highway 1 goes from Fort Kent, Maine to Key West and we’ve been to both ends. The Southernmost Point in the continental United States is also in Key West.
The variety of birds never ceases to amaze me.
Tiny key deer, endangered gopher tortoise, manatees, and of course alligators are some of the wildlife to be found.
Florida is home to beautiful springs and rivers.
Don’t forget the lighthouses.
Nothing better than freshly caught fish for dinner! We cooked up this grouper after one of our most memorable fishing trips many years ago.
Many Major League Baseball teams play their spring training games in Florida.
The historic Fort Gates Ferry carries people and vehicles across the St. Johns River.
To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado
Wandering Dawgs 
Great post. 🙂 We’ve been to Florida several times. I was lucky enough to work for a family that had a condo in Marco Island and my yearly bonus was a couple of weeks there. Not bad. We visited the Manatees one year, and they are amazing creatures. The alligators, well, I stay far away from them. 🙂
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Thank you Judy! I think the manatees are my favorite. Usually I just see the tip of their nose when they come up to breathe!
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Looks like you have seen a LOT of Florida! There is so much variety. Your photo of “honeymoon cottage” made me laugh. What a funny name 🙂 I love the wildlife shots, too. They have a nice assortment of birds and beasts down there!
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Thanks Diane! I love that honeymoon cottage! It was once a guesthouse connected to land by a long boardwalk. It’s amazing to me that it is still standing!
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Beautiful review. We just did our together tour of areas in Florida but now see though your eyes there are so many more places to explore. When my parents lived there I traveled the area extensively from N to S and E to W but there is so much more as you note.
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Thank you. And I left out a lot! But like I said we’ve been going there for over 40 years.
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Great summary of our home state!!! We visited so many wonderful places, but you mentioned a few we’ll have to visit!
Have you thought of some how publishing this, even just your own via shutterfly for example? Such a great legacy for your grandchildren!
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Ps-shared on twitter and on my FaceBook timeline and page!
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Thanks Debbie! Oh yes, I have many ideas for making books for our grandchildren! I have made a couple of books on Shutterfly and plan on making more.
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But these recollections are just soooo good, some history and to see what their grandparents did!!! Loving this series.
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Very nice!
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We’ve been exploring Florida for just about a month now and have only seen a teeny tiny fraction of it. I feel like we could easily spend six months here and still not see everything. Your post really proves that. It really is a great state to wander around. (And the weather’s not bad, either. 🙂
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Thank you! I enjoyed your post about the Real Florida! We love camping in Florida state parks but somehow missed all the one you visited. Have fun as you continue to explore Florida.
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You really captured Florida’s beauty and variety well. I have been going there since I was 5 years old, when it seemed like pure magic to a little New England girl. It’s a bit crowded for me now, but it still retains some of that magical quality.
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Brenda, thank you. Yes, most of Florida is crowded and the traffic can be awful. We have discovered a few places that not many tourists visit and that’s where we like to go now. The Forgotten Coast along the Gulf is one of our favorite places. We love the Florida state parks where we can walk on trails that always make me think of “The Yearling”. Our choices now usually revolve along not wanting to drive on I75 or I95! We’ve towed the RV down the middle of Florida many times just to avoid the interstates!
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