F.L.O.R.I.D.A.

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bradenton, disney, epcot, florida, florida beaches, florida map, map of florida, miami, sarasota, state, state maps, state of florida, states, tallahassee, tampa, the sunshine state, the united states, travel, United States, universal studios, vacation

For those of you following my map quest, I should say that I will not be creating all 50 states unless someone requests that I do so.  Nothing personal to all of my Wyoming fans, but a rectangle really does not make for much excitement. 😉  So I’ve found myself attracted to the funky shaped states such as my own: Florida.

Known as the “Sunshine State” for obvious reasons, Florida is kind of shaped like a gun which I find somewhat fitting.  Because every time I read a news report about some bizarre crime, the scene is always somewhere in Florida.  Truly we have many interesting people here and the real crazies seem to be drawn to it.  If a man is going to eat another man’s face while he sleeps, it will happen in Florida.  If someone will be attacked with a dead squirrel….yup, it will be here.

All of the oddities aside, I love my state.  I have lived here almost my entire life and I have no desire to move anywhere else.  If you want entertainment we have Disney, Epcot, Universal Studios and Busch Gardens.  But the real attraction are our beaches.  They are absolutely stunning!  Sarasota’s powder white sands and turquoise waves equals heaven to me.  I love the lush tropical landscaping and the relaxed atmosphere of the smaller cities.

Some interesting Florida facts:

• Florida covers 58,560 square miles of area. 4,298 square miles are water.
• There are 30,000 lakes and over 1,300 golf courses.
• Florida has over 1,300 miles of coastline with 800 miles of beaches.
• Florida has a warm climate throughout the year with a rainy/stormy season in the summer.
• Florida’s capitol city, Tallahassee, was the only southern capitol east of the Mississippi River to remain in southern hands for the duration of the Civil War.  

• Amelia Island is the only location in the U.S. to have been ruled under eight different national flags.
• The nation’s oldest city St. Augustine, was settled by Spanish explorers in 1565.
• The Florida Everglades are the only place in the world where alligators and crocodile co-exist.
• Santa Rosa County’s Blackwater River State Forest area offers over a million acres of protected wilderness with miles of hiking trails and canoeing routes and has been dubbed the “Canoe Capitol of Florida.”
• More than 3,000 Seminole Indians live on six reservations throughout the state of Florida: Big Cypress, Brighton, Fort Pierce, Hollywood, Immokalee and Tampa.