"Too many Snowbirds to be a Southern State" Florida by grandmaR

I've traveled the state of Florida since I was twelve. In 1950, we came down for the Orange Bowl parade.

Vizcaya in Miami

In 1954, when I'd just gotten my driver's license, we visited Jacksonville (our former ice skating pros had opened the Figure 8 Motel there), St. Augustine, Daytona, Tarpon Springs, Wacki Wachee, Silver Springs and Cypress Guardens.

In 1959, my husband and I lived in the Pensacola area for a year, and in 1960 we were in Key West for 2 months.

From 1966 to 1969, we lived in Key West and visited the Everglades, Sebring, Ft. Meyers, Tampa, and Miami. One of my children was born in Key West.

Then my daughter moved to the Miami area, and two of my grandchildren were born there. We visited them on a fairly regular basis, and we were 'snowbirds' in the winters of 2000-2001, 2001-2002 and 2003-2004 traveling on our own boat. I expect to visit again this coming winter, but by car this time.

Carriage ride in Cocoa

I have started a travelogue on the Food of Florida.

I have top 5 pages for Key West, Marathon, Daytona Beach and St. Augustine, but I don't have pages for all of the other places mentioned (yet). The list of pages where I have content is under General Tips.

• Pros:Wildlife, and city life
• Cons:Disney and tourists
• In a nutshell:A big state with something for everyone