There’s a whole ‘nother Florida out there, people.
Mention Florida and people think about Disney World, Spring Break, Biker Week, the Daytona Speedway, the Dali Museum, and so on. I’ve only been a resident of Florida – this time – for less than a year, but in that year I’ve been fortunate to find an entirely new world, away from the long lines, the traffic – well, almost – and the TTF, the Typical Tourist Florida that most people see. And I owe it all to my GPS.
Last year I let myself be talked into moving to Florida. On the drive down in my trusty self-drive moving truck, I let my GPS do the job of navigating. It took me down I-95, of course, most of the way from the DC Metro area on south. I stopped overnight in Georgia and when I set off the next morning, my navigator directed me back to I-95 south, then west across I-10 to US 301, then south again. Although I’d lived in Florida long ago when I was still a pup, I’d never seen this part of it.
Stay on the Interstates and the drive is boring. Getting on to the thoroughfares of bygone, pre-Interstate days is a breath of pure oxygen, in both the literal and figurative senses. Starting about 40 or so miles north of Ocala I began to see things. To really see things. Interesting things. And I lost my heart.
My move to Safety Harbor was then and there scrapped. I continued on to the Tampa-St Pete area, my original destination, but a couple weeks later I made my way back to Ocala. Horse country. A whole ‘nother Florida. (Did you know that Florida is ranked 12th in the US for beef production? Gotcha!)
But I’m not here to extol the virtues of the Ocala area, although I will in future articles tell you more. My subject today is the Department of State, State Library and Archives of Florida. At my local library I found a CD produced by a website that “provides online access to primary records that illustrate significant moments in Florida’s history.” Florida Memory, as it’s called, is a treasure trove of the East’s own “Wild West,” an era that the vast majority knows and hears nothing of.
Article comments
1 - RJ
Good article. I requested a CD. Thanks for the tip!
There are some other cool places in the part of Florida near Ocala. Check out Cedar Key sometime. Or the Crystal River-Homosassa Springs area.
FYI, it's actually called Bike Week, not Biker Week. And nobody really cares about the Dali Museum outside of St. Pete. You could replace that with Busch Gardens or Universal Studios or the Kennedy Space Center.
Best,
RJ
2 - Dacey
Thanks for the article.Nice article for motivating people who are looking for promotion purpose.Florida is a cool place.