Of beaches and breezes
Florida’s appeal hinges on the fact that no matter what you want to do — active sports, sightseeing, historical explorations or just relaxing — you can do it in an atmosphere of warm weather, balmy breezes, beautiful tropical scenery and southern hospitality. Even if you don’t have much money to spend, this kind of environment makes it easy to leave your cares behind.
Understandably, peak season is in the winter, but the state draws the tourists around the calendar.

About Florida
Although Ponce de Leon failed to find the fountain of youth in Florida, that hasn’t stopped flocks of travelers from seeking their own version of it in this tropical paradise.
In fact, the state is so popular that we divided it in three parts in order to do justice to its distinct attractions. This section deals with the whole state except that Miami and the Orlando area are pulled out for separate discussions. 
When not highlighting Miami or the Orlando theme parks, visitors most often single out for praise the Florida Keys, that group of islands trailing off the bottom of the peninsula, of which Key Largo and Key West are the best known.
Judging from traveler comments about the Sunshine State, it’s fair to compare Florida (especially the Keys) to Hawaii. Both have warm climates and a casual, laid-back atmosphere. They are both places for comfortable clothes, outdoor fun, warm water, music and exotic food. 
Other areas that receive positive comments are St. Augustine to the north, where you can take a carriage tour through the historic town, and Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg, on the west side of the Florida peninsula, where you get your sun on the Gulf of Mexico and the shopping is good.
All personality types like Florida and with almost equal enthusiasm. Venturers are likely to participate more vigorously in activities like scuba diving and deep-sea fishing. They may want to design their own expeditions to less-developed areas. For centrics and authentics who love golf, the state is a paradise of public courses and luxurious resorts.
Visitors eat well, too, no matter how cautious or daring their taste buds. Look for exotic seafood not available elsewhere, and Cuban dishes, as well.
It is worth noting that Florida, like Hawaii, faces sensitive conflicts between development and conservation of valuable wilderness areas. Florida’s manatees and other sea species have come close to disappearing, and land that was once home to rare plants and animals, or was once agriculturally productive, awaits construction of hotels and shopping centers. How much this situation affects tourism is unclear.

• Sleep under water in Jules’ Undersea Lodge. It was built as La Chalupa mobile undersea laboratory, but the 20-by-50-foot facility at the bottom of Emerald Lagoon in Key Largo Undersea Park, has been converted for visitors. Guests scuba dive into their hotel and watch passing marine life through 42-inch round windows.

• Go deep-sea fishing.

• Go scuba diving at Pensacola to see varied marine life, natural reefs — plus a number of historic, and sunken, ships. The vessels were purposely sunk to create new diving sites and artificial reefs. The newest addition to the collection is the retired aircraft carrier USS Oriskany, built in 1945 and sunk in 2006.

• In the Everglades National Park, you choices are as follows: boat tours, camping, canoeing, fishing and hiking.

• Take to the air. At Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, you can ride in a 1929 New Standard D-25 or 1942 open cockpit Boeing Stearman PT-17 bi-plane, October through May.

• Or, go to Skydive City in Zephyrhills to experience a parachute jump. You can make a tandem jump with an instructor or take lessons and learn to jump solo.

• If you have what it takes, grow your beard and compete in the annual Papa Look-Alike Contest which celebrates the life and works of Ernest Hemingway, in Key West, of course.

• Be an astronaut for a day by booking the full-day Astronaut Training Experience offered at the Kennedy Space Center. Each day, visitors have a chance to meet a member of NASA’s Astronaut Corps.

• Swim with manatees in Crystal River. This is the only place in North America where it is legal to have a supervised swim with these gentle creatures, but be aware this is somewhat controversial.
The private Save the Manatee Club offers Do Not Disturb kayak tours to see the manatees.

• Ride on down to Leesburg for the annual Bikefest, a motorcycle-only event featuring live bands and a custom-bike motor show.
Or, schedule your riding for the Daytona Bike Week, a 10-day riding festival that dates from 1937.

• In Key Largo, visit John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park where divers and snorkelers may catch sight of the “Christ of the Deep,” a bronze statue only occasionally visible from boats.

• Go jogging in three seasons; forget it in summer unless you do it very early in the day.

• Do your sightseeing in a  hot-air balloon.

• Starting from Naples, drive the Tamiami Trail Scenic Highway, a route that will take you to the Big Cypress National Reserve, home to cypress trees, ghost orchids and the endangered Florida panther, and to the Everglades National Park, the largest subtropical wilderness in the continental U.S. and home to abundant wildlife. You might see the American crocodile, the loggerhead turtle, southern bald eagle and the West Indian manatee.

• Go fishing, then ask the chef at your hotel to prepare and serve your catch at dinner.

• Enjoy bird-watching and take advantage of the Great Florida Birding Trail (www.floridabirdingtrail.com), a program of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The 2,000-mile route has more than 400 locations selected for excellent birding opportunities.

• For a few chills, real or imagined, take the Key West Ghost Tour, an evening stroll in search of ghosts and goblins.

• Take a guided kayak tour in the John D. MacArthur Beach State Park at North Palm Beach. You can sign on for an hour, half a day or a full day.
Or, at Fort Pierce, kayak by the light of the moon.

• Visit St. Augustine’s Colonial Spanish Quarter, where costumed actors (c.1740) demonstrate old skills and crafts. To tour the entire 144-block Restoration Area, travel by horse-drawn carriage, miniature train or trolley. And, take a nighttime ghost tour on foot.

• Visit the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Naval Air Station Pensacola, where the elite six-aircraft Blue Angels squadron practices. The public can attend practices, for free, most Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m. April through December, but call to confirm: (850) 452-2583.

• Tour the historical areas of St. Augustine, the oldest city in North America, by boat, on foot or by horse-drawn carriage.

• Take a narrated tour of Key West. Choices include the comprehensive hop-on, hop-off Old Town Trolley Tour or the Conch Tour Train, which focuses on the historic Old Town with highlights such as the Hemingway House and the Historic Seaport.

• Visit the Ringling Museum in Bradenton on the Gulf Coast.

• Entertain your kids, or yourself, and schedule your Florida visit to coincide with a pirate festival. The Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival is an old and annual event in Fort Walton Beach, whereas the Pirate Festival in Tampa is part of a larger Gasparilla Extravaganza.

• Community theaters are popular and numerous in Florida. Take in a show or two.

• Play golf. Florida has more golf courses than any state in the U.S., nearly 1,400; Florida’s Palm Beach County has more than 10% of those, 160, more than any other county.

• If fishing is one of your passions, see the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum in Dania Beach, in the Fort Lauderdale area.

• Watch spring training professional baseball games.
 
• Have a drink or a meal at Kelly’s Caribbean Bar, Grill & Brewery, owned by actress Kelly McGillis. The building, since moved a bit inland from a waterside spot, was Pan Am’s first headquarters and ticket office in 1927.

• Eat great seafood; make that stone crabs if they are in the season.