Florida Monthly features every aspect of living in the Sunshine State—from watersports to homes and gardens to cooking and dining to outdoor exploring of Florida's every attribute and people. http://www.floridamagazine.com Wed, 30 June 2010 12:30:00 EST en-us http://www.floridamagazine.com/floridaliving/floridaliving.html http://www.floridamagazine.com/floridaliving/floridaliving101.html Wed, 30 June 2010 12:30:00 EST Florida has always conjured images of limitless opportunities. Ever since Juan Ponce de León landed on its sandy shores almost 500 years ago, people have waxed poetic about the potential of this great state. History reveals, though, that many business tycoons, dreamers and hucksters failed here. In the latest edition of Jim Warnke’s Ghost Town Locations in Florida, he lists 350 ghost town sites in 65 of the state’s 67 counties. Other lost places, such as Rood in Palm Beach County, escaped his list. http://www.floridamagazine.com/floridaliving/floridaliving.html http://www.floridamagazine.com/floridaliving/floridaliving102.html Fri, 11 June 2010 16:00:00 EST “You here for the gar gig” asks a grizzled-face man sitting atop his Bad To the Bone airboat. In his hands is a miniature pitchfork—the weapon of choice to extract gar and mudfish from the St. Johns River. A steady stream of pickups tow their airboats to the launching area and at nightfall, when the gar gig begins, the area will experience a deafening roar that is unique to Florida and the South. http://www.floridamagazine.com/floridaliving/floridaliving.html http://www.floridamagazine.com/floridaliving/floridaliving103.html Mon, 24 May 2010 10:00:00 EST As one of the closest beaches to Central Florida’s well-known tourist attractions, New Smyrna Beach is an ideal travel destination. Visitors revel in the freedom of the beautiful beach, as well as the richness of the town’s historical background, ecological treasures and cultural pleasures. http://www.floridamagazine.com/floridaliving/floridaliving.html http://www.floridamagazine.com/floridaliving/floridaliving104.html Tues, 11 May 2010 8:30:00 EST There’s something strangely compelling about a box of glass eyeballs. They look at you calmly and unblinkingly, 40 of them, from a display case in the Civil War Soldiers Museum in downtown Pensacola. Once, they provided some semblance of cosmetic normalcy for 40 disfigured veterans of America’s bloodiest conflict. It’s the presence of such artifacts as these eyes that sets the Civil War Soldiers Museum apart from many other museums focusing on this period. At those other museums, you’ll see the weapons that inflicted the horrible wounds that killed hundreds of thousands of Americans. At this museum, you’ll not only see many of these same weapons but also an unusual collection of instruments Civil War doctors used to try to ease the suffering of soldiers. http://www.floridamagazine.com/floridaliving/floridaliving.html http://www.floridamagazine.com/floridaliving/floridaliving105.html Mon, 3 May 2010 15:30:00 EST Most recognize Spain's importance to our state's history since it ruled Florida longer than any other modern entity - about 236 years. Fewer are aware of the role its missions played in shaping Florida. Spanish missions usually bring to mind the fine pastel masonry or adobe structures extant in California and the Southwest. Although missions were launched earlier here, most Americans still don't associate Florida with missions. This bias may stem from many of the details coming to light only recently after archaeologists began fleshing out historical records. In other words, most of the physical remains of missions lay masked by the sands of time until the past 50 years or so. http://www.floridamagazine.com/floridaliving/floridaliving2.html http://www.floridamagazine.com/floridaliving/floridaliving201.html Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST When people hear the words Southeast Florida, most think only of Miami or Fort Lauderdale, but that wonderfully rich part of the state has many other towns and cities. Three have been working to redevelop and bring visitors to their tiny (comparatively speaking) hamlets. By joining the Main Street Program, Dania, Davie and Plantation all have taken a major step in revitalizing their areas. http://www.floridamagazine.com/floridaliving/floridaliving2.html http://www.floridamagazine.com/floridaliving/floridaliving202.html Thur, 18 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST Actually, beef never left, but with the rise in culinary opportunities the past few years, beef somehow got overlooked as the centerpiece of the kitchen. With its triumphant return comes numerous opportunities to discover something new in the beef world. http://www.floridamagazine.com/floridaliving/floridaliving2.html http://www.floridamagazine.com/floridaliving/floridaliving203.html Thur, 4 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST What started as the Bay St. Joseph Post Office in 1878, became Sutherland in 1888 and was then renamed Palm Harbor in 1925. During the land boom of the 1920s, investors sought to develop the area using the original Sutherland plan. However, the end of the land boom, the depression and World War II ended that effort. Today this 30-square-mile unincorporated area is one of Pinellas County’s fastest growing residential communities. Palm Harbor incorporates small-town friendliness in a thriving community, offering the charm of a suburban setting with all the amenities and conveniences of a nearby metropolis. Unlike most of coastal Florida, the terrain here is not flat. Palm Harbor rises gently from the Gulf of Mexico to an average elevation of 25 feet, with some land as high as 80 feet, above sea level. http://www.floridamagazine.com/floridaliving/floridaliving2.html http://www.floridamagazine.com/floridaliving/floridaliving204.html Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:30:00 EST When traveling through the state of Florida, most visitors have heard about Cape Canaveral, Sea World, Key West and other prominent travel spots. How many are aware, though, of Fort Mose? Butler Beach? or Eatonville? These are a few of the more than 100 Black Heritage Trail sites. From Pensacola to Key West, these sites tell the story of the rich history and contributions of Florida’s African-American communities. http://www.floridamagazine.com/floridaliving/floridaliving2.html http://www.floridamagazine.com/floridaliving/floridaliving205.html Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:30:00 EST In my years of big league broadcasting, I got to know hundreds of ball players, including Satchel Paige. Old Satch, supposed to be 43 when he joined Cleveland in 1948, was both a pitcher and a philosopher. (I don't think anybody ever really knew his age.) Had Branch Rickey broken the color line 25 years sooner, Satchel would have put records in the book that would be unbelievable. As a grass roots philosopher he would say such things as, "Don't never look back, 'cause something might be gaining on you." For the purposes of this retrospect, I'll have to differ with Old Satch. An axiom is like a coin—it has two sides. Yes, one is wise not to worry over what has happened, but also one is wise to remember where he came from and how he arrived where he is.