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Archive for January, 2012

It’s a place of shimmering water, of tropical breezes, of underwater fantasies. It’s living rock, and animals that look like plants. It’s a statute with its arms raised to they sky, yet still beneath the sea.

Welcome to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in the Florida Keys.

Kingdoms of the Sea

Pennekamp State Park is mostly under the waves, so the big draw is definitely on the watery side. Being the only living coral reef in the United States, Pennekamp is a mecca for divers from all over the world. And what a reef it is! It’s a watery kingdom, with thrones of coral and guardian fish patrolling about.

Snorkel and Dive Tours

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park offers both snorkel and dive tours from its dive center. The main reef is about four miles offshore, so you are spirited away in a catamaran for your trip (the Spirit of Pennekamp).

Tours run around two hours of actual water time, and by all accounts they are very much worth it.

Glass Bottom Boats

If you aren’t into getting wet but still want to see the reef, how about a glass-bottomed boat tour? You can relax in air-conditioned comfort and discover your own Atlantis.

What Else?

How about camping, fishing, swimming and canoeing? All this and more can be found at Pennekamp State Park. Come on and visit another world, just beneath the waves.

If you’ve ever eaten a midwinter strawberry, chances are good it was grown in Plant City, Florida, known as the winter strawberry capital of the world. More than three-fourths of the nation’s midwinter strawberries are grown here on more than 7,000 acres of rich, fertile farmland.
As with many rural Florida communities, farming was the staple around which Plant City grew, initially as a large cotton center. Its original designation, Ichepucksassa, after an Indian village that once claimed the land, was a troublesome mouthful that didn’t last long. The community’s Irish postmaster renamed Ichepucksassa after his hometown in Ireland: Cork. But that didn’t last long either, in 1884, Henry Plant brought the South Florida Railroad into town; in 1885 the city was incorporated and renamed after him. The historic Union Station depot still stands on Palmer Street today, acting as a downtown area welcome center and mini-railroad museum.

Florida is the 27th state of the United State of America and it shares its boundaries with Alabama, Georgia and most of the rest to the Atlantic Ocean. It is a peninsular state and is situated at the southeastern part of the country across the Mississippi river. Known for its tropical climate, Florida is otherwise known as the “Sunshine state” of the country. With a total population of about 18,328,500, this state is considered the fourth most populated state in Unites States.

The state is a porous limestone peninsula which is placed over bedrock called as the Florida Platform. This makes the state peppered with underwater caves and springs. The fresh water supply across the city is also plenty. A slow flowing river called The Everglades is the major geographical feature of the state. Earthquakes are very rare in Florida, but the state had its own minor tremors and shakes in the past. The most recent one was in the year of 2006 but with a very low Richter scale reading. The highest point of the state is at 345 feet above the sea level and is situated at the Britton Hill. Ironically this is also the lowest high point of the whole of United States.

Aptly named the “Sunshine State”, Florida has true tropical and subtropical climate. The highest temperature ever recorded in Florida stands at 32