Florida Board of Tourism

[thecatsandi]

I want my money back! All funds expended in the state of Florida. I was promised warmth and sunshine. I have been rained on hard! Christmas day and tonight it is going down to 35! I had to go out to the trailer and turn opn the furnace!

I hope it warms up next week or Devoman is going to over at my trailer holding a heat lamp on me!

Looking forward to seeing all of you late next week. I am having the truck checked out tomorrow and I will be stopping at he AS dealer in Alchua(Sp?) near Gainsville to have my Brakes looked at and a couple of other minor things on Jan 4th.

[bjond]

Don't let the secret out. Pretend its warm. Most snowbirds don't want to tell their friends the truth so they say its warm and beautiful down south here in FLA. Its worked for years now.

[CanoeStream]

Wink-wink ... nudge-nudge. Don't tell anybody at all that it's gotten above freezing almost every day since last April .... . Next I'll need a live palm tree for our pet flamingo!

[wkerfoot]

Michelle,

It was 77 here yesterday and 74 both days before that. Mid 70's today, a Chamber of Commerce day. Just wait for the Rose Parade on Monday, always another Chamber of Commerce day.

Bill

[Pick]

Michelle, you'll be quite close to us, we are near Alachua and JD Sanders, the dealer you are headed to. Yeah, it's 32 as I type this, but warming to 60 ish later on.

[overlander63]

Michelle, I thought you should know, Jacksonville isn't really a part of Florida. We just drew the state border to the North of the city so we could have bragging rights to the largest city in the world, area-wise.
It's 55 here as I write this, and the sun is rising under a cloudless sky. 55 is cold for here, there are rumors the temp may dip as low as 50... If this keeps up, I may have to turn off the air conditioning.

[thecatsandi]

That explains it! At least you have Fernandina Beach! Beautiful Area and not to over built yet.

[Silvertwinkie]

You know, it's been fairly nice/mild here these past few years......one good bi-product of global warming. Of course, if I lived on any of the coasts after watching the history or discovery channels last night, looks like here in Chicago, we might just have oceanfront property at some point.

Nice to see Florida getting it's fair share of winter.

[moosetags]

We just picked up Lucy at Sanders in Alachua last week. She was there having wheel/hub service and some minor warranty work. They are really good people who know what they are doing.

Florida, north of the freeze line (about Orlando), gets cold in the winter. It always has. If you want warm in the winter, you need to go way down into the peninsular. When I first left Miami and moved to Tallhassee many years ago, I couldn't believe how cold it got. It still beats shoveling snow a gloomy, cloudy day. Life in Florida is good. The sun is usually shinning and the ocean is always beautiful.

For those coming to Tops'l next week, we have put in an order for especially nice weather.

[63air]

The only reason I go Florida is you gota go thru it to get to the Conch Republic.

[bobchevy89]

hello. Michelle.
welcome to Fl. as we say here if you don't like the weather just wait a few hrs. and it will change. suppose to be about 78 by friday. at least it's not snowing. I hopeyou don't have too much trouble with your tt. you've had enough problems already. try to enjoy your stay.
Bob

[dbradhstream]

I'm looking at a beautiful sunset over Lake Ivanhoe in Orlando out my office window right now. Wore a thin sweater to work yesterday and today and have been just a bit too warm in it. Tomorrow, back to just a dress shirt as usual. Probably won't be more than another ten or twelve days all winter that I actually have to wear a sweater or jacket again.

Boy, it did flood on Christmas day, though, didn't it? Down here we don't have many of those nice, soft, day-long rains that make you want to snuggle up in bed all day. We have one hour of torrential downpours and life-threatening lightning followed by sunshine.

Except in the summer, when we have one hour of torrential downpours and life-threatening lighting followed by about 2 hours of skin melting heat and clouds of steam rising from the ground, and sunshine.

Unless it's a hurricane. Then it's 24 hours of torrential downpours, life-threatening lightning and large trees moving from one neighborhood to another followed by several days of skin melting heat, clouds of steam ... oh, and sunshine.

Come on down! We'd love to have you.

bh

[Pick]

Some things I have found out since moving to Florida from Ohio:

1. It costs more to air condition a house in Florida, than to heat a house in Ohio.

2. Home owners and auto insurance is DOUBLE what it is in Ohio.

3. You can get into more trouble with the Florida Wildlife Commission for catching a fish that is 1/2" to short or to long, than you can for committing a felony.

4. There are more Yankees in Florida, than native Floridians.

5. Miami is a suburb of Havana.

6. In Florida, you press 2 for English.

Really, Florida is a great place to live and work. People are fantastic down here. I've made more friends in 3 years than in a lifetime up North. I wish I would have come down here sooner. Doubt I'll ever move anywhere else.

[Silvertwinkie]

Originally Posted by Pick

2. Home owners and auto insurance is DOUBLE what it is in Ohio.

I wonder way....

Is Allstate still not insuring down there? I seem to recall one storm down there that basically had the insurers packing up and running for cover afterward. Seems those companies found a new client base in LA and MS before Katrina, then worked all their loopholes to get out of paying as they had to back around Andrew or whatever the name was that hit Florida.

Good hands my ^&%$@!

[bandboss]

Ah, yes. The Florida panhandle; the Redneck Riviera. Spent a week there one night.

Dan

[moosetags]

We are both natives, SuEllyn is fom Jacksonville and I am from Miami. Granted Miami has become very Latin, but probably no more so than Chicago. Miami still has the best weather in the country. Maybe that's why is has alaways been so popular. Miami in the 50' and 60's was a wonderous place. My youth is filled with many great memories. This past spring, I attend my 40th anniversary high school reunion. The old Miami is still there; you just have to know where to look. I grew up less than a mile from Downtown Miami. SuEllyn also lived in Miami for a number of years.

SuEllyn grew up in inner-city Jacksonville. Her Dad stiil lives in the same house; he has been there for 60 years. We just got back from Christmas in Jacksonville where we set up the Airstream in Daddy's yard. Jacksonville is also a great place. It is a big city with the usual big city problems, but it is a wonderful place to be from. I also lived in Jacksonville for almost twenty years, so I also speak from first hand knowledge.

We have both lived in Tallahassee. Tallahassee is also a great place to live and enjoy life. For the last eleven years, we have lived in the Florida Panhandle between Panama City and Pensacola. The Panhandle is another great place to live, except in another time zone.

We have both been here all of our lives. We have both traveled extensively and we enjoy seeing new places, but as far as a place to call home, this is it. We realize that many people come here to visit and to live, and we welcome them with open arms. Our economy depends on them, and we know that. We really do like to share all that Florida has to offer.

In 1950, Florida was ranked 28th in population of the then 48 states. Recent estimates have us surpassing New York, to become number 3 behind California and Taxas. There must be some good things still here for that to happen.

Come to Florida and enjoy it; we do.

[dbradhstream]

I'm a native, too, if moving here at 3 qualifies me as a native - I've always debated that. My wife was born in Lake Worth, so she's legit.

"Pick" gets my vote as a "psuedo-native" based on the way he (she?) was able to cut it down but at the same time profess his undying love for the place, with all it's faults and quirks - just like a native. Good job, Pick.

What many people find interesting about Florida is just how country and Southern most of it is. I've grown up in the interior/rural areas of Florida and, like it or not, am just as country as my relatives in Tennessee, and with pretty much the same accent. If you slice about 3 miles off the edges of Florida all around the perimeter, you're pretty much left with cows, vegetables, citrus, sugar cane, swamp and forest. I left for 3 years to go to NC for law school, thinking I'd stay there, but missed the alligators and swamp so much I had to come back and will probably never leave again. Didn't miss the mosquitos but they come with the territory. Of course, even in the interior a lot of those things I mentioned are disappearing pretty quickly.

[tamis]

Hey, Pick, you mean you don't want to come back to Chardon? Hasn't been bad here this winter, so far.......... T

[60pacerhobo]

Howdy folks.A half century in Fla.Started out in Tampa [when Busch Gardens was a free bird show]then Clearwater.We camped as kids but it seemed the developers were always right behind us. Migrated north to Inglis in 1985 then to the hammock in 1992.Looks like were fixing to move north again to Mayo on the Suwanee river.From there we drift around to Steinhatchee [on the coast] where we fixed up an old Fla.cracker house.No beaches here just great gulf fishing and the states longest undeveloped coastline. Also one of the few places any where that you can harvest scallops. On up the coast we go to the big bend & take US98 out Carrebelle. AKA theForgotten Coast The point is if you REALLY want to see Fla. stay out of ratworld and the like and bring a boat. Icould go on&on but I dont type woth a hoot Love this site tho

[ibgl6]

I was born and raised in Panama City Florida and live approx. 3 miles from the house I grew up in boy I sure dont get out much, Hahaha...