Florida

St. Augustine

Founded in 1565 by Spanish admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles, St. Augustine has the distinction of being the oldest city in the United States. This historic city on the northeast coast of Florida is a known for its Spanish colonial architecture and beautiful sandy beaches on the Atlantic Ocean. Following its 400^th birthday in 1965, a major effort was launched to restore much of the city’s Spanish colonial history like Government House and St. George Street.

Over five hundred years ago, a fleet of three small Spanish ships sighted the east coast of present-day Florida on March 27, 1513. The fleet was under the command of a Spanish explorer and nobleman named Juan Ponce de Leon who had been searching for the legendary Fountain of Youth. They made landfall on April 3, 1513 at present-day St. Augustine and named the new land La Florida in honor of the Catholic Feast of Flowers. Today, the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park in St. Augustine preserves the history of the 1513 landing site and natural spring that Ponce de Leon drank from.

About the same time as the founding of St. Augustine by the Spanish, their long-time rival, England, also began showing interest in colonizing eastern North America. The Spanish built a series of nine wooden forts to defend the city, but they were no match for the English naval forces who in 1586 under Sir Frances Drake attacked and burned St. Augustine to the ground. The Spanish spent over two decades building a more heavily defended stone fortress to protect the city of St. Augustine from further attacks. Built at the northern inlet of the Matanzas River, the Castillo de San Marcos was completed in 1695. The English attacked St. Augustine again in 1702 and the Castillo was a refuge for the citizens during a 51-day siege. Although the city was burned to the ground a second time, Castillo de San Marcos did not fall and was never defeated in battle. A 1763 treaty gave Spanish Florida to England who renamed the Castillo to Fort St. Mark. Following the American Revolution, Florida returned to the Spain but Spanish colonialism was already in decline. Finally in 1821 when the United States ratified Florida cession from Spain, the fortress was renamed Fort Marion. Occupied by Confederate forces during the Civil War, Fort Marion was declared a national monument in 1924 and then an act of Congress in 1942 restored the Spanish name. Today, Castillo de San Marcos National Monument is a popular tourist attraction and is managed by the National Park Service.

One of the key figures in the modern history of St. Augustine was a Standard Oil executive and millionaire developer by the name of Henry Flagler. He came to St. Augustine during the Gilded Age of resort hotels in America with the hope of luring wealthy tourists south for the winter on his Florida East Coast Railway. Opening for the winter of 1888, the Spanish colonial revival styled Hotel Ponce de Leon was his first luxury hotel in St Augustine and featured first-of-its-kind concrete construction and electrical lighting installed by Thomas Edison. Since 1968, this grand hotel has served as the centerpiece for Flagler College. A second even more grand resort was built by Flagler across the street. The Alcazar Hotel opened a few years later and featured the world’s largest indoor swimming pool, a Turkish bath, ballroom, and casino. The Alcazar was a successful hotel for many years, but became a victim of the Great Depression. In 1947, Chicago publisher Otto C. Lightner purchased the building and converted it into the Lightner Museum, housing his extensive collection of Victorian art, antiques, and other items.

The city of St. Augustine is not actually on the Atlantic Ocean, but rather sits along the Matanzas River which has inlets to the north and south. A barrier island named Anastasia lies between the river and the open ocean. During the Spanish rule of Florida, this island was the site of numerous coquina (rock made of fossilized sea life) quarries that provided stone to build the forts and other structures in the expanding city. The St. Augustine Lighthouse which towers over the island stands 164 feet tall and began operating in 1874. The very popular Anastasia State Park has a four-mile-long sandy beach on the Atlantic Ocean, hiking trails, and modern campground.

Kennedy Space Center

For the past six decades, the Kennedy Space Center has played a crucial role in the United States’ presence in space. Established on July 29, 1958 by President Eisenhower, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) began its early launch activities on the Florida coast at Cape Canaveral. Following President Kennedy’s declaration of the national goal of putting men on the moon by the end of the decade, NASA began acquiring land on Merritt Island to support the Apollo Lunar Landing Program. Designers quickly began developing plans for Launch Complex 39 facilities which include the Launch Control Center, Pads A & B as well as the huge hangar we know as the Vehicle Assembly Building. President Johnson renamed the complex the John F. Kennedy Space Center immediately following his death.

The Kennedy Space Center has been the operational launch facilities for all the nation’s manned space programs since Mercury to present-day Artemis. All seven of the manned Apollo missions to the moon launched their colossal Saturn V rockets from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Following the Apollo program, the Kennedy Space Center was reconfigured for the new space shuttle program. The first shuttle to launch from Kennedy was Columbia that made the inaugural flight in April 1981. Mission STS-135 was the final launch of a space shuttle from the Kennedy Space Center in July 2011 when Atlantis had a mission to the International Space Center. Today, the Kennedy Space Center is undergoing another evolution with America’s return to the moon with the Artemis program. In addition to NASA’s activities, commercial space companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin have space operations at the Kennedy Space Center. After six decades in operation, the center has never been busier with 24 launches already completed for the 2025 calendar year when I visited on March 21^st.

In addition to its ongoing space operations, the Kennedy Space Center is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Florida with over 1.5 million visitors annually. When you first enter the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, you are immediately drawn to the Rocket Garden. On displayed are Redstone and Atlas rockets from the Mercury Program, a Titan II from the Gemini Program, and a Saturn 1B which was part of early Apollo development. Adjacent to the Rocket Garden is the Heroes & Legends exhibit which celebrates the early pioneers of the space program. The exhibit has a lot of amazing artifacts from the original seven Mercury astronauts as well as the original mission control room from the Mercury Program.

When the space shuttle Atlantis landed at the Kennedy Space Center runway on July 21, 2011, it marked the end of the space shuttle program so it is fitting that this shuttle is on display at the center. In order to enter the exhibit building, guests have to pass underneath a fully assembled shuttle external fuel tank with its two solid rocket boosters. The Atlantis is displayed at an angle with its cargo bay doors open and robotic arm fully extended. During its service life, the Atlantis flew 33 missions and carried 207 astronauts safely to space. All throughout the shuttle building are exhibits on the various systems of a space shuttle as well as the cargo the six shuttles took to space like the Hubble Telescope and International Space Station. In my opinion, the best exhibit in the building, perhaps the entire Kennedy Space Center, is the memorial to the two shuttle crews lost in accidents: Challenger (January 1986) and Columbia (February 2003). They have a personal memorial to each of the crew members lost displaying some of their personal effects from their lives. Adjacent to that, they have an emotional display of debris recovered from each spacecraft.

A short bus ride from the main Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is the Apollo/Saturn V Center which celebrates NASA’s manned missions to the moon. The brainchild of German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, the Saturn V rocket remains the largest and most powerful rocket ever launched. The colossal Saturn V stood 363 feet tall, was 33 feet in diameter, and lifted off with 7.6 million pounds of thrust to propel three astronauts and all their equipment towards the moon. The centerpiece of the exhibit is a Saturn V rocket lying on its side and broken down into its three stages. On one end of the building are the five enormous F-1 engines and on the other end of the building is the Apollo space capsule. In addition to the Saturn V rocket, there are additional artifacts of the Apollo program such as a lunar lander, Apollo spacesuits, and lunar rover. There is also a nice memorial to the three Apollo 1 astronauts who lost their lives on January 27, 1967. During a pre-flight test on the launch pad ahead of the first Apollo flight, a fire broke out in the 100% oxygen environment of the command module and heroic ground crews risked their lives in vain to open the capsule’s hatch. Killed in the fire was original Mercury 7 astronaut Virgil ‘Gus’ Grissom along with his crewmates Edward White and Roger Chaffee.

The Gateway building is dedicated to the visionary designs paving the way for human deep space travel by NASA and its commercial partners. SpaceX has a space flown Dragon spacecraft, a reused Falcon 9 booster, and a spacesuit used on the first crewed flight in November 2020. Also on display is a mockup of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft and the Orion spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin for the Artemis program.

Despite being a little bit too “Disney” for my taste, the Kennedy Space Center was an amazing experience. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the artifacts, especially the rockets, from the space program that has fueled my passion for science my entire life. Visiting the Kennedy Space Center was truly a bucket list item that is now finally checked off!

Key West

The Florida Keys are a string of low-lying, tropical islands that stretch 120 miles off the southern tip of Florida. The term “keys” is derived from the Spanish word “cayo” which translates to “small island”. A total of 1,700 islands make up the Florida Keys of which 882 are charted and 30 inhabited. The largest of the keys is Key Largo and the southernmost is Key West which is connected to the mainland by US-1 South, known as the “Oversea Highway”. The highway is one of the most scenic drives in North America and is composed of a series of bridges over the ocean connecting a total of 44 keys. The longest is the Seven Mile Bridge which connects Knight’s Key to Little Duck Key.

The first documented discovery of Key West by Europeans occurred in 1513 when Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon sailed past the island on his search for the Fountain of Youth further up Florida’s coast. Although the Spanish claimed Key West as their own, they never really created a settlement there. Following the secession of Florida to the United States in 1819, the island was sold to an American by the name of John W. Simonton who paid $2,000 to a Spanish naval officer who had received a land grant to the island from the King of Spain. The island’s deep-water port on the southern shore drew the attention of the US Navy. In 1823, Commadore David Porter established a Naval Station at Key West to serve as a base of operations for his 17-ship Anti-Pirate squadron.

The Federal Wrecking Act of 1825 brought about significant growth to Key West. This act gave Americans the right to claim possession of the contents of any ship which wrecked in US waters regardless of the nation of origin. The numerous corral reefs and strong storms around Key West produced plenty of shipwrecks. Once a ship ran aground off Key West, “wreckers” would rush to the scene to rescue the crew and salvage the cargo which was either sold back to the shipping company or auctioned off. This activity of the wreckers brought about significant wealth and gave Key West the distinction of having the greatest wealth per capita in the United States.

Key West was strategically important because all shipping that passed between the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico had to pass through its deep-water channel. In 1845, the United States government constructed Fort Zachary Taylor to defend its southernmost position. Although Florida joined the Confederacy, Key West remained firmly in Union control throughout the Civil War and played a critical role in the blockade of the South. As the 20^th century arrived and the role of the US Navy expanded, the naval base at Key West expanded greatly. Numerous dredging operations were undertaking to increase the depth of the channels for bigger warships and submarines. The material from the dredging was used as fill to double the land mass of Key West to 2 miles by 4 miles.

The military importance of Key West reached its peak during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 when the Soviet Union positioned nuclear-warheaded missiles only 90 miles from the United States. The military moved air defenses to the small island and used the naval base for the blockade operations. With the transition of the submarine fleet to much larger nuclear-powered vessels, the base at Key West had outlived its usefulness and after a continuous presence on the island over seven conflicts, the Navy closed the base in March 1974. There is still a naval presence in the Florida Keys, but today it is aviation with the Naval Air Station Key West positioned on Rockland Key. While I was in Key West, the Navy’s Blue Angels were in town for the annual Southernmost Air Show.

Following the announcement in 1905 that the United States was going to complete the Panama Canal, millionaire developer and Standard Oil executive Henry Flagler began plans to extend his Florida East Coast Railroad to connect Key West to the mainland. Over the course of seven years, he spent $50 million and endured numerous hurricanes to build a 123-mile railroad over the ocean. On January 22, 1912, the Extension Special delivered Flagler and tourists from Miami to Key West. Unfortunately, the 1935 Labor Day hurricane caused significant damage to the Oversea Railroad and Flagler was forced to sell it to the State of Florida. The loss of the railroad in conjunction with the Great Depression put significant financial strain on Key West and it was soon one of the poorest communities in the country. Finally, in 1938 the US government rebuilt Flagler’s railroad into an automotive highway as an extension of US Route 1, becoming the Oversea Highway, we know today.

In the early 1980s, there was a serious immigration and humanitarian problem as people fled Cuba on anything that floated and headed the 90 miles north towards the Florida Keys. In response, the US Border Patrol instituted a blockade of the Florida Keys which created a financial hardship on the residents of the keys particularly Key West who depended on tourism for their livelihood. In April 1982, community leaders went to the federal offices in Miami to voice their frustration and objections to the extended blockade. They were basically dismissed which led the mayor of Key West, Dennis Wardlow, to tell reporters that if America wanted to treat them like a foreign state, they’ll be just that! They returned to the keys and on April 23, 1982 Wardlow read a Declaration of Secession, and christened the Florida Keys the Conch Republic. The rebellion never really stuck, but the rebellious spirit of the Conch Republic is alive and well in Key West where it is celebrated annually.

One of Key West’s most famous residents was the author Ernest Hemingway who bought a house on Whitehead Street with his wife, Pauline Pfieffer. The two-story home had been built in 1848 by marine architect and salvage wrecker, Asa Tift. Hemingway converted the carriage house into his writing studio where he wrote some of his most prolific pieces of literature. He kept a schedule of writing in the morning, fishing in the afternoon, and spending the evening at his favorite watering hole, Sloppy Joe’s, on Duval Street. In 1937 while Ernest was away fighting in the Spanish Civil War, Pauline had his boxing ring removed and constructed the first swimming pool in Key West. The first cat to arrive at the Hemingway home was a white polydactyl (six-toed) feline named Snow White which was a gift from a ship captain to the family. Today, there are 77 cats that make the Hemingway House their home and half of them are six-toed, probably decedents of that original cat.

Another famous resident of Key West was singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett who first arrived penniless in November 1971. He got his first beer on the house at The Chart Room Bar on Duval Street and later started performing there for drinks. Buffett loved the history, charm, and lifestyle of the island which he made his home the following year. He opened his own recording studio in the historic seaport district and recorded numerous hits there, many with Key West references. In 1985, Buffett opened his first Margaritaville retail location at 500 Duval Street and a business empire was born which now includes cruise ships which have a port of call in Key West. Following Jimmy’s death in 2023, the stretch of the Oversea Highway (US-1) leading into Key West was renamed the Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway.

Following a very stressful 1945, an exhausted President Harry Truman was advised by doctors to get some rest. Admiral Nimitz remembered that there were naval officers’ housing in Key West that sat vacant and recommended them to Truman. The President arrived in January 1946 for a week-long vacation dressed in a black suit. A Miami shirt maker saw a photo of the inappropriately dressed president and sent a big box of Hawaiian shirts which quickly became the uniform of the Little White House. Truman loved Key West and he made 11 trips during his presidency (1946-1952) for a total of 175 days at the southernmost point. It wasn’t all rest and recreation in Key West for President Truman faced the rebuilding of Europe, the Palestine question, issues of Civil Rights and labor unrest, changes in foreign policy, and our response to the Cold War. After Truman left office, the Little White House was visited by other presidents including Eisenhower, Kennedy, Carter, Bush, and Clinton. In 2001, Secretary of State Colin Powell used the site for international peace talks between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Today, the Truman Little White House is a museum and is the only presidential site in Florida.

At just over 1.25 miles in length, Duval Street is the main tourist thoroughfare of Key West running north to south from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. Named after the first territorial governor of Florida, William Pope Duval, the street offers live music, art galleries, boutiques, and restaurants.

Biscayne National Park

Located within sight of Miami, Biscayne National Park is the largest marine sanctuary in the nation park system. Established in 1980, Biscayne National Park encompasses coral reefs, islands, and shoreline mangrove forests in the northern Florida Keys. The 172,971-acre park is 95% water with its reefs and islands only accessible by boat. The Dante Fascell Visitor Center is located on Biscayne Bay Lagoon which has a healthy population of dolphins, sea turtles, and pelicans. It is one of few land areas of the park and has trails that allow you to walk in the mangrove forest while being surrounded by water. The marina is where guests can depart on guided tours of the marine sanctuary or participate in a snorkeling excursion out at one of the numerous reefs. The underwater Maritime Heritage Trail is popular with scuba divers for it links numerous shipwrecks they can dive upon. I only made a quick stop at Biscayne National Park on my way from Key West to Everglades National Park.

Fort Myers

Thomas Edison first came to Fort Myers in 1885 looking for an escape from the cold northern winters. On his first trip, he purchased more than 13 acres along the Caloosahatchee River and following his marriage to Mina Miller in 1886, he built a home there. Over the next six decades, the Edison family enjoyed their winter retreat in Fort Myers that they named Seminole Lodge. Although Edison enjoyed sport fishing while he was in Fort Myers, he was a workaholic and had a study where he would work on projects he brought with him from West Orange. In 1947, Mina Edison deeded the estate to the City of Fort Myers.

In 1914, Henry and Clara Ford were invited to visit Fort Myers by Thomas Edison who was Henry’s friend and mentor. They enjoyed their visit so much that two years later, Ford purchased the home adjacent to Edison’s winter estate. The Ford’s two-story riverfront home was built in the craftsman style and they named it The Mangoes. The home remained in the Ford family until 1945 when it was sold to a private party who then sold the estate to the City of Fort Myers in the 1980s.

In 1927, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone were concerned about America’s dependence on foreign rubber sources for its industrial enterprises. The three men formed the Edison Botanic Research Corporation (EBRC) and the following year built a laboratory which became the project’s international headquarters. Under Edison’s leadership, the corporation sought a source of rubber that could be grown and produced quickly in the United States, in the event of a foreign supply shortage. The grounds of the estate contain hundreds of latex producing plants which Edison had planted for testing. After testing more than 17,000 plant samples, Edison eventually selected Goldenrod as the most suitable. The laboratory remained operational until 1936 (five years after Edison’s death), when the project was transferred to the Department of Agriculture.

There are numerous barrier islands which protect the city of Fort Myers from the Gulf of Mexico. The largest of these is Pine Island where I stayed during my three-day visit. Sanibel is probably the most famous of the barrier islands for its beautiful beaches and the numerous hurricanes that have hit it, most recently Hurricane Ian in September 2022. One of the smaller islands is North Captiva which is only accessible by boat. It has a thriving vacation home community and marinas where you will frequently find manatee. I spent a day exploring North Captiva via golf cart after taking the ferry over from Pine Island.