Florida is well-known, the world over, for its enormously popular theme parks, but its residents understand that there is much more to their state than the attractions surrounding Orlando. Indeed, this large peninsula is so chock-a-block with adventures and attractions that it is almost literally impossible to run out of things to do in the state. The activities listed here are designed to help visitors and new residents find activities that they have probably never before heard of, proving positive that there is more to the Sunshine State than first meets the eye.
Dinosaur World
Located on Interstate 4, between Tampa and Orlando, Dinosaur World features realistic, full-scale replicas of these enormous reptiles from long ago. The attraction is structured as a driving safari, during which tourists just might spot such species as Tyrannosaurus Rex and Dilophosaurus. A museum offers visitors additional information about the distant past, while the "Skeleton Garden" enables tourists to see what little remains of these magnificent creatures today.
The Florida Strawberry Festival
Plant City, Florida, is known as the "Winter Strawberry Capital of the World," a distinction it holds, in part, because of the warm weather Florida enjoys, even when much of the rest of the nation is blanketed in frigid temperatures. Each year, the festival celebrates the tasty strawberry with a strawberry shortcake-eating contest, along with displays of arts and crafts. There is even a carnival featuring more than 50 rides for children and adults.
Fort Lauderdale Butterfly World
Fort Lauderdale is best known for its lively beach-life, featuring swimming, surfing and scuba diving, but another reason to spend time in this seaside town is the chance to spend a day at Butterfly World. The attraction seeks to provide a feast for all the senses; classical music is piped into an enclosure where literally thousands of butterflies flutter among exotic blooms. As many as fifty species are represented at a single time, some of them perfectly willing to alight on tourists' hands or arms. Another part of the attraction features an aviary filled with hummingbirds, where visitors are permitted to sit and watch for as long as they please.
The Edison-Ford Winter Estates
Florida has been a lure for the rich and successful for much of its history, which argues strongly for the regard in which the rest of the United States holds it. Two of the most famous personages to make Florida their winter getaway were automotive pioneer, Henry Ford, and inventor Thomas Edison, who developed hundreds of useful devices during his lifetime.
Both these gentlemen made it a practice to spend their winters near the town of Fort Myers, which is located in a sunny region a few miles from the Gulf Coast. Visitors to their homes today can still see Edison's laboratory, as well as a museum dedicated to displaying artefacts associated with these famous Americans.
When it comes to things to do in Florida, these suggestions are just the tip of the iceberg. Truly, it is no wonder that so many people of retirement age come here to while away their "golden years," for in all the ways that matter, there may be no finer place on earth.
