Take Dave With You On Your Next Car Trip To Florida

Edited by Madelyn Miller, the Travellady

Car trips are long and sometimes boring. When I was growing up, my family did car trips to visit relatives. My Mom packed snacks, games, and toys to entertain us. As an adult, I would like Dave to come with. He knows all the fun facts and great places.

If you don’t know Dave (and actually, I don’t either, but after reading his book I feel like I do) you can just buy the book.

Along Florida’s Expressways by Dave Hunter
6" x 9" • 208 pages • Fully illustrated with 106 full-color maps,
57 black & white photographs, charts and diagrams
ISBN: 1-896819-45-1 • $23.95 (U.S.); $29.95 (Canada)
Concealed spiral paperback with laminated wrap-around cover and book mark flap

A sampling of the fun facts and historic trivia included in Along Florida’s Expressways

Did you know that:

You can safely try skydiving without going up in a plane! In about an hour you will be given a basic lesson, outfitted with a special suit, goggles and helmet, and then taken by your instructor to an area resembling a huge vertical silo. As air rushes up the tube at a speed that supports your weight, you and your instructor step through the door and float hand-in-hand on a cushion of air. Try it yourself at SkyVenture off Exit 75A in Orlando. (See page 89.)
Phosphate, a major component in producing fertilizer, is a huge mining industry in Florida (See page 96.) and turpentining was a major industry in the state’s early 1900’s economy. (See page 101.)
Lake Jackson likes to “disappear.” Four times in living memory—most recently 9/16/99—Lake Jackson’s water, fish, etc. were suddenly gone! Why? Because Florida’s aquifer pulled the plug, creating a sinkhole. (See pages 110 and 102-103.)
Britton Hill is Florida’s highest point, at 345 feet. (See page 116.)
Today’s after-Christmas return hassles pale in comparison to what Daniel Boone experienced. Upon hearing that land grants of 100 acres were being offered by the British to attract settlers to Florida, Boone and some friends left North Carolina in August 1765 and walked the 500 miles to St. Augustine, and then continued on to Pensacola (another 400 miles) for a better deal. Boone arrived back in NC just in time to give this gift to his wife, Rebecca, for Christmas. However, when Rebecca said she had no interest in moving, Boone had to walk all the way back to Pensacola to reverse the deal. (See page 117.)
You can visit Florida’s first hard-surfaced roadway, known as the “Old Brick Road.” The western section from Tallahassee to Pensacola followed the route of the 17th century Spanish Trail for most of its way. Each mile needed 237,600 specially-hardened bricks! One section can been seen just three miles north of I-10’s Exit 28. (See page 119.)
A soldier was supposedly buried alive in Fort Barrancas in Pensacola. (Details are on page 123.)
There’s a museum where the price of admission is just two carrots. (See page 132.)
Paynes Prairie State Preserve is a great place to see native flora and fauna. There are cycling paths, hiking, canoeing, fishing, camping and some great picnic areas. (See page 135.)
There was a master plan to drain the Everglades; it is now being reversed. (See page 156.)
Indian history—spanning 14,000 years—is an integral part of Florida’s history. Throughout the book, Dave gives place name information and several “Special Reports” go into more detail (including Florida’s Indians and Seminole Indian Wars). (See pages 106-107, 139, 187-188.)
Bathroom stops are an essential part of most car trips. In addition to noting all rest stops and nearby gas stations and restaurants, Dave highlights one “perfect” rest area (at Mile 60 on I-10; see page 116) and the “She-inal” — Kathie Jones’ idea to speed up the lines in women’s rest rooms (at Exit 170 on I-75; see page 149).
The history of NASCAR and Daytona dates back to the 1920-30s. (See page 172.)
Coca Cola aficionados should check out the Museum of Art & Science in Daytona. The collection of the Roots family, designers and original manufacturer of the iconic contoured “hobble skirt” Cola Cola bottle, is impressive. (See page 173). And don’t try buying a Pepsi in Quincy. In 1920 a local banker persuaded many of his customers and friends to invest in a small Atlanta business—the Cola Cola Company—which had just been purchased by new owners and was launching its first public offering. Soon the town’s residents formed the largest block of Coca Cola shareholders! (See page 111.)
Florida’s largest city-to-be, Panasoffkee, is now a forgotten swamp of alligators, water moccasin and egrets. What happened? (See pages 138 & 140.)
Don’t eat apples or talk to snakes near Bristol, Florida. Why? Some Floridians have “proof” that the original Garden of Eden was here. (See page 112.)
Discover who the Barefoot Mailmen were, and why the mail was late on two occasions. (See page 182.)

All this and more can be found in Along Florida’s Expressways. With Dave along in the car, any trip on Florida’s expressways will be turned from a boring drive into a fun trip.

Available from: All major bookstores, online bookstores, and www.floridaonline.info or call 1-800-431-1579.

Also available: Dave Hunter’s award-winning
Along Interstate-75: “Local Knowledge” and “Insider Information” for interstate travelers between Detroit and the Florida border www.i75online.com