The podcast has been on an unintended hiatus for the past 16 months and I am thinking about restarting it. If you are interested in listening to me talk about what I have been learning, historical info, or a variety of other topics let me know!
Hear me talk a bit about it here
Here you will learn some tips for visiting Florida that may help you save money, enjoy your stay more, and tips that will help the good residents of the Sunshine state enjoy having you here.
Before we begin, let me start by sharing with you some ways we, here in Florida, know you are a tourist….
• Your tag is from out of state.
• You are in a car without tint and a tag with a June sticker – meaning it is a rental car.
• You are driving slowly on the race track, I mean toll roads
• You are disappointed at not seeing alligators everywhere.
• You are taking photos of everything, palm trees, ponds, i4, etc.
• You are sporting a red neck and possibly arms, legs, etc. because you are not used to the Florida sun
• You are wearing mickey mouse ears. EVERYWHERE!
• You have the windows rolled down in your car, and it’s August
• You are talking about all the time you spent at the beach
• You ask if it is always this hot. No, this is probably a cool day!
• You park close to the store entrance rather than in the shade.
Enough of that here in Florida, roughly 20% of our population is 65 and older, and the state attracts more than 100 million visitors every year. So great care and attention needs to be taken on the road. Here are some rules and common courtesies you should follow to help us remember how glad we are that you are here, so we don’t have to pay State income tax. Also, so you avoid getting a ticket.
Turn right on red – You may turn right at a red light after coming to a complete stop unless a sign indicating “no right on red” is posted at the intersection.
Stop for pedestrians in the Crosswalk –Also, stop for jaywalkers, please! You do not want a hood ornament. If you are the pedestrian, remember that the time you wait patiently at the crosswalk will be worth it long term! Please be careful, ya’ll!
No earbuds – It is illegal to wear headphones while driving a car in Florida, and can be punished with a fine of over $150.00. Florida Statute § 316.304 states: No person shall operate a vehicle while wearing a headset, headphone, or other listening device, other than a hearing aid or instrument for the improvement of defective human hearing.
Texting and driving – Don’t do it in Florida. Here are the rules. “A person may not operate a motor vehicle while manually typing or entering multiple letters, numbers, symbols, or other characters into a wireless communications device or while sending or reading data on such a device for the purpose of nonvoice interpersonal communication, including, but not limited to, communication methods known as texting, e-mailing, and instant messaging. As used in this section, the term “wireless communications device” means any handheld device used or capable of being used in a handheld manner, that is designed or intended to receive or transmit text or character-based messages, access or store data, or connect to the Internet or any communications service as defined in s. 812.15 and that allows text communications. For the purposes of this paragraph, a motor vehicle that is stationary is not being operated and is not subject to the prohibition in this paragraph.”
Move over for stopped police and emergency vehicles – When law enforcement vehicles are in one of the “break-down” lanes, either assisting a motorist or pulling over a speeding vehicle, you must move to the far lane, away from the police or slow to 20 miles per hour below the speed limit.
Driving in Florida if you are from visiting from another country. – You only need your documentation of identification, such as your driver’s license from your native country, to drive in Florida. You do not need an international driving permit.
Heat – Florida is not called the Sunshine State for nothing. You would be wise to bring hats, sunscreen, sunglasses, etc.
Rain – Florida is known for Sunshine as well as unexpected and often severe thunderstorms.
Hurricanes – Between the months of June and November is what we call hurricane season. If you are planning to visit Florida during this time there is always a chance there will be a storm. If you are traveling during this time, it would be wise to have travel insurance in case a storm decides to visit Florida at the same time you do!
Lovebug season – While you may have never heard of love bugs, Floridians deal with them twice a year in May and September. The past few years they have not been too bad, but when there are swarms of the bugs, they like to hover around light colored objects. That could be you in your white shirt or car. Also, they will make a mess on your car when you hit them at 70 mph on the interstate. It is advised to scrub them off as soon as you can because they can eat away at your paint! no joke! They do not bite, but they do hover around and if you are eating outside better look before you bite!
Jokes about Florida
• You won’t find a Jacuzzi in Florida, because if a Floridian wanted to suffocate themselves in hot steam, they would just walk outside.
• How can you tell it is fall in Florida? The colors of license plates begin to change
Remember when you visit Florida, that all of us are not on vacation, so please try to drive the speed limit, use your signals, listen to your GPS, get off the road completely to take a photo, and overall enjoy your stay in the Sunshine State!
If you would like to listen to an audio version of this article, you will find it at Travel Adventures Podcast
Thanks for reading!
Aimée
Cost – $7,500,000
Length – 882 feet 9 inches
Width – 92 feet
Height – 175 feet
Top speed 23 knots
Weight – 46,328 tons
Decks – 10
Watertight compartments – 15-16
Lightbulbs – 10,000
Passengers – 3,547
Listen to the Podcast – Anchor
These are just a few facts about RMS Titanic. The Titanic was the largest and most luxurious passenger ship of its time. It is thought that the Titanic’s size and advanced watertight system among other things would make the ship practically unsinkable. It was rumored that a Titanic crew member said to one of the passengers, a Mrs. Sylvia Caldwell, “God himself could not sink this ship!” A few ill-fated days later the magnificent ship hit an iceberg and after 160 minutes of floundering on the ocean surface, Titanic came to rest on the floor of the Atlantic ocean.
April 15th marks the 107th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. And this brings us to the question, Why? Why 107 later, is there still such an interest in the Titanic?
Here are some thoughts.
1. It was a widely published boat, labeled as being the greatest ship of its time.
2. At the time of the sinking, it was the worst maritime disaster in history.
3. The eyewitness accounts and loss of life helped to make it one of the most well-known tragedies in modern history. To this day, if you search the internet you can find recordings, videos, and writings from people who survived the Titanic. Not to mention the official investigation reports.
4. It affected the upper class, working class, immigrants, aristocrats. Everyone was affected and touched by the story. Everyone could picture themselves in the position the passengers found themselves. .
5. The publicity from the time
6. The ship was lost under the ocean for 75 years. A new generation was made aware of the disaster when the ship was discovered on September 1st, 1985.
7. The movie Titanic was made by James Cameron in 1998 which again brought attention to the disaster.
Whatever reason has sparked your interest in this story one thing is for certain. While the Titanic itself may have sunk its story is unsinkable!
If you would like to read the Titanic Report, I will include a link as it is an interesting read. Here is an excerpt on their conclusion about how the Titanic sank. It reads,
“Ship Sinking. The ship went down gradually by the bow, assuming an almost perpendicular position just before sinking at 12:47 am. NY time, April 15th. There have been many conflicting statements as to whether the ship broke, in two, but the preponderance of evidence is to the effect that she assumed an almost end-on position and sank intact.”
It was not until September 1st, 1985, that this belief was proven incorrect, but Robert Ballard and his team of researchers. It was on that night aboard the research vessel Knorr that the Titanic was seen for the first time in 73 years. Click the link to see
Titanics First images
Whatever reason has sparked your interest in this story one thing is for certain. While the Titanic itself may have sunk its story is unsinkable!
Let’s spend the rest of this episode talking about Memorials and Museums where you can learn more about the Titanic and see artifacts and personal effects that were retrieved from the wreck site
• The first monument ever erected in memory of the Titanic in America, and possibly the world, was built in the small town of Libertytown, Maryland at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church. The Church at the time was beautifying their church cemetery by building a calvary crucifixion scene. When news of the disaster reached Libertytown, the monument was dedicated to the victims of the Titanic on April 19, 1912, just one day after the first reports that the ship had sunk. This little monument, unknown to most of the world, is a testimony to how great a tragedy the Titanic was in its time because it moved a tiny town with no direct connections to the Titanic to mourn the great loss of life. (Wikipedia)
• An inscribed plaque in the Boston Symphony Hall commemorates Titanic’s musicians with the dedication: “In memory of the devoted musicians who were drowned still playing as the Titanic went down, 15 April 1912”. (Wikipedia)
• Two Titanic memorials stand in New York. On 13 April 1913, the 60 feet (18 m) Titanic Memorial Lighthouse was constructed on the roof of the Seamen’s Church Institute headquarters at 25 South Street in downtown Manhattan. It was later moved to a new location in the South Street Seaport area. (Wikipedia)
• Straus Park in the Upper West Side district of Morningside Heights commemorates Isidor Straus and his wife Ida, who both died in the disaster. The centerpiece of the park is the Isidor and Ida Straus Memorial, erected in 1915 to commemorate the couple. Its dedication reads: “Erected by voluntary contributions from many fellow citizens and accepted for the City of New York by Mayor John Purroy Mitchel and Cabot Ward, Commissioner of Parks. AD MCMXV.” (Wikipedia)
• The Titanic Memorial in Washington, D.C. stands next to the Washington Channel near Fort Lesley J. McNair. It stands 13 feet (4.0 m) high and depicts a male figure with arms outstretched. The memorial was unveiled on 26 May 1931 by Helen Herron Taft, the widow of President William Howard Taft, who held office at the time of the disaster and whose military aide Major Archibald Butt died in the sinking. It originally stood in Rock Creek Park before being moved to its current site on P Street SW in 1968. (Wikipedia)
• The Butt-Millet Memorial Fountain is a memorial fountain located in the President’s Park in Washington, D.C.. Dedicated in October 1913, it commemorates the deaths of Archibald Butt (the military aide to President William Howard Taft) and Francis Davis Millet (a journalist and painter, and Butt’s close friend and housemate), both of whom died during the sinking. (Wikipedia)
• The 106 passengers on the Titanic who were heading to Pennsylvania are memorialized on a park bench near Audubon, Pennsylvania. This bench is located along the Schuylkill River Trail where it is met by the Pawlings Road Trailhead. (Wikipedia)
Exhibits / Museums in the USA
Indian Orchard, Massachusetts – The nation’s first Titanic Historical Society was established in Indian Orchard, Massachusetts, in 1963. The small museum that has branched out of the historical society’s collection of Titanic artifacts includes the life vest worn by John Jacob Astor, models of the ship and its rudder and propellers, and personal objects like clothing, coins, and letters.
Orlando, Florida – The Titanic Exhibition Link
Titanic Museum – The landlocked states of Missouri and Tennessee are home to the Titanic Museums, which have a year-round interactive exhibit. Highlights of the museum include a $1 million replica of the boat’s grand staircase, an 18-foot scale model of the White Star Line ship, and cabin replicas. The museum tries to make the visit educational for its guests by, for example, giving them the chance to experience a “sloping” deck as the ship sinks and also providing a passenger card that lets you follow the experience of a particular passenger through the tragedy to learn of his or her fate. Located in Branson and Pidgeon Forge http://www.titanicbranson.com/http://www.titanicpigeonforge.com
New York City, New York – New York City was where the Titanic was bound. The Titanic Memorial Lighthouse is in Lower Manhattan at the intersections of Pearl and Fulton streets outside the South Street Seaport Museum, which now owns the lighthouse. Dedicated on April 15, 1913, one year after the sinking, the now-historic lighthouse pays tribute to the passengers, crew, and officers who died.
The Inscription on the lighthouse says, (Read it here)
“To the glory of Almighty God, and in loving memory of those passengers, officers, and crew who lost their lives in the foundering of the steamship Titanic, on April 15, 1912, I, David Hummell Greer, Bishop of New York, and President of the Seamen’s Church Institute of New York, do solemnly dedicate the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse Tower. As its light by night shall guide pilgrims and seafaring men from every clime into this port, so may they follow Him who is the Light of Life across the waves of this troublesome world to everlasting life; and, looking at noon toward this place to note the time of day, may they remember that our days pass as the swift ships, and in view of the shortness and uncertainty of human life, strive to fulfill their duty well, as the beat preparation for Eternity. Amen.”
Ant on the Move 