First, the dealership where you purchased your RV should have done a walk through with you to show you how everything works and where everything is. You should do it again on your own just to make sure you remember everything. I always double check everything before setting out for the first time as well. Make sure you write down anything you see that is not working properly or shows damage. You can take your new RV back to the dealership for repairs after your first trip and they will usually address everything on your list.

Second, Do you have everything you will need? Before loading your RV for the first trip, make a list of the items that you will need for the length of time you are gone, then make sure you got everything. I have forgotten stuff even when I had a list. Some of the things you will want are toilet paper, pillows, extra blankets, chairs, food (obviously), dishes, hoses for water hook-up, water pressure regulator, electrical cord adapter, drain hose for holding tank, mosquito repellent, a door mat and a large carpet for outside the RV. You might also want to invest in some throw away latex gloves for when you are draining your holding tanks. Make sure you have the obvious things like toothbrushes etc. It is okay to forget things now and then. Most items can be purchased at a store near the campground. I have made the horrible mistake of forgetting pillows before, luckily we were camping fairly close to home so I didn't have to buy more! Also you might want to take some indoor entertainment in case of bad weather.

Third, consider the length of your RV when making reservations. Many parks have limits on the length of RV they can fit. Many state parks can not handle longer RVs because the roads leading to the park as well as inside the campground are too winding or narrow. One example is Richardson Grove State Park in Northern California. To get to one area of the campground you have to go through a narrow S that is lined with huge redwood trees. Check ahead before you go to avoid any unpleasant surprises.

Last and most important, take your patience. You will need it. If you've never backed a trailer or motorhome into a campsite or helped somebody back up you could get very frustrated very fast. Remember that you are new to this and once you have done it a few times you will get a routine down. Work out the hand signals ahead of time or get radios to talk to each other so that nothing is missed. For the person helping back up, always remember, if you can't see the driver in the mirror or otherwise, they can't see you! No point in doing hand signals if you can't be seen right? Get parked and set up then sit back relax and enjoy the rest of your vacation!

There are some amusing opportunities that don't come with a prohibitive price tag and there are ways of enjoying even some of the pricier venues at less expensive rates, but you have to be in the know and a discriminating shopper, so to speak.

Okay, let's get to the tricks of the trade. TKTS, a notable relic in Manhattan offers two cogent alternatives to high-priced Broadway tickets. Same day ticket purchase at its midtown location on the West Side and a day in advance purchase at the South Street Seaport. Of course, you have to wait in line for an extensive period of time - sometimes up to three hours during the holiday season - but the half price tickets are often well worth the wait. The Theater Development Fund offers a $30 yearly subscription per person that entitles the bearer to discounts all year-round on the best of Broadway. All right, very often the tickets are for weeknight performances but a bargain is a bargain.

Then there are a multitude of museums in New York, each one with a prescribed price, but most people do not realize that paying full price is voluntary. Most museums will accept as little as a $1.00 admission fee and not dismiss your patronage out of hand.

There are art galleries to frequent gratis and performance art in Central Park for free during the summer months. Some designers offer sample sales on Seventh Avenue, which is a wonderful place to bargain shop if you have a discerning eye. You can find nice clothes for $10 a piece and a lot of terrific food, house and personal items at Jack's $.99 store on 32nd Street. Next, for the hungry wayfarer who has traversed the City in search of its sights and sounds, there is the food court in the Toys R Us building near Macy's that encompasses the tastiest ethnic foods from many countries - you've got a range from Mexican to Thai.

Also, once you become an aficionado of the department stores and you have at least a semi-permanent address, you can receive sales enticements in the mail and be weighted down with free gifts with purchase at the cosmetics counters. In fact, if you keep your antennae up, you can get two for one or one and a half at spas and salons or free treatments with the purchase of a particular treatment.

All in all New York is the hedonistic Mecca of the world. You can feel “free” to indulge with a restrained pocket if you keep your eyes and ears peeled to the secret underground of the Cheap New Yorker.

Getting to the Great Wolf Lodge was easy. The Great Wolf Lodge is located next to King's Island amusement park, so my family was clearly aware of how to get there.

Upon arrival, we took delight in the whimsical look of the building. The Great Wolf Lodge appears to be created from enormous Lincoln Logs. My children were amazed by this fact.

As we entered the building, we saw stuffed animals hanging on the walls to achieve an authentic look of the lodge. A magnificent chandelier was in the main lobby. This fabulous light fixture was accentuated by antlers. The fireplace gave the Great Wolf Lodge a warm, cozy feel.

Starbucks were giving away free samples of products. The item tasted great. This vanilla frappuccino reminded me of a cool, refreshing vanilla shake. This really got us in the mood for summer.

Instead of the bone-chilling temperatures of outside, we shedded our coats and sweaters and traded them for our swimsuits. The entire family headed off to the indoor water park at the Great Wolf Lodge. The water was a little cooler than I personally preferred, but this warm atmosphere was beautiful compared to the flurries outside the window. The indoor water park at the Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, Ohio was extremely clean. The staff were very friendly and helpful. I appreciated the fact that the staff kept safety first, but were not constantly hovering over shoulders blowing the loud whistles to get attention.

My only gripe about the indoor water park was that there was not much room to set down your towels or a bag of personal items in the area during the busy time. By the end of the evening, the towels were gone. A brief wait presented us with warm towels, but our family of six had to share and ration three towels. Guests may want to bring their own towels and store them in a locker for a slight fee to reduce this issue.

The hotel also offered shops, restaurants, and an arcade. The children loved the large arcade area. Of course, we played some games and cashed in our tickets for the usual prizes. One item I liked, was that the children could color a free page from the website to receive two free tokens to the arcade. The kids enjoyed the project and daydreaming about the vacation and parents get a couple of free tokens for the children to spend.

The hotel provided story time for kids at 8:00 PM and a movie at 8:30. My older children weren't too impressed with story time, but my five year old son was glued to the presentation. This was a nice way to end the evening for the little ones.

The movie was in the symposium of the hotel. At first, the projector was not working properly, but the staff quickly resolved the issue. We ended the evening before the Muppet movie was over and headed back to our family suite.

The room was spacious for a family of six. The large, comfortable beds were clean and cozy for all. The bathroom was spotless, but the toilet paper left something to be desired.

Our room was fully equipped with a microwave, refrigerator, safe, hairdryer, and ironing board. We appreciated the microwave and refrigerator feature. The refrigerator was perfect for storing leftovers from a nearby restaurant and the microwave made snacking easy and convenient. The hotel sells items such as candy and microwave popcorn for customer convenience.

The Great Wolf Lodge turned out to be a great place for the family. We all had a great time. We will not only cherish the memories of this fun trip to the Great Wolf Lodge, but already anxiously awaiting a return trip in the future.

Being in Colorado, it can be quite cold in the winter months. But during the latter part of spring, it starts to warm up. Anytime between May and September is usually when the park has pleasant temperatures. But there are always extremes, so take a jacket just in case.

You can also visit the Lakewood Heritage Center, which is located inside Belmar Park. And there is also the occasional fair as well. As for other surroundings, you will be near the Lakewood police station and some other commercial as well as residential areas. As you might expect, being so near to a police station makes this park very safe.

Landscape

The landscape at Belmar Park is what one would expect to find in a Colorado park. There is a plethora of pine trees, hills, a nice view of the Rocky Mountains, and more. Belmar Park also has a large pond and a few creeks that flow through it. You will come across small bridges if you ever decide to walk the entire length of this park.

Belmar Park is especially beautiful after a snowstorm in winter. The lake freezes over, snow lingers in the branches of pine trees, ice hangs from the bridges; etc. Just be careful if you decide to take a walk during the winter months because it can be slippery(especially over the bridges).

Wildlife

Yes, there is actual wildlife in this park other then squirrels. For instance, there is the geese. Year round, you will find a plethora of geese that inhabit this park. There are more of them in the summer months, but rest assured you will see some in the winter too.

And they're not people shy. These geese will let you get within a few feet of them before the start to back off. Of course, if the goose has a nest nearby she may hiss at you instead. It's rather amusing when a goose hisses at you. It's also fun to watch the geese fly in and land on the water. The geese will often form an arrow formation and land perfectly.

Other animals that inhabit this park are gulls, various other aquatic birds, fish, and turtles. You will not see the turtles in the winter months because of the cold. But once spring arrives, you may see them sunning themselves on some rocks or something similar.

As for domesticated animals, you will find the usual. Dogs are usually the main type of domesticated animal that wanders around Belmar Park. Most people keep their dogs on leashes, but you may occasionally find one without a leash on. The dogs usually will do no more then occasionally sniff you.

You may also find people riding horses in this park. It's fun to watch them, but be careful you don't get in the way. Occasionally, the horses will be running extremely fast. You don't want to be run over so be careful. But the horses have their own designated trails, so it's very unlikely that you will have any problems.

As you can see, Belmar Park is an unusual park. You can still do all of the fun things that you would do at a normal park, but there is so much more that you can do and see at Belmar Park. It's a great place.

Approximately fifty kilometers to the East of said cairn is the city of Prince George.

In the early 1800's, Simon Fraser, a partner in the North West Company, thinking he was on the Columbia River, followed the river, which now bears his name. In 1807, on the West bank of said river, just South of where it is joined by the Nechako River, he erected a trading post. Mr. Fraser, in honour of King George III, named the post, Fort George.

Now known as Prince George, this city is, literally, the heart of B.C. Located amongst millions of hectares of spruce trees it is known as the Spruce Capital of the World because of its economic base in the logging, and pulping, of spruce.

Small, in comparison to most cities, its population ranges from eighty thousand to one hundred twenty thousand, depending on the economy. It is the commercial hub for the Northern half of the province and people move out, when times are lean, as fast as they moved in, when work was plentiful.

Currently, the economy is on the rise as the new container port in Prince Rupert begins development. As level land is scarce between the steep mountains of the West Coast, containers, once they are unloaded from the ships, will move, from Prince Rupert, by train, to be sorted in Prince George.

The, current, ten hour, drive from Vancouver to Prince George will probably become a, twelve hour, commute with the increase in truck traffic.

Prince George is noted as a summer and winter playground: twenty minutes from downtown will see you; swimming in the summer, hunting in the fall, skiing in the winter, or fishing, any time of the year.

This summer while visiting friends in PG, we were discussing work. My friend had just started driving taxi and one of her first fares had time to kill before catching a flight, the next day. “What is there to do, what is there to see?”, they asked her. She was stumped. She has lived in PG for over thirty years. I had lived there for ten years and I was just as stumped, even though I had, also, driven taxi for a while.

What do Prince Georgians do? Like everyone else they work, they eat, they sleep. For those who live downtown they breath an atmosphere that is not all that pleasant. When visitors ask, they reply, “Ah, that! That is the smell of money!” The perfume from the pulp mills, a byproduct of the chlorine, acid, bleaching process tends to drift down the valley into the bowl.

Prince George is located in the bottom of a bowl. It is often referred to as a giant beach looking for an ocean. The entire area is sand. Consequently the Fraser river turns a dark colour and when it gets to Vancouver the environmentalists blame the logging industry for polluting the river. In truth it is only discolouration, courtesy of Mother Nature.

Gold can be found in the sand, in too small a quantity to be profitable to pan. The loose sand also makes it difficult to build, particularly near the edge of the bowl. The construction of the new university was an engineers' nightmare. Rumours continue to claim that, soon, students won't have to commute to the top of the hill, as the university is gong to slide down to the bottom of the bowl.

`Ones man's garbage is another man's gold', as the saying goes. While the sand may cause problems for some, it provides pleasure for others. The Sand Banks, along the North Nechako River provide skiers one last kick at the cat, come spring. When they have worn out their skis on the two local ski hills, Mt. Tabor, and Purden Mountain, they tune them up for the `Sand Blast'. A yearly event when mayhem overcomes common sense and the skiers fly down the steep sand banks and try to stop before they stumble across the road, into the river.

NIGHTLIFE:

Several neighbourhood pubs, some with live music, several nightclubs, a few with live bands. Live theatre, cinematic theatres, hockey, PG is the home of the Prince George Spruce Kings, the host team for the 2007 RBC Royal Bank Cup, a casino or two, bingo, and my all time favourite, roller skating. Although that will soon come to pass. The fad has worn off over the years and the building is now doomed.

Along with the neighbouring Golf and Curling club, the land has been sold to a developer. Over the next few years the PG Golf and Curling Club will move to a new location along the Nechako River. In its place will be a new hotel and residential subdivision. And lets not forget the newest addition to the PG nightlife, a drive in theatre, which is also home to; a mini golf, and a go cart track.

• Prince George Spruce Kings
• Prince George Golf and Curling
• Prince George Park Drive-In Theatre

DAYTIME:

4X4ing, art galleries, bicycling, bowling, curling, fishing, golfing, at least 5 golf courses, hang gliding, hunting, museums, parks, shopping, ski-dooing, skiing, swimming, tennis, touring the pulp mills, wildlife viewing. Wow! Prince George has all the attractions of a major city, without the commuter hassle, plus all the benefits of a small town.

Oh, did I mention the higher average wage, compared to the city, and the lower average cost of rent, or home purchase.

Excuse me, this narrative will now pause while the narrator packs his bags and moves out of the din of traffic in the big city to the peace and quiet of the Cariboo Valley.

• Prince George Pulp Tours
• Prince George Recreational
• Tabor Mt. Skiing
• Wildlife Viewing

SHOPPING:

Prince George is home to one major shopping plaza and two major malls, in the bowl. Other shopping centers can be found on the North, and the West rims of the bowl. Several super, destination, stores; Canadian Tire, Home Depot, London Drugs, Real Canadian Superstore, Staples, Wal-Mart, etc. can be found; downtown, at the foot of Peden Hill, and near the entrance to College Heights.

College heights, a residential district in the South West corner of the city has, over the past few years, expanded further to the West as the city enjoys an increase in property values as construction expands.

Prince George Shopping

EDUCATION:

Prince George hosts four colleges and a University. CNC, the College of New Caledonia, has branch colleges in many of the towns in Northern B. C. UNBC, the university of Northern B. C., is a satellite of UBC, the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver.

• Prince George Education
• CNC
• UNBC

MEALTIME:

Restaurants of most ethnicities, abound, as do smצrgוsbords (Buffets to Americans). Culinary delights for all tastes, and budgets.

Though I can no longer do justice to a smצrgוsbord, smצrgוsbords in Prince George used to close their doors when they saw me coming, I still enjoy the variety of choice that is offered. One of my favourites is The Caribou Steak and Seafood Restaurant. Always a great selection of; roast beef, ham, mashed potatoes, pirogies, etc. a great salad bar, desert bar, pleasant atmosphere, and great service. I invariably meet friends there whenever I visit Prince George.

One of my favourites was the Hart Wheel Inn truck stop on the Hart Highway. In the late 80's there were four, really good, Chinese, smorgs, daily. Each of them had a nice selection at noon, a larger selection in the evening, and, on weekends, would add a roast of beef, or ham, or a turkey; and some Canadian style potatoes, and salad.

I haven't been up to the Hart in a while as my friend, Chung, the owner, has opened new and larger premises, The Great Wall Restaurant, near the Fraser River bridge on Hwy 97. This has a much larger selection in its daily smorg.

Another favourite culinary experience was on Sunday mornings. I would phone all my friends, who were generally nursing hangovers, and coax them out of bed to one of the four big breakfast smorgs. I believe the only one left is at Ester's inn. But it is still worth going. Table after table of culinary delights.

A new establishment has opened, next to the Cariboo, `The Waddling Duck'. Their menu offers; air dried bison steak, venison sirloin, nori wrapped ahi tuna, as well as other culinary delights.

One of my all time favourites is Franco's Steak and Spaghetti, 251 George St. Home of the Panzeroti. A panzeroti is, basically, a pizza, folded over, with the edges joined, but they don't use pizza dough, or bread dough, as some restaurants do.

One of my mother's favourite sayings, if something tasted good, was, `That tasted like more'. The first time I had a panzeroti the waitress asked me how it was. I replied, “That tasted like more”. She took me seriously, looked at me startled, and said, “If you can eat another one of those, I'll pay for it”. She paid for it.

• Esther's Inn 1151 Commercial Drive; 1-800-663-6844. Water slide, pool, restaurant.
• Franco's Steak and Spaghetti, 251 George St
• Prince George Restaurants

GETTING AROUND:

Prince George is too spread out to walk to most locations. However it does offer a city bus system.

• Prince George Transit System 24 Hr. Bus Info (250) 563-0011

PARKS:

There are several parks throughout the city. Fort George Park, on the banks of the Fraser River, is the largest, at 65 acres, and is home to the Fraser Fort George Regional Museum, `The Exploration Place', Prince George's Science Center and Museum.

A replica of the old fort has been constructed in the Park. Also, in the park, one can ride on a miniature train, or walk along the bank of the Fraser River.

The Prince George Railway and Forestry Museum is located adjacent to Cottonwood Island Park. There is an 1914 Grand Trunk station and a large array of rolling stock, such as; a 1913 100 ton steam crane, a 1903 Russell Snowplow, and a 1913 first-class Nechako Car. In the forestry part of the museum is a large selection of 1800's machinery.

Cottonwood Island Park offers a pleasant stroll along the bank of the N. Nechako River. The park is open all year and offers; a boat, and canoe, launch, picnic shelter, toilets, and an eleven Km. paved, trail, suitable for; walking, biking, in-line skating, or running, that goes under the bridges and connects to Fort George Park.

Another place to walk or picnic, is Connaught Hill Park. While I was in Prince this summer I discovered, or is that re-discovered, Connaught Hill Park. I have been to the park, more than once, over the years, but have never really noticed it. Just a quick drive through.

When I lived in Prince I was into dogs. I have always been good with cats and dogs and having relayed a story of approaching a strange dog a young lady dared me to try and approach her's.

I followed her to Connaught Hill Park where she; parked her VW bug, instructed her German Shepard to Guard it, then walked away. A while later I approached the car, spoke to the dog, through the closed windows, walked around the car, still talking, then entered the drivers's door. When she returned to the car I was lying across the front seats, the dog licking my face.

This year I took the time to smell the roses. Connaught hill is a wonderful place for; a stroll, a picnic, some picnic tables have their own parking area, or to smell roses, or other flowers, and offers a splendid view of the city.

• Connaught Hill Park
• Cottonwood Island Park
• Fort George Park
• The Prince George Railway and Forestry Museum
• Prince George Parks

ACCOMMODATION:

There are several hotels in the city, four of which represent major chains; Coast, Days Inn, Holiday Inn, and Ramada. The city, and area, also abounds with motels; Economy, Travelodge, Camelot, Carmel, and many others. As well there are numerous BandB's.

CLIMATE:

Prince George has always been noted for short, hot, dry summers and long, cold winters. Over the last few years, due to the increase in surface area of lakes that have been enlarged for hydro electricity production, and global warming, the climate has moderated. Though they still get the odd day of forty below in the winter they no longer get the week after week of fifty below, with the odd day that would reach a high of thirty-five below. Nor do they get the continuous, deep, snowfalls, that they once did.

For some this is a good thing; the elderly don't have huge snowfalls to contend with, the city saves a lot of money on snow removal, and people from the South are more inclined to move in.

However, the down side is less winter employment and a basic industry of the province that is in danger of disappearing.

Because the area around Prince is fairly soft, logging was much easier in the winter when the ground was frozen solid. IE: trucks and equipment could move, off road, without getting stuck. Seasonal employment is a common thing in Canada and nowhere more so than in the Cariboo.

Winter time would see the population of towns, such as Prince, double. Logging companies from other towns, that had work in the summer when the ground was dry, but too steep to log in winter would come to the North during the winter.

As the North is notorious for its cold winters so it was notorious for fly-by-night companies. Quick-buck artists would come to town in the fall and leave, just a quickly, in the spring, owing their suppliers money. They would stay in motels, make arrangements for fuel, tires, employees, etc., and leave town, owing everyone.

Such companies are great for seasonal employees such as myself and they are educators for youngsters who have no experience.

One such company came to Prince, one winter and I drove a logging truck for them. At the end of the season I went to work one morning to find, nothing. No one. Gone. I enquired at the motel where they had been staying. The manager said they had left during the night. All except the logging truck that I had been driving. He was keeping it until they paid their bill.

Sometime later the truck disappeared from his parking lot. I doubt that he ever got paid. I know I never saw my last cheque.

Years later I had a similar experience with a chop stick factory. A man came form overseas, started up a factory to supply the orient with chopsticks made from Alder wood. I started up a logging company to supply him with clear, white alder.

The day after he received a multi million dollar grant from Ottawa he returned to his homeland. None of the workers in the factory received their last paycheque and none of the logging companies were paid for the logs lying in the yard.

I stated earlier that a basic industry of the province is in danger of disappearing. Cypress; elm, fir, pine, and spruce, beetles kill trees. The beetles bore through the bark and mine the phloem - the layer between the bark and the trunk of a tree. They burrow even deeper into the tree to lay their eggs. They live in the summer and hibernate in the winter. Actually what they do is die in the winter. If it is cold enough. To survive they hide under the bark of a tree. It takes many days for cold to penetrate the bark of a tree and many more days for the cold to kill the beetles. Thirty to forty below, for a period of six weeks, will kill the beetles, and their eggs.

It has been many years since the temperatures have stayed that cold for that long a period. Consequently the beetle population is out of control. The forest that the tree huggers of the `90s managed to save from the forest industry have now been lost to nature. Along with many millions of hectares more. The latest maps from the B. C. Forestry show that over half of B. C.'s forests are infested and will be dead within the next few years.

GETTING THERE:

Passenger train service from East to West, Prince Rupert to Jasper, is offered by Via Rail. Greyhound service is offered in all direction as is airline service. The airport in Prince George hosts; Horizon, Jazz, and West Jet, as well as several smaller airlines and helicopter services. There are several flights a day, to and from, major centers in Western Canada, as well as non stop flights to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

One can visit these places in a single day as most of them are easily accessible by car. However, the exceptions are for the mountain retreat at Gunung Tebu and the offshore island, Pulau Perhentian.

A great journey trip can start with a visit to a recreational spot in Terengganu, La Hot spring which is situated in Hulu Besut. The water from the spring is extremely hot to even boil eggs. As the spring water contains sulfur and some essential minerals, it is also believed to cure body aches and skin diseases. Many people come here for this purpose.

Lata Tembakal Waterfall will be the next stop. It takes only about a half hour's drive from La Hot spring. Lata Tembakal is also one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Malaysia. It is one of the best managed and cleanest recreational spots in Terengganu.

Another beautiful waterfall is Lata Belatan which is located at the foot of Gunung Tebu. It is usually the take-off point for those who wish to climb Gunung Tebu.

Gunung Tebu will take about four hours for you to reach its peak. It is about 1000 meters above sea level. It is said to be a historical site as it was once a well-known trading areas where ships from as far as China came to trade here. On top of Gunung Tebu, one can view as far as Semerak in Kelantan and even the offshore islands of Pulau Perhentian and Pulau Redang.

Your trip to Besut is not complete, if you do not visit to either Pulau Perhentian or Pulau Redang. Most tourists prefer to go to Pulau Perhentian. According to them, Pulau Perhentian takes only 30 minutes by boat from Kuala Besut. Therefore, it is probably one of the reasons why it is one of the most popular island resort spots in Terengganu. Pulau Perhentian has lovely sandy white beaches and certainly, the most famous activities are snorkeling and scuba-diving.

There is a famous market in Kuala Terengganu which is “Pasar Payang”. At the market one can buy souvenirs. One can learn on the process and procedure of producing batik by visiting a batik factory,“Nur Arfa Batik” in Kuala Ibai. The colorful batiks are very captivating. People designed batik here are extremely talented.

Batu Buruk Beach is another attraction of Kuala Terengganu. At the beach, one can try some local delicacies such as "ais krim goreng". One may also go to Rantau Abang for turtle watching. If you were unfortunate though, you did not get to see any turtles laying eggs. The turtles will only come up in the wee hours of the morning.

Florida was founded in 1513 by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León, who called it “Feast of Flowers”, also known as Florida.

Florida was later made part of the United Sates of America in 1845. Florida's climate is very warm, making it a great place to travel to from up north to get some of the warm weather. Florida is also a great place to travel to because of some of the great theme parks such as Disney World, Sea World, and Bush Gardens.

Another reason Florida is a great travel destination is because of its beautiful coastline stretching 1,197 miles on the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf coast. Because of the beaches there are tons more of recreational activities to do such as surfing, sailing, snorkeling, boogie-boarding, boating, and skim boarding.

Another great tourist spot is the Florida Keys because of the variety of wildlife and fish, the great weather, and the crystal clear water that surrounds the islands in the Caribbean Sea. Some of the large cities in Florida are Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa; the largest of them all is the city of Miami witch is home to 3,876,380 people.

The capital of Florida is Tallahassee. The government of Florida consists of a Governor and a cabinet consisting of Attorney General, Chief Financial Officer, and Commissioner of Agriculture. The Governor of Florida is currently Jeb Bush, our president's brother. Because of the many tourist venues in Florida it is one of the most traveled to states in all of America. It is also ranked number four in the U.S. for population which was 16 million people in 2000.

Florida is well known for its colleges. Some of them are: The University of Miami, The University of South Florida, Florida State University, and University of Florida. The two biggest are Florida and Florida State.

Now to some of Florida's geography and resources - the geography of Florida is mostly flat land with occasional hills, lakes, rivers, and valleys. Florida's total land area is 58,560 square miles which puts Florida in 22nd rank for land in the United States. Florida's length north to south is 447 miles stretching from the St. Marys River to Key West. The width of Florida east to west is 361 miles stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Perdido River. The highest natural point of Florida is 345 feet. Florida also has a lot of coastline going 1,197 miles on the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf coast.

Although Florida is one of the most popular destinations for tourists in all of America, I think that is also one of the best states to live in.