Evening star., 1949-12-11
y. G.. MOtOrist
Sees Florida in
1878 Miles
Map Shows Two
Routes for Trip
By Walter W. Hubbard
American Automobile Association

For that Moon Over Miami"
or the sun over st. Petersburg. you
will motor 2,373 miles for the
round trip. 1t will be more II you
make sightseeing trips around st.
to Lake Wales. Tarpon
Springs or Silver Springs IN
Florida.
improvements in the highways.
better motor courts and tourist
inns, more politeness on the part
of hotel employees. removal of cat
tie from some sections of the roads
and lessening of the "soak-the-
stranger" attitude on the part Of
justices Of the peace have in
creased the desirability of motor
ing to Florida for the winter.
And, while there are half .
dozen routes which may be fol-
lowed, two are suggested in the
map presented today. Both lead
through Fredericksburg. Va, in the
107-mile run to Richmond.
If the west coast Of Florida is
the first or only objective, continue
driving over U. S. to Petersburg
and South Hill, Va. and then 81
more miles to Raleigh. This city.
one of the most important in the
Tar Heel State, is birthplace OF
President Andrew Jackson. An
educational center. Raleigh is sur
rounded by a cotton and tobacco
growing area. Evidence of this
can be seen in motoring TO more
miles to Southern Pines and then
20 more to Laurinburg.
Ideal for StopOver.
Either of these two last-men-
toned spots will make an ideal
stopover place for the night, at q
hotel or motor court. Southern
Pines is q winter resort in the
Sandhills region, famous for its
dry, bracing air, the mildness OF
Its climate. magnificent estates
and beautiful, long-leaf pine trees.
Another 143 miles to the SOUTH
west over U. S. Is brings the mo-
torist to Orangeburg. N. c. A
switch to U. S. 301 and l76-mile
drive takes you across the Savan-
nah River and on to Jessup. Ga.
Fifty-flv miles directly south lies
Folkston, at the entrance to the
picturesque Okefenokee Swamp.
From here the highway swings
In a curve just west of jackson.
willie and, 1875 miles farther south.
is Ocala. It was an Indian village
when De Soto discovered it in 1889.
It was at Ocala that the Sem
mole Indian chief. Osceola, put his
dagger through the treaty offered
him in 1885 by the Indian agent.
Wiley Thompson "a document
which is still preserved by the Ma
tional Archives, here in Washing
ton. The headquarters for the
Ocala National Forest. which
contains the largest existing area
Of sand pine in the world. is To-
Gated there.
East of Ocala is an important
sight seeing objective, Silver
Springs. This is really subter-
ranean river springing from the
earth through cavern IS feet
long and IL feet high. The spring
water flows at a rate exceeding
%, 1000. 900 gallons per hour.
From Ocala there is run of 146
miles over U. S. q and U. S. 90 to
Tampa. Not many miles away is
Lake Wales. in the scenic high
lands Of Central Florida. The
Singing Tower. Mountain Lake
Sanctuary, Crystal Lake and
Sc. 900 acres Of citrus groves are
the principal attractions here.
The Tower contains II bells, the
finest carlton In the world.
Tampa, across the bay from St,'
Petersburg, is the county seat Of
Hillsborough County and Is the
third largest city in the Sunshine
State.
st. Petersburg Ahead.
Thirty-f1ve miles Of driving, over
State $50 and q. s. 10, separate
Tampa from st, Petersburg, situ-
ated on the southern end Of the
Pinellas Peninsula. The city Is
about two-thirds the size Of
Tampa and it is known as the
Sunshine City" because the sun
shines here on an average of $50
days year.
Driving southeast the motorist
travels 101 interesting miles along
the Gulf to Fort Myers, on the
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