The epzik8 Webpage

Sitting mostly on a peninsula in the southeast corner of the mainland U.S. with political ties to Spain and Mexico, Florida became the 27th state admitted to the union in 1845. Its capital is Tallahassee, located in the panhandle making up the state's west. The state's larger (and more touristy/world-famous) areas lie along the peninsula: Orlando, Tampa/St. Petersburg, and Miami/Fort Lauderdale/Palm Beach. Due south of the mainland lie the Florida Keys, stretching more than 100 miles from Key Largo to Key West which contains the southernmost point in the continental U.S. There are also Pensacola and Panama City Beach along the panhandle, Sarasota and Fort Myers on the western peninsula, and Jacksonville, Daytona Beach and Melbourne on the eastern peninsula. Florida had over 22 million residents in 2022.

​

Florida has its own unique wildlife landscape with alligators, manatees, flamingoes, ospreys and the like reigning supreme. Its location between two major waterways - the Gulf of Mexico to the south and west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east - means beaches are an essential part of the Florida life. The state's wetlands, especially the Everglades in the south, and citrus industry are vital to the lifestyle and economy.

​

Walt Disney World southwest of Orlando is arguably the most famous attraction in Florida, and the one most synonymous with the state. This complex of parks, anchored by the Magic Kingdom, is a pillar of American culture along with the Disney characters that helped inspire it and are represented throughout. Disney is only one of several amusement attractions in the Orlando area, which also include Universal Studios, Sea World and Legoland, firmly establishing Orlando as a family-oriented city. Further northeast in Daytona Beach on the Atlantic, one will find NASCAR's Daytona International Speedway, home of the prestigious Daytona 500 every February; it is also where NASCAR has its headquarters. To the south near Cocoa Beach sits Cape Canaveral, where the Kennedy Space Center hosted numerous NASA space shuttle launches. In the past, Fort Lauderdale had a reputation as a lively and even sleazy beach town, while to the south, Miami boasts art deco architecture, Cuban heritage, and has easy access to NASCAR's Homestead-Miami Speedway. Key West is the "home of the sunset" and boasts numerous world-famous bars; its Duval Street is analogous to New Orleans' Bourbon Street or Memphis' Beale Street.

​

Florida has two mainline north-south Interstate highways, both beginning in the Miami area. Interstate 75 begins in Hialeah and bolts due west along the modern iteration of Alligator Alley through the Everglades to Naples in Collier County, then shifts northward through the areas of Fort Myers, Punta Gorda, and Sarasota-Bradenton in the state's southwest along the Gulf of Mexico; it then bypasses Tampa to the east and continues through northern Florida before departing into Georgia after a good 471 miles. Interstate 95, the best-known and busiest highway on the U.S. east coast, emerges from downtown Miami, running through nearby Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach, passes west of Melbourne and Daytona Beach, and cuts through downtown Jacksonville before crossing the St. Marys River into south Georgia. Florida's east-west mainline Interstates are Interstate 4, an intrastate corridor linking the Tampa Bay area with Daytona Beach by way of Lakeland-Winter Haven, Orlando and Sanford, and Interstate 10, a mostly Panhandle thoroughfare running from Pensacola to its eastern terminus in Jacksonville, which acts as an antipode to Los Angeles in that regard. I-10 additionally serves the area of Tallahassee and has a spur route, Interstate 110, in Pensacola.

​

I-75 has three 3-digit child routes in Florida. The most major of these is Interstate 275, part of which originally formed the southernmost segment of I-75 in accordance with original Interstate system plans. I-275 runs directly through St. Petersburg and Tampa, and includes the Sunshine Skyway Bridge linking Manatee and Pinellas counties via Tampa Bay itself. Via I-275, I-75 also parents Interstates 175 and 375 in St. Petersburg, both short spurs. I-95's Floridan children are I-195 in downtown Miami, I-595 in Broward County connecting it with the Fort Lauderdale airport and I-75, and I-295, a beltway around Jacksonville. Interstate 110 links I-10 with downtown Pensacola.