Nickname: The Sunshine State Population: 14,165,600 (4th) Area: 65,755 sq miles (22nd) Birthplace: Wesley Snipes, Tom Petty & Jim Morrison Tourism: 904.487.1462 Road Conditions: 800.475.0044 A says: Thanks to Gordon, we got our first taste of a hurricane in Florida. But, we were in the convention center at the Surf Expo all day during the brunt of the storm, and inside those convention buildings you wouldn't know if it was 110 degrees or snowing outside. At the end of the day, we went out to find our rig still parked in the same spot, and the ground was already drying up from the downpour. We checked out Daytona briefly on our way back up to Hatteras...we'll be back down in Florida before this trip is over. B says: I am still a bit freaked out about the alligators. Just like in Santa Cruz, CA, where I have become numb to the fact that I am surfing with Great White sharks, Floridians waterski, wakeboard, and swim in lakes filled with alligators. Ahhhh! The ocean surrounding most of Florida is warm and crystal blue...right out of a swimming pool. I think other states should build "cable parks". Florida has multiple "cable parks" where wakeboarders get pulled around a glassy lake by holding onto a cable that traces the outline of the lake's edge. It is amazing the air wakeboarders can get from loading up against the cable... not to mention the ramps and sliders found throughout the lake.