OFFBEAT WEBSITES                  

                        ~ PART ONE

It's a good thing we can't hear these two gators: Try as they might, they probably don't make beautiful music together.  This goofy scene comes from a Florida postcard that dates from about 1913.  The card is part of the website manager's collection.

Enjoy Florida history?  But weary of the same old sights & sounds on the Information Highway?  Take a road less traveled with these...

Extraordinary Things 

• "ROADSIDE AMERICA" -- Oddities abound at this stop on the Information Superhighway.  Visit such loopy Florida attractions as Bongoland & Dinosaur World, with pauses at the Battleship House & the giant Beethoven head.

• "FLORIDA'S LOST TOURIST ATTRACTIONS" -- A virtual road trip to what used to be.

• SKYSCRAPER.COM -- Brims with info & pictures for Jacksonville's tall buildings -- past, present, & proposed. 

• JACKSONVILLE'S TALLEST, SIDE BY SIDE AND JAX AGAINST THE OTHERS -- Two beautifully-illustrated pages from "Skyscraperpage.com."  See an illustration that lines up Jacksonville's biggest buildings, shoulder-to-shoulder.  Also discover how local buildings stack up against the world's largest: The Modis Building is a munchkin compared to the Sears Tower.   

• GhostTowns.com AND "GHOST TOWNS USA"  -- Ghost towns in the Sunshine State?  These abandoned places range from Andytown to Yamato Colony. (The first was settled by a Greek American; the second, by Japanese Americans).

• WHO YA' GONNA CALL??? -- Need info about local spooky places?  Learn all you can from the Jacksonville Amateur Ghosthunting Society.  They even give the lowdown on the "most haunted place in Jacksonville," the old Annie Lytle School #4, near the I-10 & I-95 intersection.  

• "HAINTS, HAUNTINGS, & HOODOOS IN THE OLD SOUTH" -- Dig for weird & wonderful treasure at this website (And yes, that's the site's actual name).  Curious about some of its Florida gems?  There's an inexplicable "goatsucker," a mysterious springs, an eerie ladies room, and some "real" spirits at Disney World's haunted mansion.  The website also offers UFOs.

• "CHARLIE CARLSON'S STRANGE FLORIDA"-- Another website for inquiring minds:  Fish falling from Florida's sunny skies?  A chair rocking with no one in it?  Human blood dripping from walls?  Smoke drifting up from an empty swamp?  Charlie Carlson gives the scoop on these & other Florida mysteries.     

• A REALLY FOUL BEAST -- The Florida Skunk Ape finally has his own website!  This monster can brag of being "The Southernmost Bigfoot in the USA."

Pastimes

• A FIX FOR GLASSAHOLICS -- The  homepage for the Antique Bottle Collectors of North Florida.

• EVEN MORE BOTTLES -- From Chris Weide, a Jax resident who has been in the Guinness Books of World Records.  Chris owns the world's largest collection of soda pop bottles.  Believe it or not, over 16,000 soda companies in the US have concocted various brands over the years.  Bottles for eight thousand brands can be found in the Weide collection.  Almost all of these bottles are empty, not containing any more "Sep's Supercharged Beverage" or "Lazenby's Liquid Sunshine."  By the way, consumers have also wet their whistles with such carbonated thirst-busters as "Moo," "Polar Cola," "Sour Puss," "Cheer Up," "Mix Up," "Bubble Up," "Big Nickel Cola," "Vess Dietetic," "It's a Lindy" (named for famed pilot Charles Lindberg), and "Chirp" ("It's a Bird of a Drink").  

• JUST FOR ANGLERS -- Wade through the history of Florida fishing gear at the "Antique Fishing Lures, Reels & Tackle Information Site."   

• FOR UNDERWATER ENTHUSIASTS -- Dive for everything from jewelry & treasure to shark's teeth & historical artifacts.  Florida info about these items can be recovered at "Treasure Dive Sites."  

Historic Odds & Ends

• HISTORIC SHADE -- Would you like to grow some history in your front yard?  Your source could be a Jacksonville group, American Forests Historic Tree Nursery, the nation's oldest non-profit citizen's conservation organization.   This group grows & sales trees that are descended from trees associated with famous people & events.  Civil War buffs, for instance, might like the Appomattox Courthouse Honey Locust. The original tree grew for 186 years at the site where Robert E. Lee surrendered to U. S. Grant.  In the spring of 2000, the honey locust died of old age, yet Historic Tree Nursery produces offspring from seeds that had been gathered from it earlier.  Just a few other selections include the Ellis Island Sycamore, Napoleon Weeping Willow, Elvis Presley Weeping Willow, Seminary Ridge (Gettysburg) White Oak, Helen Keller Water Oak, Martin Luther King Jr. Sycamore, Amelia Earhart Sugar Maple, Andrew Jackson Southern Magnolia, Bartram's Trail Live Oak, & the Johnny Appleseed Apple Tree.  

• WATCHING THE GRASS GROW -- What does this web link have to offer? The history of Florida turfgrass production!  Just goes to show that you can find a website for all historical interests.

• FLAGS OVER FLORIDA -- Fascinating flags have fluttered over Florida.  These include a "secession" banner sewn by pro-Confederate women in Duval County.  From a website provided by Florida's Division of Historical Resources.  NOTE: When you get to the webpage, don't forget to click on the flags at the bottom.

• SKYNYRD.COM -- There are dozens of Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute sites, yet this one may be unbeatable.  Provides lots of details & pictures, such as photos of many local places associated with Skynyrd.  When will this band finally be inducted into Rock Hall of Fame?

• ELVIS ROCKS THE THE RIVER CITY -- "The King" visited Jacksonville many times, beginning in 1955.  His First Coast adventures included the first riot at an Elvis show, a trip to the hospital in an ice cream truck, and a run-in with a local judge who didn't like the Elvis pelvis-wiggle.  Jacksonville also served as the birthplace of "Heartbreak Hotel," the first #1 hit for Elvis.  All of this & more from a fun web page by Rick Marino, who bills himself as "the #1 Elvis impersonator in the country."  

• SHAKING THE SUNSHINE STATE -- "The Earthquake History of Florida," from the US Geological Service.

• SHOOTING THE SUNSHINE STATE -- Filmmakers have long flocked to Florida.  See this website for some of their movie posters, from "Moon Over Miami" to "20 Seconds Over Tokyo."  Furnished by the State of Florida.  NOTE: When you get to the website, be sure to click on "The Museum's Movie Poster Collection" at the bottom of the page.

• SPORTING IN THE SUNSHINE STATE -- "Top 100 Athletes," a fascinating webpage from the Florida Times Union.  Ranks Jacksonville's greatest sports figures of the 20th century, and gives a story about each.  WHO ARE THE BEST OF THE BEST???  From #1 to #10, they are Bob Hayes (track & football), LeRoy Butler (football), Nancy Hogshead (swimming), Harold Carmichael (football), David Duval (golf), Chandra Cheeseborough (track), Leonard "Truck" Robinson (basketball), Vince Coleman (baseball), Ken Walsh (swimming), and Ken Burrough (football).  NOTE: When you arrive at the web page, click on "The List" to get the scoop on each of the top 100.

CLICK HERE for "Offbeat Websites -- Part Two"

  THANK YOU  

       ... FOR VISITING THE JACKSONVILLE STORY,

        YOUR TIME MACHINE TO THE PAST