For 150 years, Florida has been the land of great escape, a virtual Eden with a climate and terrain that’s as healing as it is appealing. And it’s not just sun and sand. The world’s greatest theme parks beckon, too -- from the famed Magic Kingdom to Marineland’s seaside charm, Florida doles out fun. But visitors quickly learn that centuries of migration from cultures around the world have inspired in Florida a profound sense of spirit. Carib music wafts from a Key West cabana; a blues musician tunes his guitar outside a bar on Lake Okeechobee. Cuban tunes shimmy over the lights of Little Havana, and country-western singers find fans throughout Ocala’s horse country. From the sizzling nightclubs of Miami to the bucolic shrimp shacks of the Panhandle, Florida blooms year-round.

Literary legends have sought refuge here. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Peter Mathiessen, Carl Hiaasen, Zora Neale Hurston, Tennessee Williams, Ernest Hemingway -- all have immortalized the state through their divergent perspectives on Florida’s politics, environment and ever-changing way of life. The film industry has been charmed as well -- from the long-ago Creature From the Black Lagoon to the recent award-winning Ulee’s Gold, starring Peter Fonda, Florida has demonstrated star appeal. Its famed climate and crystal waters have produced their own culture as well. “Surf ’s up” has become a rallying cry for surfers and then some – anyone wanting to listen to the croonings of sultry reggae musicians or mosh in the pit at a Limp Bizkit concert. It’s still the perfect vacation destination – but the Sunshine State has much more than sunshine to offer.