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Article: Central Panhandle.
- Article from:
- Northern Florida Adventure Guide
- Article date:
- January 1, 2007
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Hunter Publishing, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Ponce de Leon blew a sizable chunk of King Ferdinand's treasury on his search for the mythical fountain of youth. But the Spanish monarch kept sending checks until he got his hands on a college transcript. That's when he learned his wayward explorer failed Star Reading 101.
Instead of Bimini, his target, old Ponce landed in Florida in 1513, which he named "place of flowers." Of course, flowers weren't the only thing he found. There were arrow-packing natives, thirsty mosquitoes and alligators that were delighted to have a little Latin take-out.
Since he, Ferdinand, and Ferdinand's daughter, "Juana The Mad" (that's not a joke, look it up in the history ...