RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Florida >> Franklin County >> Sun N Sand Beaches >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Sun N Sand Beaches, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sun N Sand Beaches and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • Astronomy & Satellites ...
    • Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
    • To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Sun N Sand Beaches:
    • 29.913264, -84.365730
    • Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
    • The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Sun N Sand Beaches
  • Waymarking ...
    • Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
    • Waymark.com

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sun N Sand Beaches ...

As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.

  • Big Blackjack Landing
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Blackjack Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Blackjack Landing
    • Big Blackjack Landing is located in Franklin County
  • Live Oak Island
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Live Oak Island have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Live Oak Island
    • Live Oak Island is located in Wakulla County
  • Panacea
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Panacea Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panacea Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panacea Park
    • Panacea Park is located in Wakulla County
  • Skipper
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skipper have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skipper
    • Skipper is located in Wakulla County
  • Sopchoppy
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Spring Creek
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek
    • Spring Creek is located in Wakulla County
  • Surf
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Surf have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surf
    • Surf is located in Wakulla County

How Far From Sun N Sand Beaches to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Sun N Sand Beaches to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Sun N Sand Beaches and extending to:

  • Apalachicola, which is the Seat of Franklin County, lies 39 miles [62.8 km]<3> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Sun N Sand Beaches to Apalachicola, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
  • Tallahassee, which is the State Capital of Florida, lies 36 miles [57.9 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take over two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 747 miles [1,202.2 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 43 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,616 miles [10,647.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,301 miles [11,749.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,188 miles [8,349.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sun N Sand Beaches) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sun N Sand Beaches. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.9133, Longitude: -84.3657       In this case, the coordinates for Sun N Sand Beaches have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day.
<5>The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Sun N Sand Beaches to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.015 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.868 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.129 degrees.