A history lesson!

I have become a big fan of our state park system in the last six months, which is easy to do because there's a lot to like about visiting our state parks. I recently had a chance to explore Honeymoon Island near Dunedin. Honeymoon Island is where some scenes were shot for "The Punisher", starring John Travolta and Thomas Jane, a few years ago. Specifically, the scenes where The Punisher's whole family (we're talking mom, dad, wife, kid, aunts, uncles and distant cousins) are massacred and The Punisher himself is shot, kicked, set on fire and left for dead.

What doesn't kill you, makes you...The Punisher!

 How romantic!

While I was there, I learned that "The Punisher" probably wasn't the first bloody mayhem to take place on what we palefaces now refer to whimsically as "Honeymoon Island":

Go ahead, make fun of his hair and man-thong. I dare you. 

Apparently, these guys were all over the place at one time, hunting with spears and being incredibly physically fit. I've never heard of them before and am fairly certain that there are no Tocobaga neighborhoods in Clearwater, Dunedin or even Tarpon Springs. Probably because this happened...

Funny how so few "visits" from people bearing huge crucifixes end well for the people who already live there.

Visit or conquer and wipe out an indigenous population? Eh. Tomato, tomahto. But wouldn't it be kind of cool if they found one last Tocobaga and he turned out to be a real life The Punisher? Running around Pinellas County and exacting revenge on those who killed his family...with a friggin' spear!
Well, I think it would be.