Category: Travel

St. Patrick’s Day at Crooked Can

by WHGILLE, posted in Food, Fun, Travel

This past Sunday was St. Patrick’s Day and like many we decided to go out and enjoy a festival nearby to celebrate.  The festival we attended was held at Crooked Can Brewery in Winter Garden, FL.  Just down the road from where we live.

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The brewery is located inside the Plant Street Market a wonderful place filled with all sorts of food vendors, a butcher, a coffee shop, and some merchandise vendors.

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Being a festival there was music, children performing Irish dancing, and even a bagpipe marching band.  (See YouTube video at the end of the post.)

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Of course there were a lot of people in green and we especially enjoyed some of the special attire some individuals worn.

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We have made a video for you to enjoy some of the music and the bagpipe marching band.

Plant City Strawberry Festival

by WHGILLE, posted in Fun, Travel

A tradition in Florida is the long-held Plant City Strawberry Festival.  The festival started in 1930 when the members of the Plant City Lions Club came up with the idea for an event to celebrate the harvest of strawberries which is the major crop for the area.

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The festival was a way to bring the community together, a piece of ol’ time Americana.  The festival today still upholds the traditions of a typical farming community festival with exhibits of agriculture, commerce, industry, livestock, fine arts, horticulture, and crafts.  The following set of pictures are examples of these exhibits.

Baking

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Crafting

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Horticulture

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Canning

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Agriculture

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Of course we cannot forget the reason for the festival.  STRAWBERRIES!!

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Over the years the festival has also become a place to eat, and play, and be happy.

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So we will see you at the fair as you are sure to have a great time!

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Lakeridge Winery – Wine Fest

by WHGILLE, posted in Food, Fun, Travel

Not too far on the NorthWest side of Orlando is a town called Clermont.  In that town is a wonderful local vineyard.  That vineyard is Lakeridge Winery.

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It is a great place to spend a weekend afternoon.  Throughout the year the winery has all sorts of mini festivals.  This past weekend was Wine Fest 2019.

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There is music, food vendors, and craft vendors.  The food is very good.  You can also purchase beer and wine.  Of course the wine is all from the vineyard.

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In addition, you can go on a wine tasting tour of the wines they produce at the vineyard.  It is a great way to try all their wines and find the perfect one for your palate.

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One of the nicest things they have at the winery is their upstairs wine bar for a small snack and a glass or two of wine.  There is even entertainment in the wine bar!

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The Lakeridge Winery has won many awards for their wine.  So stop by and enjoy a glass or come on by to enjoy one of their many festivals.

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Head for Outer Space

by WHGILLE, posted in Fun, Travel

Just about a 2 hour drive from Orlando is the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island.  It is a great place to spend the day and explore outer space.

There are many attractions for you to enjoy and get up close to the equipment NASA employed to visit the stars.

If you time your visit right you can even see a rocket launch.

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So leave planet Earth for just a few hours to experience the American heritage of space exploration.

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Wizarding World of Harry Potter

by WHGILLE, posted in Fun, Travel

We are giant fans of the J.K. Rowling books so this weekend we took a trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  It is truly magical what Universal has done to transform the images we conjure in our heads when reading the books to making them come alive.  So for your viewing pleasure we will take you to Hogsmead and Diagon Alley.

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A Stop in San Francisco

by WHGILLE, posted in Fun, Travel

There is nothing better than getting to a city you have never been to before and venturing out.  This was what we did when we went to San Francisco.

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We found many sights that we have all seen on movies and TV at one time or another.

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But by far the thing we loved best were the Parrots of Telegraph Hill.  We had seen a documentary about these birds and really wanted to see them.  We are so glad we did because it made our day.

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The two other views we really enjoyed was Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge.  There is so much to see and do in San Francisco that we will need to go back.

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Exploring Tarpon Springs

by WHGILLE, posted in Fun, Travel

Just under an hour drive north of St. Petersburg is the town of Tarpon Springs.  The name of the town came from the abundance of Tarpon fish in the area.  The town is also known as the “Sponge Capital of the World.”

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The downtown area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  When you walk around the brick streets you can view art galleries, antique stores, and a whole host of shops where the buildings date back to the late 1800’s.

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Tarpon Springs is still very active in the sponge industry that made it famous and sponge ships still line the harbor to this day.

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There is much to see in Tarpon Springs and there is always something special for you to enjoy.

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Christmas Tree Trail at Disney Springs

by WHGILLE, posted in Fun, Travel

A recent addition to Disney Springs over the past couple of years is the Christmas Tree Trail.  It is a wonderful family fun walk-through experience.  Each tree is inspired by a Disney character or theme.  The Christmas Tree Trail is open from early November until January 6th.  We decided over the weekend to go and take a look so we can share it with all of you.

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Disney sure does put a lot of details into these trees.

It even snows at the Christmas Tree Trail!!

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Here are just some of the trees we saw.

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