Yesterday I took advantage of the nice weather and a lazy Sunday and drove about 60 miles southwest to Lakeland. It was suggested by a reader of my blogs to check out this city of 89,000 for good photos and a quaint atmosphere. I was not disappointed, and spent 5 hours walking around the compact and extremely photogenic downtown area. Lakeland has many restaurants, cafes, and antique shops, and because most of the shops were closed (being a Sunday), I unfortunately did not get to explore any... Read Full Story

“Excellent Thai Food in the Heart of Historic Winter Garden” Thai BlossomWhile doing some photography of downtown Winter Garden I happened to walk past this restaurant and grabbed a menu to take back with me. I used to live across the street from the best Thai restaurant in Boston, so I was curious to see how this place would compare. Having just opened in June, Thai Blossom has a lot to offer. The menu is quite extensive, with an excellent variety of noodle, rice, seafood, and curry... Read Full Story

The Citrus Tower in Clermont, Florida at one time was a premier central-Florida attraction, complete with a restaurant, gift shop, motel, and wax museum next door. Freshly picked citrus could be purchased (often from the very groves the tower provided views of), and the views from the top could only be described as breathtaking. Unfortunately, this is the conclusion one can only come to after looking at the old black & white photos of what the Citrus Tower used to be. Though still a relative... Read Full Story

“Very Informational and Cultural Experience of Winter Park” Scenic Boat TourI thoroughly enjoyed this one-hour tour through three of the lakes and two of the canals that surround Winter Park. The tour guide was very friendly and informative, and the mansions along the tour were nothing short of spectacular. My favorite and most enjoyable part of the tour was the travel through the canals itself. It was very relaxing and surprisingly cool - a nice reprieve from the sweltering heat of central... Read Full Story

Today I took a walking tour around Winter Park. I started at the Winter Park Historical Museum, which is staffed by a very helpful and knowledgeable crew. With their help I learned quite a bit about Winter Park's history, as well as where to go to take some great photos. Definitely stop here first if you plan to make a trip to Winter Park. I walked the grounds of Rollins College, explored the streets of downtown, and even went on a fun scenic boat tour, which I will review in my next post... Read Full Story

Finally made it to downtown Orlando for some picture taking!! I spent the afternoon around Lake Eola and downtown, snapping as many photos as I could with two different cameras in an attempt to take some great Orlando photos. Some of the best ones are below, complete with captions. To see the entire collection, be sure to check out my Flickr page. Here they are: This is Lake Eola with the Dynetech Centre in the background. The Dynetech Centre was just completed and is 31 floors and the... Read Full Story

Not much going on to write about, which is fine by me. I've been going to the internet cafe about three times a week to catch up on e-mail, blogs and pictures which I have been taking, and eat a whole lot here in the trailer. I am selling grandpa's lawn tractor for him, which has become a bit more cumbersome than I had anticipated. It's required a bit of work but I'm just about done. Now I just need a buyer... The weather, of course, has been very hot. About every two days we get a... Read Full Story

After waiting for several days the weather improved enough for me to take some rather nice pictures around downtown Winter Garden. I spent one evening and one afternoon walking the compact historic downtown, which recently celebrated it's centennial in 2003. As part of the centennial celebration, the city invested heavily in to renovating and improving the central business district, as seen by the pictures. A new city hall was completed this year, and plans are on the table for a couple new... Read Full Story

“Great Little Cafe - Nice Atmosphere and Service” House Blend CafeFor a cafe you really can't go wrong at the House Blend Cafe. I've been coming here many times since visiting Florida for a month, and I've been very impressed. The cafe offers delicious sandwiches (I recommend the pulled pork), teas and coffees and side dishes to satisfy anyone craving a little edible goodness. The service is friendly and prompt, with no attitude that sometimes plagues some other small independent cafes. There... Read Full Story

I'm just about all caught up on blogs/photos/etc. For those of you who are blog regulars (I think there are a couple out there!) you will have noticed that my Texas trip blogs are all uploaded, complete with photos and even a short video. All travel reviews from the trip should be up within the next couple days. The travel reviews are a new addition which I touched on back in Brazil. Basically what I am doing is writing a full review of venues I visit on TripAdvisor.com, and then copying and... Read Full Story