A lot of great vendors and we had perfect weather today. We managed to get a good parking spot -…read morebest reason for going early. The craft fair (Fiesta in the Park) at Lake Eola has lower prices. One vendor even admitted they raise their prices for mount Dora. But there were a lot of vendors with lots of great crafts Best kettle corn I e had in years

Will NEVER spend another dollar in this town again! We took our Therapy Dog to the Craft Fair with…read moreus for having a Certified Therapy Dog, training is never over and felt this would be perfect environment to have him around a lot of people and distractions for Therapy Dogs need to be able to ignore distractions. Therapy Dogs are Not Service dogs, so they have to special access that a service dog has, in fact a Therapy Dog is used to provide emotional support to OTHERS not it's owner. The police told us to leave for dogs are not welcome in Mt Dora. Rude ass police officer that didn't have an ounce of tact in his veins. He suggested that it could be dangerous if someone stepped on our dog. Are you kidding me? We've had our dog all around downtown Orlando and Winter Park, which are both dog friendly. He's been in airports, city buses, hospitals, retirement homes and many many other "more dangerous" environments than Mt Dora. This town is NOT a dog friendly town and I wouldn't spend another dollar in this town or any business in this town again. The officer said it's posted on their site: no dogs. Well if you didn't look up their site to decide if you wanted to drive 50 miles to attend their craft show, I guess you just drove 100 miles round trip for no reason!

I had an intriguing time exploring Micanopy. The history here is so rich. It was founded in 1821…read more It is named after Seminole Chief Micanopy. Also, it is recognized as the Florida states oldest Inlet settlement. There are so many antique shops here with so many fun things to look at. It was a unique experience. I suggest whoever is in the area to stop by and feel the history here in this place.

Any fans of the movie Doc Hollywood (1991)? Well if you are then visiting this small historic town…read moreis a fun way to spend the afternoon. This charming community was founded in 1821 and is believed to be the oldest inland town in the state of Florida. The town was named for Chief Micanopy of the Seminole Nation. It's been recognized as one of America's top historic small towns. Population is 669 and the town itself is only 1.03 miles. Way too small for me but it definitely is quaint. Lots of antique shops, and other small businesses here along with some cafes featuring outdoor dining. We enjoyed walking around and visiting all the Doc Hollywood movie and historical sites. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at a place now called Pearl Country Store and BBQ. There are many Spanish oak trees lining the streets which makes you feel so comfortable while exploring. If you happen to be in the area, I recommend a stop here. It is a town that will have you step back in time when life was simple.

The Bowling Ball House in Safety Harbor is one of the wildest, most chaotic, and unforgettable…read morethings you'll ever come across hands down a five-star experience just for the sheer creativity and madness of it. This place is packed with personality from every angle. Bowling balls are everywhere stacked, lined, and worked into the yard in ways that make you stop and stare. It feels like someone took a simple idea and just ran completely wild with it in the best way possible. Then you start noticing all the unexpected details: random statues scattered throughout the property, SpongeBob characters popping up in places you wouldn't expect, and CDs hanging from strings that catch the light and move with the breeze. It's like stepping into a fully DIY art installation where anything goes and more is more. What makes it so great is that nothing about it feels normal or restrained. It's loud, weird, colorful, and totally unique. Every time you look around, you notice something you didn't see before, which makes it feel like the house keeps changing as you explore it. Overall, the Bowling Ball House is pure creative chaos in the best way possible. It's fun, bizarre, and completely unforgettable a true local landmark that proves art doesn't have to make sense to be amazing.

Like stepping back in time. Being in the Hippy era. Cool house and decorations. Bowling balls,…read moremermaid, lots of decorations on the trees. Great for taking pictures. We didn't know you could go inside but someone later told us you could. Not sure but I bet it would be cool.

Great experience for the kids and adults! There was a food truck on site, which was helpful (and…read moredelicious)! The volunteers were all so nice. The ride lasted about 20 minutes, and there is a museum to look at before or after. The park also has a playground, but we didn't get to check it out due to rain. You could make a whole morning of this event and a full day if you explore the whole park!

On my first visit to CP & G Railroad my daughter and I had an absolutely perfect day. There is…read morenothing I would've added or changed about the experience. So, I rated it as such. But a return visit, on Easter, showed that I sort of jumped the track a little. Things were not executed nearly as flawlessly on the second go round and some underlying warts were exposed. The reason I returned to the railroad during Easter weekend is because I remembered the owner of the railroad really talking it up at Christmas time. He told those of us that were there that on the Saturday of Easter weekend he takes the trains out, stops at a designated spot and lets the kids get off the train to hunt for eggs. At the end of that, they return to the station and can have their pictures taken with the Easter Bunny. It sounded like a cool experience. So we returned. The first thing we noticed when we checked in was that there were a lot of people here for the trains. It was like three or four times the size of the Christmas crowd. My wife and I registered our daughter, put on our arm bands and then went to stand in line at the station. Here we waited. And waited. And waited some more. After about twenty minutes in line one of the volunteers got a brilliant idea to change the way the line moved so that people would be forced to go through the train station building. This is where the Easter Bunny was. It was a great idea, everyone could now get their picture with the Easter Bunny while waiting in line. About the time we exited the building, which meant we were just a train or two away from finally getting on, another volunteer came along and took the chain down that was redirecting the line. This meant that some people decided they didn't want to go through the building and walked through the area where the chain had been removed. This cut about fifteen minutes off their wait time. Of course the people who were coming out of the building were pretty miffed that these people were allowed to cut and weren't forced to go through the building. An argument ensued between volunteers and people waiting to get on the trains. Eventually it was sorted out but the man who runs the trains was not happy. He could be seen yelling at one of the volunteers. After a thirty to forty-five minute wait, we were finally able to get on a train. The egg hunt was fun for my daughter. She loved finding them, picking them up and shaking them. Unfortunately, because of the long lines and the people waiting to ride, the conductor rushed us quickly through the hunt. My daughter had to just grab a bunch of the eggs and open them later. When we returned to the train, we realized that someone had taken our seats. That meant that my wife and I had to sit apart on the ride back. One of the cool things about the railroad is that you are allowed to ride all day long. At Christmas my daughter and I took three trips around. Because of the wait, we only rode the Easter train once. A big disappointment considering how far we had driven to ride the trains. The day can be summed up perfectly by the fact that as we departed from our train and moved off to the side so my daughter could open the eggs she collected the train we had just gotten off of jumped the tracks. It wasn't a big deal, no on was hurt and it was fixed in a few seconds, but it just sort of symbolized the fact that the CP & G Railroad is not yet ready for the big crowds that Easter brought. Hopefully they can figure something out before the Fourth of July trains get rolling.

Think I'm getting old because when this place was first thought of, I think the Deltona Corp. had a…read morevision for the future, but it's still not here yet. This was nothing but watermelon fields and pastures back in the early years of development. The lots were small with cedars and blackberry bushes. Quails and dove flew from the brush and into the sky as you walked in on them. Hard rock roads lined the many miles of subdivision. Citrus Springs Blvd. paved the way for the first half to turn into what it is today. A spectacular fountain entrance that got old and run down before being built out to capacity to build another matching fountain on the south end. Cement block homes were crammed close together while hundreds of acres and vacant lots sit around these hundreds of homes that were built on 60 x 60 lots surrounded by nothing but Florida scrub. As you drive the CSBlvd from the 1980's homes on the north side and around the horseshoe, you find a more relaxed and spread out community with the hopes of one day building out to secure a new high school construction project in the future. The single middle school on the south end of the Blvd and the 2 elementary schools are nice to have in this sleeping giant of a construction boom that just didn't move forward as fast as expected. There are still plenty of small lots available to custom build on and maybe you can pick up the surrounding small lots after construction so you can have a bit more privacy than those on the north side. Fear None, Love All.

The HR department does not want to pay military personnel for leave during their probationary…read moreperiod, even when they are on an order. They fired a service member without cause, and now his job is posted as urgent. They did not even have the correct job title in the documentation presented on the date he was terminated. He was never written by a supervisor. DO NOT GO TO WORK HERE. If you are military, then stay away from here. This is the servicemember's wife who is also a servicemember. I am speaking on behalf of my spouse and other Veterans, who have experienced unfair treatment in the workplace.

Williston fascinates me. I drive through there frequently; I used to visit several business…read morelocations for my job, I attend religious services in Williston, and I head there for food shopping at Winn Dixie and delicious eating at restaurants like The Ivy House. Williston is also home to the yearly Peanut Festival, a quaint little small town festival that I love going to. What fascinates me about this place is that it's a land of contrasts. It has places like the Blue Grotto and Devil's Den where people can swim, snorkel and dive. But there are parts of the town where I feel like I'm gonna get shot. It also has a somber downtown area that looks like it's straight out of a Stephen King movie. Every single time I drive through there I think of Children of the Corn. Half of the buildings look abandoned and the others, the up and running ones, need a serious makeover. It screams of a small town that has a lot of promise but no money to keep up appearances. It's just so run down looking. But a short drive away there is such beauty. I've driven around taking pictures of trees and fields and horses and cattle. It's so beautiful and yet so dreary. I really think it's the perfect location to film a horror movie. I mean that as a real compliment. Williston also has plenty of restaurants when compared to nearby Bronson or Archer, towns that may look better in places but have almost nothing to do. Williston has one of my favorite area restaurants, the aforementioned Ivy House and a darling little ice cream shop called Flamingo Freeze. Part of me wishes they'd fix up the downtown area but the other part, the beauty in decay part, really hopes they leave it as it is.

I simply love driving (or walking) down this street. I have stopped to take pictures here and there…read morequite a few times. Of course, a few times we've just walked the length to appreciate Mother Nature's work. Pictures can't replace seeing "this" in person. Sometimes I go out of my way near sunset to drive down this street because the filtered sun through the trees makes the area look absolutely beautiful. The oak trees create a natural arch that gives you a feeling that you are driving through a tunnel and it is beautiful no matter where you enter. To me, this is one of the highlights of St. Augustine and it's just a street! The best part is...it's natural and it's free. It is one of the most photographed streets in the USA...and it's considered to be one of the most beautiful streets in the USA! WHOA! Both are completely understandable. If you are visiting St. Augustine and have been on the Trolley, then I'm sure you are aware of this street since they take you down it and tell you about it. Unfortunately, I see tourists caught up in visiting the Fountain of Youth and other things in that area and disregard the street. This is sad to me and they don't even know what they are missing. If you are planning a trip to this area...put this street on your list of things to see. If you are local (or fairly local) and haven't been down this street...now you have something else to do!

Magnolia street is quite possibly the prettiest street I've seen. The street is lined with a tree…read morecanopy near The Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine. We stopped and parked at the Fountain of Juice to take photos of the street before going into the Fountain of Youth.

Well, since the 1970's I have visited this place hundreds of times and my how it has changed. From…read morethe time my great aunt Lil and uncle Fred moved there back in the 1960's to the present, all I can say is some of the streets look at quaint as they did back in the day (an even the houses). Picture a Florida retirement community with 1950 style cinder block 1 bedroom single car garage homes with 10x10 screened patios hundreds of them centered in cow pasture and that's what is was. Now, not so much. Today, replace the surrounding cow pasture with strip malls, quickie marts and gas stations and then build a few more new subdivisions to surround those. You have to imagine a quiet single lane road heading into the place back in 1975 and now 2020 a 6 lane highway. It's not the retirement community it was built to be anymore baby!

Despite being a beach city on an island, Cedar Key remains a bit undiscovered. It is far from being…read morethe typical Florida "tourist trap" as there are no mini-golfs, big resort hotels, "booze bars" or theme parks. It is a tranquil escape with a laid back atmosphere likely because it's off the beaten track, 50 miles southwest of Gainesville and I-75 along the Gulf Coast. The settlement of Cedar Key dates back to the 1800's and has updated with more recent improvements. Today it is a relaxing getaway where you can find nature, beaches, fabulous seafood, a public library and the history museum. I had 5 bars of 5G the whole time I was exploring the island. Cedar Key has been flooded and rebuilt, flooded and rebuilt. Those who live here are a persistent bunch who've been through more than their share of hurricanes. For activities, Cedar Key has boat rentals, art galleries and beaches. I enjoyed Lil Shark Park, Cemetery Point Park and a great little coffee shop along the main street. None of the big hotel chains are here but there are vacation rentals and Airbnb's. If I'd stayed long enough for dinner, Steamers Clam Bar would have been my option and there are others. Maybe the next time I'm passing by. [Review 380 of 2025 - 2029 in Florida - 23942 overall]

I drove two and a half hours to make it to cedar keys I would have to say it was very secluded and…read moresmall there wasn't much for shells to get here I did get an oyster though I decided to take a 3 hour 3 to go to honeymoon island along the coast.