McCormick's vision is to reduce veteran suicidal rates and strengthen families…read morewho include an individual with special needs by expanding access to effective equine-assisted therapies worldwide. The 12-week program for veterans is an amazing experience! The office staff is amazing, which includes Eric Davidson, Carlton Davidson, Clark Flippo, and Caity Waller. KUDOS to the whole staff for providing supreme quality tender loving care to all horses and veterans as well as special needs. I highly recommend all to try this program and support this wonderful organization with your donations and resources!

Disclaimer, when I booked this camp for my daughter, I did not know that it was a Christian camp,…read morebut luckily they don't shove it down your throat and it's all optional! My daughter had an amazing time and cried when she left. I will definitely be sending her back next year.

Nice enough folks and the facility is fine. The counsellors and CITs generally get high marks from…read morethe kids. That said: The campers have to compete for activities on a daily and weekly basis so, instead of cycling/rotating through activities with their cabin, some kids get the cool activities and others get the less cool activities. If a camper doesn't like the sound of some activity, then he or she never signs up for it and never gets to try it. Also, some of the boys counselors run an unsanctioned fight club for the middle school boys and the camp management is oblivious. Everyone else knows. Feedback from the camp management is poor. Also, a lot of unadvertised religion at mealtimes and bible study--which Bible, pray tell?--that isn't what people signed up for.

I love these type of parks and I have been to a few across Florida. A town will move several of…read moretheir historic buildings to one area which saves them from being demolished and it creates a place where people can learn about the history of the area. This historical park was created in Homeland, Florida in 1985 and it was set up to recreate a community from the mid 1800's. The town of Homeland got its name from an Irish peddler who was passing through and said that the town reminded him of his homeland. Buildings in the park include:: The Homeland Schoolhouse built in 1878. It was first called the Bethel Academy. The name was changed in 1885 when the town changed its name to Homeland The school started with only 5 students but when it grew to 60 a large room was added in 1888. Students in first through eighth grade were taught basic reading and math so they could help with farming and read the Bible. By 1925 the school had been expanded to a L shape. It closed in 1956 due to a decline in enrollment. It is the only building in the park on its original foundation. It is also the oldest school in Polk County. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Homeland Methodist Church was established in 1875. Construction of the church started in 1887, 500 feet south of its current location across the street. It took two years to complete and it was finished in 1889 at a cost of $2,000. In 1946 the church steeple was knocked over by a hurricane. The church served the community until the 1970's. In 1986 it was donated to the park. In 1990 the church steeple was built back up to its original height. Today the church can be rented for weddings. The Raulerson Home was built in the 1880's by Mr. and Mrs. Blocker. It was originally located in Lakeland near County Road. The house is an example of what an affluent family would have lived in. The house was purchased from the Blockers by Daniel Amos Raulerson who lived in it from 1901 until 1912. After that they rented it out. The house contains two rooms on the second floor that can only be entered from a ladder on the porch. These type of rooms were meant for the farm help. This was the third building to be added to the park and it was moved here on March 25, 1988. The English log cabin was built in 1888 in the Winston area of Lakeland, Florida by Cornelius English and his brother James Jackson. It was as a family home until the 1900's. The building is an example of the earliest kind of dwelling in Polk County, a single pen log cabin. The house remained in possession of the English family until it was donated to the park and moved here in 1989. The Pole Barn is the type of outbuilding a settler would have had in 1894. The building was added to the park in 1994 and it was the last building to be added. The barn was used to store farm equipment, protect animals, and store crops. The loft was used to store hay and feed for the animals. The barn was donated to the park by the English family. Tours of the buildings are given by appointment and several events are held throughout the year. In April they hold the Good Old Days Festival and their largest event is the Cracker Storytellers Festival. In December they hold the Christmas Notes Festival . Homeland Heritage Park offers scheduled tours, walk in tours, field trips, and their special even programs. Even though the buildings were closed I still had a great tour. Signs outside of each of the buildings told their history. It was so cool seeing buildings over a 100 years old preserved. I would love to make it back for an event one day.

Great small scale historical outdoor museum area. Free access to outdoor areas that are…read morewell-marked with historical signs. If you want to tour inside buildings, you need to make an appointment or peer through windows. Original school on original site from 1878. Small Methodist Church, one of first with stained glass windows. 1900 log cabin, 1880 aristocratic farmhouse, pole barn with some farm implements. Giant live oaks. Will take about an hour to stroll through it all. Great place for a picnic and peek back at the original cracker life in central Florida. South of Bartow, north of Fort Meade on 640. Signs are good to get there. Raw honey stand and "greens for sale" on the way in. Gotta love it!

Lane Bowers is the ultimate instructor for teaching someone to bare foot water ski. He was…read morepreviously part of the US National Team. His location is in Winter Haven, Florida. The water conditions are pristine in that area and the climate is always warm to moderate. His teaching techniques are superior; he is able to break down a portion of what you are trying to learn into the steps leading to it. Safety is paramount in his considerations for his students. Lane is also entertaining and as videos and equipment to enhance and further your knowledge in barefoot waterskiing. I have taken lessons from him at least four times and every time is a unique and wonderful experience.

Had a great day with Lane. The weather was cold and windy as can be. But he found some calm water…read moreand we went to work on cleaning up my form, my tumbles and even got up backwards for the the first time without shoe skis. We did everything without falling! Would of like my wife to join us but he understood. So she just spotted. She says she definitely in for it next time.

We enjoyed our stay here at this RV park. The grounds are very spacious and well landscaped, as are…read morethe RV sites, which are much larger than what you usually encounter. It was nice to see cows grazing on the other side of the fence from our site. The green areas for walking the dogs were absolutely huge.

Spent a week here with friends that had stayed here before. We had been assigned premium plus spots…read morein the northwest area. They were anything but premium plus in my opinion and we ended up moving to standard sites (3 price levels lower) with shade and way better wireless signal. The rules at this place are not ideal for those traveling with pets such as my friends. No tie downs and no outside fences. The not so nice front desk clerk (NOT Chloe - the other one!) made it a point to call out the fact that people before us ruined it for the rest of us by leaving their pets unattended outside and then bad things happen. How about having a rule that just forbids leaving pets unattended outside? What a novel idea! The not so nice lady also asked if we had even read the rules and that's when Karma kicked in and she herself noticed the printing error (picture attached) that somehow combined pets and fires into one. One pool sign also reads that it closes as 6pm while the other one says dusk. How difficult is it to just have consistency? As for the sites themselves, they are great. The camping community is also great but this review is more about this resort so back to it. Chloe on the front desk is an absolute gem! She takes customer service and sprinkles sugar and sweetness all over it and delivers it with such grace and pleasantries! She is a rockstar. Perhaps the other one could learn a thing or two. The wireless is only good in certain areas. They did acknowledge that it's bad and blamed it all on Spectrum saying that they didn't deliver what they had promised to deliver. Coming and going into this place is anything but pleasant. You'll press the button to alert the ranger and be greeted with an unpleasant voice that says "RANGER" and that's about it. After stating why you're there the gate will open. I think they found the grumpiest guy in Polk county to work here as a Ranger. Although we did end up meeting another ranger who was the complete opposite. Super nice. We ended up spending a good 20 minutes having great conversation one evening while out riding the incredibly expensive rental golf cart. ($135 for a 2 night maximum - quite steep!) Camping was great, especially with friends! As for this place, I'm not sure I'd come back here. Make sure you're aware of the rules. For sure the non pleasant front desk clerk will ask if you had read them.

Peghorn Nature Park combines two of my favorite things, history and nature. This beautiful 58 acre…read morepark was established in 1992 by the City of St. Cloud's Parks and Recreation Department to preserve Florida's natural wetlands and protect the area's ecological heritage from encroaching development. The park's unusual name dates back to the early 1900s and honors the local "peghorn" cattle, which were known for their distinctive peg-shaped wooden-looking horns. The park has a Cracker Village, which celebrates St. Cloud's pioneer history. In Florida, the term "cracker" refers to the state's early frontier settlers, particularly cattle ranchers and small farmers. The name is believed to come from the loud crack of the long leather whips these cow hunters used while herding free-range cattle across the Florida prairie. The Cracker Village serves as an open air museum filled with authentic historic buildings and exhibits from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Visitors can explore an old schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, cannery, and other restored structures that offer a glimpse back in time into the daily lives of Florida's early settlers. It's also an educational resource for school groups. Peghorn Nature Park amenities include restrooms, benches, picnic tables with umbrellas, a trailhead center, outdoor classroom, educational center, community gardens, a small playground, bike racks, and paved parking. This park offers Florida history, wildlife, and nature all for free. This was one of my favorite stops in St. Cloud. After exploring the historic village, I headed out to the nature preserve, where you can hike the Blue, Orange, and Green Trails. Several sections of the trails cross boardwalks that wind through nature where you can spot wildlife. During Halloween these boardwalks are transformed into a haunted trail, which sounds like a fun reason to come back.

It's been a long time since I updated this review. Didn't go often last year because it was…read moreliterally under water. Couldn't walk the trail if you tried, though you might have been able to swim it. It's about 40 minutes from my house and the trail is less then a mile anyone. They have an old schoolhouse, a cannery, and a blacksmith building on the premises, so that's pretty cool to see. Once in a while they host pioneer type days, which are fun, but yesterday's was really tiny. Only a couple venders. The blacksmith was there, someone talking about composting, and Shellie's Jellies (best jelly ever! Award winning, great flavors, my fav is the pineapple rum, but all of her jellies are bursting with flavor, except maybe the beauty berry, that one is a bit reserved) The best time of the year to go is Halloween (I'll have to go back and find my pics from last Halloween, insane). Entry is free during the day. Open Mon-Saturday. They have a fright night type of thing Halloween nights, they charge for that If you live close go to see the park often, quiet and relaxing. If you live a little further like me, at least go for Halloween! Oh, yes, the nature trail is now dry, they've cleaned it up, got rid of those horrible pallets, and cut back some of the vegetation so even my 80 year old mom felt comfortable walking through

Mother Daughter Christian Retreat! Really he a blast here there was so much to do. My only…read morecomplaint is that it was only one night and not the whole weekend. We made s'mores, went on a hayride, ax thro, bow and arrow, zip line, giant swing, photo ops, arts and crafts, game room, beach front area with slides, good food, great views, canoeing, nice cabins. I really can't say enough great things about this place. I will be back for any event I can!

While passing through St. Cloud, I stopped at Wheel Park to stretch my legs. Originally built in…read morethe mid1990s, the park was named Wheel Park because it was designed for nontraditional youth sports on wheels, including inline skating, BMX biking, and skateboarding. Today, this city maintained park has evolved into a more family friendly destination. It features a recently updated, shade-covered playground, picnic pavilions, and covered picnic pavilions with tables for relaxing or enjoying a meal outdoors. One of the interesting features in the park is the bilingual Born Learning Trail, sponsored by the Early Learning Coalition of Osceola County in partnership with the City of St. Cloud. The interactive trail includes 10 activity signs in both English and Spanish, encouraging children to learn through play as they explore the park. Whether you're bringing the kids to the playground, looking for convenient picnic spot, or taking a break during a road trip as I did, Wheel Park is a clean, well-maintained recreational space that's a welcoming outdoor stop in St. Cloud.