Strawberry Festival, Plant City, FL

Yesterday 2/26/2015 we went to the Strawberry Festival in Plant City, FL and enjoyed it very much.

They had 80 amusements that folks could enjoy from the Ferris Wheel to Roller Coasters.  You could hear the brave takers screaming with delight! No, neither Carp nor I were among the screamers! 

They had all kinds of food vendors with lots of things to choose from.  Tons is strawberries.  Make your own strawberry shortcakes to having them made for you. 

Lots of stalls set up with all sorts if vendors selling their wares. 

The had a pig judging contest with school children showing off their pigs. 

They also had a large outdoor area for for concerts. We were able to sit in the cement bleachers for no cost. We rented some foam pads to sit on so it would not be so cold. We saw Bobby Vinton in the early afternoon & Alabama in the evening. 

We really enjoyed the day! Lots of folks taking in a nice day!  

Concert area starting to fill up for the Bobby Vinton show. Bobby told us that he is now 72 years old. 

Stairs that we had to climb to get to the nose bleed section at the top. We were at the very top of the stairs so that we could see the stage from afar. 

Picture if Carp with the amusements off in the distance. 

A selfie of us waiting for the afternoon show to begin. 

Picture from up in the nose bleed section while waiting for the evening show of Alabama to begin. 

Same stage in the evening. 

This is a picture of the stage while Alabama is planning!  

Picture of Carp & I sitting on a strawberry shaped chair at the festival. 

We had a great day 🍓

Mount Dora, Fl

2/22/2015 - we took a trip to Mount Dora today. 

In a stretch of land so flat a 184-foot elevation is enough to deem a place "Mount" sits Florida's Mount Dora, a town which has managed to hang on to its charming historic, and authentic character despite being less than an hour's drive from Orlando, the happiest-most artifical-place on earth.  

Founded in the early 1880's, Mount Dora is known today as the antiquing capital of Florida, with more dealers than anywhere else in the state. 

Gorgeous location on the shores of 4,500 acre Lake Dora. 

We enjoyed the town, browsing in all the little shops.

Carp relaxing outside a great little store named Nooks & Craney shop. 

This was a sign as you enter the shop. 

Giving wives permission to buy whatever they want. 😃

Silly me with my sun bonnet on relaxing. 

Until next adventure, Gypsy Jean. Take care. 

2/11/2115 - The Hit Men

On 2/11/2015 - We went to the Straz Center for the Performing Arts. We saw The Hit Men who are a collection of hit-makers whose friendships and individual record success have been interweaving with each other for most of their lives. The band includes former members of mega stars like Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, Tommy James and the Shondells, The Critters, Cat Stevens, Jim Croce, Elton John & Kiki Dee, and Jim Webb  among others.

The Hit Men were Lee Shapiro who was one of Frankie Valli's celebrated Four Seasons.

Gerry Polci became one of Frankie Valli's celebrated Four Seasons in 1978. I have never seen such a fantastic drummer. He was awesome & he also sang. 

Jimmy Ryan began his career in the 1960's as a lead guitarist, vocalist and one of the songwriters for The Critters. 

Larry Gates has worked with some of the biggest names in the music business. As a composer and lyricist he has co-written songs with multi Grammy Award winner Desmond Child, Tony and Emmy Award winner Larry Hichman, Izzy James, and 

Platinum Record and Grammy Award winner Daniel Freuburg. 

Russ Velazquez, an NYC award-winning and  Emmy nominated singer, composer, arranger, and producer, is highly sought-after studio musician who has performed with Sting, Carole King, the Ramones, LL Cool J, Luther Vandross, and Paula Abdul. 

We bought a CD of their performance & each band member autographed the CD for us & allowed pictures with them as well. 

It was such an awesome show & we were dancing in our seats to the wonderful music from the 60's & 70's. 

We had balcony seats which were great because we could see the entire stage. 

Gerry Polci & Lee Shapiro. 

Larry Gates & Russ Velazques. Unfortunately Jimmy Ryan did not stay after the performance due to the fact that he was still not feeling well from a bout of pneumonia last week. 

The Straz Center is an amazing place with several theaters in one large center.  It is located in Tampa, FL. 

Wonderful evening. 

2/4/2015 - Bok Tower Gardens

Bok Tower Gardens National Historic Landmark in Lake Wales, FL was established in 1929 by Edward W. Bok as a gift to the American people, the 50-acre garden was designed by noted landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr to be a contemplative and informal woodland setting.  Acres of ferns, palms, oaks and pines fashion a lush backdrop of flowering foliage and the spectacular seasonal color of azaleas, camellias and magnolias showcase an ever-changing work of art. 

The 205-foot marble & coquina Singing Tower is the focal point of the Gardens with tile mosaics, animal carvings, custom iron work, and daily carillon (organ) concerts. 

Dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge on Frbruary 1, 1929, Bok Tower Gardens is a National Historic Landmark. 

We had to drive through thousands of orange trees to get up to the Bok Tower. 

Bok Tower

Bottom of the tower. 

Entire tower in one shot.  Looking up at the 205 foot neo-Gothic and Art Deco Singing Tower is an experience like non other.  Designed by famed Milton B. Medary and ornately crafted by noted stone sculptor Lee Lawrie, the Tower houses a 60 bell carillon - one of the world's finest.   

Front of the tower with a beautiful brass door. 

The only drawback of the tower is that we were not able to go into it, due to fire regulations because there is only one door to the tower. 

Overlooking the orange groves.

Just relaxing waiting for the music from the tower. 

There was a small mote around the tower where visitors could get feed from a machine to feed these beautiful large goldfish. 

Mote around the tower. 

Beautiful flowers! 

Very unique flower. 

Another unique palm tree. See next picture for what the brown section of the tree looks like. 

Amazing there are little pods in this part of the palm tree. The name of this unusual palm is in the next picture. 

Name of the palm above. 

Beautiful flower. 

A touch of Spring during the winter months.  Enjoy! 😃

TECO Big Bend Power Station & Buddhist Temple - Tampa, FL

2/3/15 We went to the TECO Big Bend Power Station - Manatee Viewing Center & Buddhist Temple in Tampa. 

Winter is the best time of year to see the manatees here. Warm water flowing out of the power plant attracts these slow moving creatures in Hugh numbers. The power company built a viewing platform back in 1986, and it's been a big hit ever since. You'll get a great view of the manatees, including some moms with their newborns.  If you watch carefully you might see one of the babies come up for a breath of air. 

There was also a natural trail boardwalk there.  It was about a half mile long walkway into the water. We saw a stingray, a sand shark, some large fish & some jumping fish.  Awesome take. 

Enjoy the pics below. 

These things that look like rocks are manatees basking in the warm water.

Carp at the manatee viewing center. 

Me too! 

This is part of the trail walkway. The stacks in the background are the power station & the white smoke coming out of the towers is water vapors.  

This is the beginning of the nature trail boardwalk. 

Luckily we did not see any snakes. 

Stingray. This one was a spotted stingray. 

Sand shark. 

Large fish. 

Entrance to the viewing platform. 

We moved to the end of the platform & saw these wonderful creatures up close. 

Baby resting on top of mom.  Lower baby with the mom also. This was the most wonderful siting. 

Next we went to a Buddist Temple in Tampa. Absolutely breathtaking. 

Front of the temple.  There is a dragon on each side of the stairs. Carp wanted to see what the dragons were made of & he determined that it was styrofoam that was painted. 

Statue on the grounds. 

View of the inside of the temple. 

Beautiful setting on the water. 

The light posts are all around the grounds     & they are quite unique. 

This is the rear of the temple. 

We had such a wonderful day being outside taking in the sites in Tampa.

Enjoy!