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.

This is seriously one of my favorite discoveries. Found this place in 2021, visiting family and…read morehave been coming here every year since. Charming family run strawberry stand/farm. Fresh strawberries, many desserts (and now lunch options), jams and a small fresh produce selection. If you are looking for something unique in central Florida, stop and check out the friendly folks and get some fresh air at Fancy Farms.

Saved the Best for Last! Love the strawberry milkshake here. Finished the 8 stops on my strawberry…read morepass and it was oh so memorable. Loved getting to find out about so many local strawberry farms and businesses in Plant City. This one has a huge strawberry field, picnics outside and in the shade, they have sandwiches and salads here, shortcakes and milkshakes, strawberry bread and cookies and produce. I'm coming back here for our strawberry milkshakes for sure!

What a way to do Christmas Eve and even better with the convertible down!…read more I haven't enjoyed Christmas lights this much since I was a little kid. This really made my day-night. It was hard to find a spot that didn't twinkle. We had 2 fav's... The house who's lights went with the radio Christmas music and Santa riding a Dinosaur!!!! I suggest this for anyone who hasn't been before and if you have family visiting (like we did), take them to see it...Its a great memory to keep and share. See u Soon!

Great neighborhood for Christmas lights!! Easily marked which direction you should travel, and we…read moredid so via car. Dropped the top on the convertible so we could capture everything! Not EVERYONE lights up their yards, but most did, and some were so over the top with lights we'd hate to see their Duke energy bill. It CAN get busy right before Xmas, but seems to taper off after. It took us about 15 minutes to get in the hood from Alderman due to the line of people moving in from both directions. If you can park across the street and walk (if its a nice night) that may be a good way to explore as well!! Kudos to the hood on an excellent holiday display!!

Installed in 2022, this 21-foot flamingo stands in the center of the main terminal at Tampa…read moreInternational Airport. The sculpture is made of resin and fiberglass and is by artist Matthew Mazzotta. It was commissioned for $520,000 and is a welcome first impression of the Tampa Bay area. Complete with metal panels on the ceiling to look like water surface and dappled lighting on the floor, it looks like the bird is dipping its head below water to grab a fish. You'll be lucky to get a selfie with Home because it's quite popular! Definitely check it out as you pass through TPA. [Review 18968 overall - 1580 in Florida - 2492 of 2022.]

We were in the area and I really wanted to check this out. I love art and this is a really…read moreinteresting medium. If you decide to go, just know that there is no admission fee and you are free to come and enjoy the beach and sculptures, but it will cost you $5 per hour to park plus a small convenience fee and parking is quite limited. I was disappointed to see that though sculptures made with sand from treasure Island. I assume there was a logistical reason, that it seemed a little strange to me. I was also a little surprised by the designs and styles of the sculptures. There were actually very few that had an ocean or sand theme, with many artists choosing things that work personal to them. It was a very interesting experience. Also they leave the statues up, so if you are unable to attend, you can come and see the statues for a few weeks after the event.

I am always blown away by the creativeness and skill set that the sand artists have. This is my…read morefirst time to experience Sanding Ovations. It is located on Teasure Island Beach in front of Sloppy Joes. If you get there early enough there is the beach parking you can use but also plenty of event parking throughout the area that you'd just have to walk a little from. The beach parking is hourly so if you plan on spending some time down in that area walking around or eating after you see the sculptures it may be worth your bang to get into one of the flat rate parking locations. This event had an opening weekend with all the works, vendors, music, etc but was open all week basically 24/7 because it is not in tents or a secured area like the Sugar Sand Festival in Clearwater is. I went during the week early to avoid as many people as I can for my photos. They were also having an encore weekend the following weekend that would also have all the vendors, etc. Each piece you could fully walking around to get different angles for photos and see just how much detail went into these temporary pieces of art. Just beautiful and though a little windy when I went, the weather was perfect. This is a free event but they did have a donation box out that noted to help keep this free, donations are welcomed.

Ok, it is very small. I'd say about 10 booths total. There were 2 food /bev trucks. Parking is free…read moreand i felt it was worth the trip to check it out. There was live music there that was nice. If you like kitschy retro stuff, you will enjoy this. They had damn good avocado toast for $4... boba horchata drink was $5 ( I'd say it was 32oz. Huge). Outside the booths were nicely priced. There is a bldg next door that sold cute retro old stuff ... pricy af. But the fair had a unite a friendly cheerful group of vendors. Someone selling cute art stationary, Honey booth , The Darling Market sold some attractive clothing (new/modern) . A gentleman there sold lovely wooden kitchen spoons. The retro booths had the best nicest retro clothes . Such colors and styles. Very cool. Also sold retro basket handbags, retro sugar/flower containers, precious little vases that made me giddy. (Pardon me!) generally speaking there wasn't much for guys here except some grub & bevs & music. 35 minutes well spent.

Historic Cocoa Village is a fantastic place to spend a wonderful day and evening for everyone in…read morethe entire family. At Cocoa Village they have several places to shop and also several places enjoy a nice meal. They have a lovely park, collectors shops, and antique shops, coffee shops and ice cream parlors. At times they have live music playing at Cocoa Village, and you can even enjoy a nice rooftop dinner with a view of the water here at Ryan's Village Pizza & Pub.

If you're visiting the cape, this area is a must. They have a lot of quaint antique shops, a…read morebeautiful park on the water, tons of mom and pop restaurants. We spent the day bar hoping on foot and even got tattoos. Such a nice/safe area for a day date.

The Whispering Giant Calostimucu is an art piece carved from a 20 foot Enterolobium Cyclocarpum…read moretree known as the elephant ear or monkey pod tree. The tree is said to be similar to mahogany. The piece was commissioned in 1974 by Fred Babcock who owned the Holiday Inn. He discovered the tree damaged by lightning on his land in 1973 and he had seen Hungarian artist Peter Wolf Toth's work in Georgia. Toth had experienced repression in his native country and was shuttled among various refuge camps. When he immigrated to Ohio he became interested in Native American culture because he saw a parallel in the way they were treated and what he experienced. Toth traveled the country over 20 years and donated at least one work in each state and two in Canada. His first carving was a stone Native American head in a cliff in La Jolla California in 1972. After that he switched from stone to wood. His last carving was number 58 in May of 1988 in Haleiwa, Hawaii. The collection of large works is called the Trail of Whispering Giants. According to Toth "The statue is not just to honor Native Americans; it's to represent all people who have suffered injustices." The carving took three months to make and it sits in front of the historic A.C. Freeman House. It originally resided in front of the Best Western, previously the Holiday Inn until Hurricane Charley in 2004 damaged much of the hotel. The carving includes the emerging dream of a dying bison on it's back coming out of the top and eagle with a broken wing meant to represent the prejudice and injustice Native people have faced. The sculpture also features the faces of a Native American man and woman. It was Toth's tenth piece and the only one to feature two faces. The artwork was first dedicated in 1974. It was rededicated on January 20, 2006 and a time capsule was buried at the base.

This piece of public art for display is really cool! Directions tell you to pull into the parking…read morelot behind the Italian restaurant and if you can't find it the artwork is on the corner by the road in front of the yellow house behind the restaurant.

Thirsty? Well you've come to the right place where it will not only leave you feeling hydrated but…read moreyou'll be glowing too! So this is one of those things that the citizens fought to be saved back when the government decided to put the clean water act in and for good reason they did fight as this water is the most delicious sulfur rotten eggs tasting and smelling thing you could ever hope to drink! So I did take a sip and it really is that taste amplified I instantly spit it out it was just sooo bad but in the end I'm glad I tried it because it's not everyday you get to have a sip from The Fountain Of Youth! Overall something that most people would overlook but let's just say it was fun to visit and not so much to drink especially with the spider that came out in my cup! Stay hydrated my friends!

Youth? Radioactivity? If that sounds like something your interested in, definitely gotta stop by!…read moreThis place is very interesting. I always love a random little find during my adventures. As for the actual water it smells like rotten eggs and sulfur. I don't know if those are the keys to youth but give it a try if you're brave enough!

Many neat murals all throughout the town. We really enjoyed exploring and seeing all the colorful…read moremurals

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA is home to one of the largest collections of Street Art I've seen anywhere…read morein the South. The sheer range of styles is sure to please a wide audience from mural fanatics to newbies! --- At my core is a wild & eccentric looking guy dressed in casual clothes (probably made of linen) and holding a DSLR camera in one hand and an artists paint brush in the other. I have been into the arts for as long as I can remember. I spent many a morning as a child sketching everything from the scenery outside my window to abstract thoughts that lodged into my mind. My ability to tap into my right brain continued to be developed through my high school years where I created some of my best pieces only to find them stolen after being submitted to a local art fare. I honestly don't think I ever recovered and for a long time I tried to recreate those pieces, but couldn't. As an adult, my focus shifted to architectural, landscaping  & interior design as well as photography. On ANY given day you will find me designing my dream home or working on photobook projects of my family or sketching landscaping plans for friends, family, and neighbors or hiking in beautiful scenic trails as I immerse myself in the beauty of God's artistry. My love for art is deep and infinite. You probably could not separate the molecules that make me a person from those that make an artist an artist. They are in every fiber of my being. So when I came across the mural project going on in downtown St. Pete around 2015, I nearly leaped out of my car (as I was driving) just to be among the colors and thoughts of those who created each of the individual pieces. The displays range in size from small street planters to the entire sides of buildings. In 2015, most of the murals were concentrated in alleys between Central Avenue and 1st Avenue North, from 4th Street all the way to 24th Street... but now they are literally all over the city. SHINE is a not-for-profit mural art project made up of local artists and members of the community and they have been hosting festivals for a number of years now. Each year new murals have been created and continue to enhance the city landscape for the enjoyment of local businesses, residents and tourists like me. There are paid walking tours available, but if you are crafty, you will find maps online that will self guide you on your own [free] walking tour. 2017 Mural video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVZjedi4wBg --- FINAL THOUGHTS I am completely in my element each time I wondrously drifted through the streets, alleyways and parking lots of St. Petersburg. Time seemed to be irrelevant as I was lost in each of the pieces and the creativity of the artists vision. I truly believe EVERY city should have a mural project that continuously expresses the beauty of thought. I'm so grateful my hometown of Atlanta has such a program. I am also grateful to have witnessed the beauty of this artistry alive all over St. Pete and happy to see it continues to expand and grow. If you have the capacity to truly appreciate the power of expression through art, you should make it a priority to experience these murals for yourself. But if travel is not possible, I've documented as many as I possibly could in the following pics. ENJOY! 2021 / 92