The historical home El Retiro was beautiful. We paid the extra $10 per person to do the tour, and…read morewe loved it. The tiling of the home gives me true future home ideas. The tour guides were super sweet and helpful. The house had two floors and was nice and warm when we visited, which was very cold that day. I was able to take home two recipe cards that I can't wait to try. Definitely wish I lived in this home.

I don't know why it took me so long to check out this place. Maybe because I already had an annual…read morepass and I have to pay more to get in. What a pleasant surprise. This was a cool place. To be so rich that you come only in Jan & Feb to enjoy the Florida weather. This place is still functional. There outlets, & working elevators. I love the architecture of this building. I love how it was decorated for the holidays. This is now a museums. Back in the days Bok tower used to hosted dinners, a huge Christmas decorations celebrations. Now it's an official museum so it's only to walk through. $5 for members & $7 for non members. Honestly, this is one and done. It's cool but will I go back. For what not sure.

Lakeland's Lake Mirror Promenade, now known as the Frances Langford Promenade, was built as a part…read moreof the City Beautiful movement that swept the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Running from from Lake Mirror Drive to Lemon Street, the promenade was the brainchild of Lakeland business leader Thomas J. Appleyard. The promenade was designed by Charles Wellford Leavitt, a student of the landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed New York City's Central Park and San Francisco's Golden State Park. The two-phase project was completed in 1928. The promenade has a beautiful balustrade with streetlamps around the half-mile perimeter of the small, oval-shaped Lake Mirror. On the west side, a large platform steps down to the water's edge and is guarded by two monumental Corinthian columns. A loggia with five arches, aligning with the end of East Main Street, is the central feature of a 540-foot-long retaining wall that is set against the tall lake bank. The promenade was a feat of engineering, as it was built into the lake. New banks were dug around the shore to create space from which water could be pumped and a wooden superstructure erected to support the concrete walkway. The original plans for the promenade included a tennis court, a new city hall, an auditorium, shuffle board, lawn bowling, and carpet golf, although many of these no longer exist. The design also included a large garden; but due to Florida's 1926 economic crash the plans had to be limited and it wasn't until 2000 when the long planned for garden of Lake Mirror, Hollis Garden was finally constructed. The garden was donated by Mark Hollis, a former president of Publix and his wife who donated one million dollars to the City of Lakeland for the garden. On January 27, 1983, the promenade was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The promenade was dedicated to Lakeland native France's Langford (1913-2005) in 1946. Frances Langford was a popular singer, radio performer, and actress in the 1930's through the 1950's. She was also a boater and fisherwoman. Langford's first singing performance was staged in Lakeland. The classically-trained opera singer had a tonsillectomy in her teens, and she retrained her vocal style to the big band type of music that was popular at the time. Langford was discovered by Rudy Vallee while performing on a Tampa radio station. She worked on the radio with Vallee, Dick Powell, and Bob Hope. Her first film was Every Night at Eight (1935) which featured her singing I'm in the Mood for Love. Her other films included Yankee Doodle Dandy and The Glenn Miller Story. In 1955 she moved to Jensen Beach with her second husband. During WWII Frances Langford worked with the USO and traveled through North Africa and the South Pacific to visit injured GI's. She became known as the GI Nightingale. Her weekly newspaper column, "Purple Heart Diary," told of those visits and urged public support for injured soldiers. Of her time visiting the troops Langford said ""The greatest thing in my life was entertaining the troops." Langford's war-related papers can be found at the Institute on World War II at Florida State University. Today the Frances Langford Promenade offers stunning views of Lake Mirror, the surrounding parklands, and downtown Lakeland as you stroll along the walkway. I love the classic architecture juxtaposed against the modern city. The promenade is home to a number of picturesque gardens, fountains, and statues, including the iconic historic band shell that hosts various events throughout the year. The promenade is especially enchanting at sunrise and sunset, when the soft light reflects off the water and creates a peaceful ambiance. The Frances Langford Promenade is the ideal spot for anyone seeking natural beauty, history, and relaxation.

Is it pronounced promenAID or promenODD?…read more ANSWER: PromenAID.. unless you're a non-pizza crust eating boogee snob. Lake Mirror (I think it should be called Mirror Lake), is the lovely aquatic heart of Downtown Lakeland and the promenade offers and architectural centerpiece to view it from on high or at lakelevel. It's the meeting of human ordered architecture (arches, columns, and stone carved into geometric order) and once natural water feature. There are birds. A fountain. A view. Reflections. Gardens. A view of the Amtrak train station, fire station and former brew pub. All lovely. Historic. There are steps right down into the water. You can walk right in.. Or across the lake if you're Jesus. Dogs chasing birds. Quacking. A nice walk. Birdwatching. Thoughts about life and travel. What's for lunch? This is a great spot for pondering the meaning of it all.

Located in the downtown George Town, Grand Cayman Island, Heroes Square is a plaza and memorial…read moresite created to honor the Cayman Islands' Heroes and celebrate its cultural history. It was created in 2003, and is an easy walk from the cruise port and was very well maintained. I spent time walking through the dedications and reading the inscriptions. There are sculptures there as well, with one being three spheres installation, serving as a fountain and homage to the three Cayman Islands.

This facility is part of the City of Lakeland Parks and Recreaton…read more The LHS Class of 1972 held their 40th Class Reunion here. It's a beautiful building built in the 1920's. It has a fantastic veranda that overlooks Lake Mirror.

Recently attended a wedding here, very nice and spacious venue. Was decorated nicely with flowers…read moreand twinkle lights. Holds a lot of people. Nice views for photos! Indoor venue but has an outside patio attached.

The Saint Anne Shrine may be one of the most unique religious sites in Central Florida. There is a…read more100 year old shrine in the middle of a residential neighborhood that is across the street from a lake. The history of Saint Anne dates back to the 1920's when a contingent of French speaking Catholics came from Canada to Florida to escape winter. Six miles outside of Lake Wales they built a shrine to St. Anne de Beaupre, Mary's mother and the grandmother of Jesus at their winter retreat. On the south shore of Saint Anne Lake, fellow Canadian and winter resident Napoleon Pelletier helped them to build a white chapel, a towering grotto that was a replica of the site where the Virgin Mary appeared at Lourdes in France, a pedestal with a statue of Jesus Christ. and a tiered monument to Saint Theresa. A moat was added surrounding the grotto and a bridge to cross it was built out of native Florida rock. It didn't take long for the faithful to began to flocking to the shrine. One of the stories say these included French artist, Francies Marsollier and his son stricken with tuberculosis. He pledged to dedicate his life to beautifying the shrine if his son would live. As the son began to heal, Francies painted murals in the church and created sculptures for the grounds. Another story had Napolean Pelletier arriving at the lake with his son stricken with cancer and when the boy was healed by the water of the lake, Pelletier stayed and built the shrine. As word spread of the healing powers of the lake, more people came to visit the shrine including a Catholic Bishop to bless the cross Franciers made. At its height of fame, thousands of people would show up for the Feast of St. Anne on July 26th. During WWII people stopped coming. By the early 1960s, the Catholic Diocese of Orlando de-sanctified the church and tore it down. The sculptures made by Franciers were taken to other churches or lost. In the 1980's a priest attempted to sell the shrine as a housing lot but the neighbors came together to prevent the sale and saved what was left of the shrine. Today you can still see the remains of the shrine by the lake and the grotto. To find the grotto look for the white cross between houses 1233 and 1270. In the grotto area is the grave of Napolean Pelletie. The marker says Napolean was born in Canada in 1857 and he passed away on March 7, 1942. According to the marker he is credited with building and maintaining the shrine while he was alive. Based on the offerings left it looks like the shrine is still being used today. It is so peaceful and serene here. I was the only person on a weekday. If you are visiting downtown Lake Wales it is only about a 15 minute drive out to the shrine.

What do you get when you have a 100 year old mystery combining a supposedly magical healing spring,…read moreFrench Canadian Catholic tourists, rare Florida rock, the mother of Mary, a greedy priest, and a heroic neighborhood all in the middle of nowhere in Lake Wales? You get the marvelous Saint Anne Shrine. Yes, all that and so much more. I literally found this place by googling something else and kind of freaked out. How did this exist and I not know about it? I immediately made plans to go here since it was less than an hour away. Lots of people online made hints about how hard it was to find. Pish posh, not. How to find it: Follow your GPS. When you get to the lake, go to the left and start driving around, please go slowly. The Shrine is located between houses #1233 and #1270. When you see the large white signpost on the right hand lake side, slow down and park on the right. When you see the small white cross on the left, that is the field you walk through to get to the shrine. (Please do not disturb the neighbors. If you see them, please smile and wave. They are nice people.) The Shrine itself is modeled like a grotto and is devoted to Saint Anne, the mother of Mary. The legend* is, Napoleon Pelletier, a French Canadian Catholic tourist and his cancer stricken son were camping here and his son swam in the lake and the waters cured him. Napoleon named the lake after Saint Anne and brought all his friends down to build the shrine and it's church dedicated to her back in 1920. It became a very popular place amongst tourists of all kinds, but especially the Canadians. Unfortunately WWII put an end to that and the Diocese of St. Augustine de-sanctified the entire complex in the 1950s/60s and tore down the church and most of the shrine, leaving just the bits that are left. In 1981, a priest tried to sell the land to build a home (!) but was stopped by the neighborhood. *There are other legends. Behind and off to the side of Saint Anne's shrine, is a smallish shrine to Saint Therese of Lisieux, The Little Flower. Her Statue is long gone but was replaced by a statue of Mary, but I doubt anyone minds. It is quite interesting in how it was built, almost pyramid in nature with palm tree trunks backing it. Mosaics are everywhere. Lovely to see, but not all are in good shape. I'll be honest. The place does need some TLC. The local Catholic Church that is supposed to take care of it needs to do a better job. The neighbors do what they can and keep the weeds to a minimum and the grass mowed. I suspect they pick up trash as well because I did not see any at all. The Shrine is beautiful. That cannot be denied. No matter your faith, there is an air of calmness around. Lizards and butterflies abound everywhere. We saw a family of Florida Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis pratensis) calmly walking around yards and then to the small sandy area at the Lake. Bromeliads were blooming wild everywhere. If you are interested in Florida's hidden treasures, than this is an place that is a must-see. For more info https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ste_Anne_des_Lacs https://www.theledger.com/article/20150324/Lifestyle/608071694

I love finding a historical marker. They are filled with nuggets of interesting history about the…read moresurrounding area. I found this one while driving through Central Florida in Polk County on my way to Kissimmee. This marker was erected in 1966 by the Polk County Historical Commission. When the government enacted the Indian Removal Act in 1830, the army was sent to drive all of the Native American out west on the Trail of Tears. The Seminoles resisted and the Second Seminole War broke out. Forts like this one on Lake Alfred were set up all across Florida to aid the US army in their mission. Fort Cummings was established on January 22,1839 and named for Col. Alexander Cummings of the Fourth Infantry. It was part of the forts in Central Florida protecting the supply line from Fort Brooke, Tampa to Fort Mellon, Sanford. In 1841 the fort was moved 1/2 mile west of the original location. In 1841 it was the site of a meeting between Seminole Chief Coacochee and Colonel William Jenkins Worth. The fort was abandoned later that year. There are no remains of the fort today, but the site is designated by a historic marker located at the intersection of South Lake Shore Way and West Pierce Street in present-day Lake Alfred, Florida.

This Marker is located on West Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard east of South Howard Street, on…read morethe left when traveling west. It was erected in 1985 by The First United Methodist Church, Rev. W. Ernest Dorrell, Pastor; Rev. R.C. Joyner, Parish Minister. The marker commemorates the site of Plant City's first church building. It was built in 1850 by the Methodist congregation that was established at Ichepucksassa by Rev. Samuel Knight. The congregation was an organization of the Shiloh Baptist Church. They decided to move from the small town Shiloh located two miles north, to Plant City when it was newly formed. The church was built under the supervision of Rev. T.J. Phillips. At the time it was dedicated in December 1885 by W.H. Potter, D.D. of Macon, Georgia, the membership totaled 70 people. Although the building is now longer standing there is a United Methodist Church in Plant City at 303 N Evers St. The United Methodist branch of Christianity was created by joining together The Evangelical United Brethren Church and The Methodist Church.

I love 1920s architecture so I made a point to stop by this old school when I was in Haines City…read morefor the 39 Mile Scenic Highway Yard Sale. They don't make schools like this gorgeous beauty anymore. The Old Central Grammar School is also known as the Haines City Middle School Annex or as the Fellowship Dining-Ridge. The school was built in 1925 by Paul Smith. Edward Columbus Hosford (April 24, 1883 - January 2, 1939) was the architect on the project and he designed it in the Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Revival styles which were very ornate and popular in the 1920's. Hosford was a noted American architect who designed courthouses and many other buildings throughout Florida, Georgia, and Texas. In 1909 Hosford designed the old Polk County Courthouse now a museum in Bartow and 1926 he designed the old Lakeland High School. This building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 17, 1994. For several years the building was a community theatre before becoming part of Daniel Jenkins Academy of Technology, a middle school in the Polk County Public Schools District. Sadly this building looks to be abandoned and is surrounded by a fence. I hope Haines City finds a way to save this historic building and repurpose it as a history museum or cultural arts center as many other Florida towns have preserved their grand old buildings.

This historic school was built in 1925 and was added to the National Register of Historic places in…read more1994. The building looks to be in a state of disrepair but is still a beautiful example of Mediterranean and Spanish Revival style. It was used for a long time as a community theatre and later became a Haines City Middle School. This location is listed on Roadtrippers as one of the off the beaten places to visit.