Closed on the Monday when I was passing through Bartow but I got to at least enjoy the outside of…read morethis massive structure that used to be the Polk County Courthouse and is now the History Center. The new Justice Center towers above, across the street. There is a historical marker out front that provides some history. It reads, "Polk County was established February 8, 1861 formed from eastern Hillsborough County and western Brevard County and comprised one of two counties created after the state's secession from the union. Polk County was named after James Knox Polk the eleventh president of the United States. Polk served from 1845 to 1849, and was the first president to hold office after Florida achieved statehood. The turbulent 1860's saw Polk's seat of government changed several times. Located first at Mud Lake, the county seat soon moved to Jefferson, a surveyed town site within the present day limits of Bartow. Court and County records were maintained in the home of the county clerk the Reverend Jeremiah Hayman at Six Mile Creek. In 1867 cattleman Jacob Summerlin donated 120 acres of land at Bartow for a town site and seat of county government. Several courthouses have existed at this site, built in 1867, 1884 and 1909." It is marker number F-549 and was erected in 2005 by the Polk County Historical Commission and the Florida Department of State. The building was designed by Edward Columbus Hosford with contributions from Francis J. Kennard in a Classical Revival composition. The style is unmistakable: a symmetrical facade, strong classical massing, and a clock tower rising above the roofline. A series of earlier courthouses stood on this same ground, beginning with an 1867 structure, then an 1884 replacement, and finally the 1909 building that survives today. The facade's classical detailing, the clock tower, and the building's balanced proportions all reflect a period when counties across the South were asserting their permanence through monumental architecture. Inside, the building now houses the Polk County History Center, and the county offers regular architectural tours that highlight the structure's Neo‑Classical features and the stories behind its construction. Just not on Monday. [Review 1612 of 2025 - 2189 in Florida - 25160 overall]

Well appointed and accredited museum. We spent over an hour watching the short videos and reading…read morethe information. Unfortunately, they are under renovation and some of the sections were closed off. That just means I need to go back when I visit next year.

Free admission sponsored by Wawa August 30-31. Very cool homage to native Florida wildlife -…read morehundreds of plants - 48 of them rare. Originally planted by landscape artist Olmsted in 1920s. Bok Tower has 60 tons of carillon bells and is covered with depictions of FL birds, animals, plants, and humans. Built by Bok in Art Deco style of the period, it was designated a National Historic Landmark by Calvin Coolidge.

This is perhaps the best botanical garden in the world--we haven't gone to any outside of Florida…read morethough so take that how you will. We got engaged here! 8.28.26! So take that how you will! The tower itself is a masterful design, everyone is friendly and will answer any questions you have! The cafe is stellar and the wine and tap selection will appease anyone who partakes! This was our third time going, so many gift shop goodies and plants we've taken home!

New Review : Well…read moreSebring Location has shut down and I have since moved to avon park where the main location is. This is Still a great little video store. They also provide mins for most Prepaid phones and is the one and only local location that sells 10$ boost reup cards!! The also sell Video games and systems, and prepaid internet (for good price), and from what I can tell (havent checked it out yet) public use of gamesystems in store. The Owner and His employees are great friendly and welcoming and Maryjane is still great eyecandy and wonderfull at profiding fabulous customer service Origional review vvvvvvvvvvv NOTE I am actually reviewing the Sebring Location Located next to sweetbay. This place is small but the service is well above Par and the selection is actually top notch. They dont have it they will get it. We Love the folks that work there. Loydd (aka Cowboy) is funny and once you get to know Him is half the fun of going, and Maryjane is sweet and nice eye candy ;) We have spent many an hour in this little video store. Well worth checking out.

I have wanted to go to this yard sale event along the Scenic Highway for a few years now but it is…read morequite a distance from where I live. It required the commitment of leaving my house at 5 AM to make it to the first stop closest to me, Frostproof by 8 AM. This was the year I finally made it. The sale is always held the first Saturday in November and attracts thousands of people. It takes place from 8Am to 3 PM. The sale is sponsored by Ridge Scenic Highway Corridor, Corridor Management Entity, City of Lake Wales, Frostproof Chamber of Commerce, Lake Wales Woman's Club, Lake of the Hills Community Club, Town of Lake Hamilton, Dundee Methodist Church, and the City of Frostproof. These civic, religious, and non profit groups have been working together since 2007 to promote tourism along the Lake Wales Ridge. While you shop at the sale you can also dine at local restaurants and shop at businesses. While I pretty much stuck to the sale it was hard not to get sidetracked by some of the places I have always wanted to visit. I got to visit a few on this trip in addition to reaching each of the official sale stops. The sale runs along the Lake Wales Ridge and extends 38.7 miles from its intersection with US 27 S of Frostproof to where it intersects with US 17/92 in Haines City. There are five official locations for the sale. These are downtown Frostproof, Lake Wales at the Woman's Club, Lake of the Hills at the Community Clubhouse, Dundee at the Methodist Church, and Lake Hamilton at the Town Hall grounds. In between the official stops are many other unofficial sales. It would be impossible to stop at every sale in one day. Along the route are a number of cultural and historical sites along with lakes, natural areas, citrus groves, and unique Florida attractions. The first stop in Frostproof was the perfect way to start the sale. I loved shopping among the historic buildings of Frostproof. I got coffee with Mr. Chris in a historic train depot and visited the friendly folks at the Chamber of Commerce. I love how this sale introduced me to the beautiful Lake Wales Ridge. There is still so much more I want to explore.

The rodeo was awesome, lots of bucking bulls and horses, great music and food, the party after the…read morerodeo was also also a great time!

I have 3 daughters and this was our third and BEST wedding hands down. We loved the venue and all…read morethe activities really gave us a chance to co-mingle with all the guests. Tammy was incredible and was there to make sure everything went smooth. I can't thank or praise her enough. Without her our stress level would have been through the room, and I can think of a couple bumps in the road that she gracefully averted for us. Tammy was the MVP of the trip!!! For the price, this is an incredible value and I recommend Westgate River Ranch for your wedding or event. I have to say that everyone we met were so nice, and everyone was willing to go above and beyond. The girls that held the lobby doors, the agents at the desk were all so helpful, as was the golf cart attendant. A nice young man named Sam was our waiter three times, was awesome, and even though the kitchen was a little long the first night, and some of our guests got impatient, I was really impressed at how Sam handled it and won us over. We loved the clay shooting and again we had a great guide! The swamp buggy was great also. Again we loved the driver! My wife and I can't wait to come up by ourselves.

This is my fourth time to this track and it looks like they've done a lot of improvements to the…read moretrack or the facilities around the track. I remember the first time I came to the track. It was pretty dirty and it seemed like the bathrooms were really unkept, but I noticed this time they had people at every single bathroom keeping them clean every time I went to the bathroom, it was super clean now Road Atlanta needs to catch up with them. I like the new bridge crossovers that let you get to the paddocks and over the track. The shuttles have been great for people who don't feel like walking and especially when my knees needed a break from the stairs. Temporary signs were everywhere and the free parking for those whom didn't purchase or have an inside parking sure is nice as it helps it brings a bigger crowd to the races and helps promote and keep the sport popular. I did get to park inside with my four day pass and that was really nice to not have to buy it separately but also the free parking wasn't super far either. The weather has been great so far and the track staff have kept the track clean and so far it's been a fun event. I'll update after the race with any post race feedback. I finally found the free program with the map of the track layout and the shuttle stops have a track map also. This has been super helpful. At Daytona they had either ran out or didn't have maps and it was challenging and frustrating. They need to add temporary track maps to their shuttle stops like Sebring. I also like how the shuttle staff were familiar with the stops and helped navigate when and where to get off based on where you were wanting to go, something the staff at Daytona definitely had no clue about and their lines were long and fans were frustrated not knowing where to go or if they were even getting on the correct shuttles.

Sebring International Raceway is a true race track holding all sorts of motorsport races including…read morethe Mobil 1 Twelve Hour. As the first race here was held in 1950, it's one of the oldest continuously operating tracks in the United States. I came here to see the two days of Porsche racing with only Porches involved in the races. I ended up staying at the Sebring International Raceway Hotel also known as Seven Sebring Raceway Hotel in room 417 which is located right on the race track with a balcony overlooking its famous hairpin turn. The room I had was great. It was clean, well-furnished and with the best race track view anyone could ask for. Then, with its Apex bar and restaurant facilities a total of Yelp 5 plus stars.

The address says Museum Drive, but it's in the Pioneer Park right on Florida Highway 17, in the…read moremiddle of nowhere. It's well worth a detour if you're traveling around Sebring. A delightful community-based museum that preserves some of the history of the agricultural community. Lots of photos of the community founders. On display are two organs and a piano ... I don't know why music was part of the community. I especially enjoyed getting to choose recipes of food that was cooked in this part of Florida, especially swamp cabbage. Don't forget to also see the few cracker houses in the park.

Don't drive passed this hidden gem. We didn't golf. We just stopped to eat. Our food was fresh and…read moremade to order. It was scrumptious. Our server, Kenzie, I think, was delightful and efficient. If I had one issue it would be the wine. It's just ok. But there's a full bar, so try something else. It's now our new stop for lunch in Lake Wales.

Brunch at the country club. Sounds fancy, right? NOT! We arrived at 10:30 am. One other table was…read moreseated. Turned out that table was very loud so we moved. I ordered a soft drink. My husband ordered coffee. I was not offered a straw. While placing my order, my waitress said my order of home fries would be an up charge. I had to point out on the menu that choice of potato was included. I was surprised at the lack of plating. My husbands burrito was all alone on the plate. (Later we realized his dish too included a choice of potato but it was never offered) My Croque Madam was served alone on the plate with the potatoes on a separate dish. I expected a runny egg on top of the sandwich. It was inside the sandwich and the yolk was hard. I would go back and try another dish. Hence my 3 star rating. The food tasted good. My husbands 3 item burrito was hot and fresh. I think my sandwich hung out a while before it was topped with American cheese sauce and served. Not really hot except for the sauce. The service and attention to detail were lacking. When our waitress asked how our food was, she spoke to us from behind the bar. We felt like we were in the way of her setting up the bar at 11:00 am on a Sunday morning. Prices were reasonable.. because potatoes ARE included on the menu.