The Saturday Morning Magazine tradition of having a guest blog for the month of December continues – meet Natural Florida Artist Linda Blondheim, a five – star Plein Air painter who lives outside Gainesville. I’ve admired her work for years,…
DeLand Delivers Good Vibrations
Pop quiz: Name the first municipality in the state of Florida to become a Monarch City USA. Tick tock. Tick tock. Got it yet? Hint: Check out the photograph below. And the answer is DeLand, Florida. Yeah for DeLand! This…
Appreciate Art at the Appleton & More Museums
Been a while since you visited the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala? Pencil in a visit soon. Things have changed. There is a hushed reverence in the exhibit rooms. Walls are painted with themed colors and room displays unfold gracefully.
Lake Eola Park hosts Farmers Market
Every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando becomes the place to be. Tents of all sizes line both sides of the park’s winding sidewalks for the weekly Orlando Farmers Market. Music, ethnic food,…
Visit Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Gardens
Welcome to Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Gardens, a 27-acre site located on both sides of Riverside Drive in Punta Gorda, Florida. Soaring sculptures and spectacular gardens sit side by side in splendid accord. As soon as you park and…
Winter Park Walk can be a Treasure Hunt
Like treasure hunts? Then a walk on Park Avenue in Winter Park is your kind of adventure. For starters, stepping into the Spice and Tea Exchange is an aromatic treat. Try to find your favorite spice smell – there are…
Grab flip flops, Let’s Go Visit Hollywood, Florida
Let’s go to Hollywood. No, not that one in California, instead grab your flip-flops and let’s go to Hollywood, Florida. The city of Hollywood sits on the Atlantic Ocean. It is conveniently located north of Miami and south of Fort…
Jack Kerouac Slept & Wrote in College Park, Florida
Jack Kerouac slept here. Believe it! For a short while, during a piece of 1957-58 Jack Kerouac and his mother lived in a two-room apartment at the back of a bungalow in College Park, a laidback neighborhood in northwest Orlando.…
Naples Loves Outdoor Farmers Markets
Naples on the West Coast of Florida has a hot and heavy love affair going on with outdoor Farmers Markets. Seven different Farmers Markets, yes seven, strut their stuff on different days of the week during the season (November through…
Making mosaics in Barcelona, Spain
Making mosaics is easy and fun in Barcelona, Spain. Come with me and I’ll show you how. Today I’m taking a two-hour mosaic class at Livia Garreta’s studio. My plan: make a mosaic I can bring home in my suitcase.…
Old Cedar Key Walking Tour and More Adventures
The Old Cedar Key walking tour is on my list of things to do but first we need to check in. At the Faraway Inn their Office sign is turned to Open. Obi and I step inside. The manager looks…
Garden Statues Salute Saints & Sinners
Garden statues – There are saints and sinners along with some surprise winners sitting in my back garden. Let’s start with saints. Next to the fish pond stands a metal angel, hands touching in prayer, wings serenely open wide…
Go Greek for a day (or two) in Tarpon Springs
“Once a week, go Greek.” Look for this motto on shirts worn by the wait staff at Mr. Souvlaki’s restaurant on Pinellas Avenue in Tarpon Springs. Be quick to take a peek because the waiters are moving pretty fast, threading…
Wauchula – go there on 3rd Saturday
Where is Wauchula? It is the place to be on the third Saturday of every month. Seriously. The city’s web site describes Wauchula as being one hour from anywhere – the public relations way of saying we’re small but we…
Florida Art Museums are Cool – Let’s Visit
September in Florida can be cruel. An early morning breeze caresses our cheeks like a lover’s touch and then bam! An hour later the thrill of fall is gone, replaced by yet another hot day and humid night – enough…
Art and Food Go Together in Puerto Vallarta
The smell of salt air hits our senses like a savory spice. We are at the edge of downtown Puerto Vallarta. Does the name sound familiar? This is the small fishing and pearl-diving village that became famous due to a…
Discover Downtown St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, Florida has 360 days a year of sunshine AND cars stop to let you go across the crosswalk. What’s not to like? My friend Barbara Trow, a recent transplant to St. Petersburg, laughs as she reels off those…
Antiques Fair Well in Arcadia
“You really must go to Arcadia the fourth Saturday of the month,” she said, her husband nodding assent as they stood at my table during a book signing. I perked up. “Why the fourth Saturday?” I asked. “Oh, because all…
Venice is a Vision Worth Visiting
“So, what you like about living in Venice?” I asked my dinner companion. “Everything.” Wow. That is not something you hear every day. But are we in the same zip code? My dinner companion was not talking about THAT Venice,…
Winter Park Puts a Smile in Your Step
Want to put a smile in your step? Spend a Saturday in Winter Park. Yep. Saturday. Why? Because it is Farmer’s Market Day. Every Saturday an encampment of tents fan out in a tight cluster around the old train station…
Tarpon Springs Gives a Taste of Greek Life
I’m smiling and it is not even time for lunch. But I know lunch will be at Mama Maria’s, a family run Greek restaurant with marvelous food. Oh yes. First I find my way to Dodecanese Boulevard, home of the…
Gainesville is Good to Go for All Seasons
Depending on the season Gainesville rearranges its face. The face during football season is painted orange and blue of course. GO GATORS. Every semester Gainesville changes its feel and look as the city ebbs and surges with the academic calendar…
Visit Sarasota if you want to be invigorated
Want to be invigorated? Then my advice is – visit Sarasota soon. Why? For starters, here are five why’s: Be stimulated = Sarasota boasts a playbill loaded with award-winning arts and culture venues. These events don’t take a breather for…
Peace River Seafood & More in Punta Gorda
Got crabs? The Peace River Seafood Market & Restaurant in Punta Gorda does. Lots of them. Stone crab claws in season along with whole blue crabs that turn from blue to an outrageous shade of orange when they’re steamed. Ah,…
Naples Street Concierge there for you
IN FOCUS – Florida Feature Story by Lucy Beebe Tobias Susan Becker is a Street Concierge in Naples, Florida. Say what? Naples may be the only place in the country to have Street Concierges, located at the Third Street Concierge,…