“Perfect to have in the home for budding animal enthusiasts, ideal for armchair adventurers and great for Florida transplants who are experiencing a whole new range of wildlife, [Florida Animals for Everyday Naturalists] will help readers appreciate the abundance of life right outside their doors.”
According to the Pinellas County website, 400-acre Sawgrass Lake Park in St. Petersburg features “one of the largest maple swamps on the Gulf Coast of Florida.” We strolled along the mile-long boardwalk at Sawgrass Lake Park on a sunny Sunday morning and viewed an alligator, some turtles and even a yellow-crowned night heron. Sawgrass Lake Park also offers an observation tower, picnic shelter, restroom. Admission is free.
Last Saturday we enjoyed the opportunity to explore scenic Lovers Key State Park (full name: Lovers Key Carl E. Johnson State Park), which lies just south of Fort Myers Beach. The 1,616-acre Lovers Key State Park encompasses the barrier islands of Lovers Key, Inner Key, Black Island and Long Key. Highlights of Lovers Key State Park include 2.5 miles of white sandy beaches with some of the best shelling Southwest Florida, as well as hiking and biking trails, kayaking and canoeing opportunities, a boat ramp, saltwater fishing, wildlife viewing (we saw two gopher tortoises) and a beachside concession stand. A free tram service runs from the first parking area to the south beach. We’ll definitely be back soon!
“Wake in Fright tells the tale of John Grant’s journey into an alcoholic, sexual and spiritual nightmare. It is the original and the greatest outback horror story. Bundanyabba and its citizens will haunt you forever.”
Just about every time I get to Mount Dora, I make sure to stop by Palm Island Park for a quick stroll on the scenic boardwalk. I always manage to view something different that makes the stroll worthwhile. Yesterday, I saw a bunch of black vultures just hanging out on a fallen tree. If you’ve never been to Palm Island Park, I urge you to make the trip when you get a chance. Highly recommended!
A series of renovations are taking place at Kelly Park in Apopka, so we could not go anywhere near Rock Springs (which is closed to swimmers and tubers due to the pandemic), but we still enjoyed a scenic hike along the Kelly Loop Trail (1.5 miles). No wildlife sightings this time out, but a nice time nonetheless and we pretty much had the whole trail to ourselves!
“The Lincolns eclipses earlier accounts with riveting new information that makes husband and wife, president and first lady, come alive in all their proud accomplishments and earthy humanity. Award-winning biographer and poet Daniel Mark Epstein gives a fresh close-up view of the couple’s life in Springfield, Illinois … and dramatizes with stunning immediacy how the Lincolns’ ascent to the White House brought both dazzling power and the slow, secret unraveling of the couple’s unique bond.”
It was just under a year ago when we first visited Lettuce Lake Conservation Park, which lies off I-75 in Tampa and just minutes from the University of South Florida campus. So we jumped at the chance to visit again on Sunday and we were not disappointed! One of the most visited parks in Hillsborough County, Lettuce Lake Park “lies in the natural floodplain of the Hillsborough River” and features a hardwood swamp forest that can be experienced via a 3,500-foot boardwalk and observation tower. During this outing, we saw two Florida alligators, a baby turtle and several bird species, including the white ibis. Entrance fee is $2 (cash only). Don’t miss it!
Believe it or not, Ocoee does not have any nature preserves (yet), so there are only about two options available for anyone seeking out wildlife in the city: hit the West Orange Trail or visit 200-acre Starke Lake, which features an impressive variety of bird species, as well as a boat ramp and fishing pier. Check it out!
Built by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (HBJ) on the site of what was formerly Circus World at the corner of Interstate 4 and U.S. 27 in Haines City, Boardwalk and Baseball opened on Valentine’s Day 1987 as a Florida theme park that rather unsuccessfully attempted to combine the vibe of an early 19th-century seaside boardwalk such as Atlantic City or Coney Island with an adjacent baseball stadium (“Baseball City Stadium”) that served as the Spring Training home of the Kansas City Royals until 2002. Notable attractions at 135-acre Boardwalk and Baseball included the Florida Hurricane roller coaster, Grand Rapids Flume Ride, Royal Lippizaner Horse Show, Great Moments in Baseball film and IMAX theater. In addition, ESPN taped a game show here called Boardwalk and Baseball’s Super Bowl of Sports Trivia featuring Chris Berman as host. According to a March 5, 1988, New York Times article (“Baseball by the Boardwalk”), “Neither the stadium nor the amusement park was overflowing with people today. The 7,000-seat stadium, one of the finest in Florida, had only 3,281 fans, and many drifted back and forth between the game and the rides … The Boardwalk label for the amusement park is somewhat mystifying because boardwalks are usually associated with water, and the only water in the park fills various lakes and the log flume ride.” In 1989, HBJ sold Boardwalk and Baseball to Busch Entertainment Corporation, but dismal crowds led to the closing of the theme park on January 17, 1990. According to an article in the Tampa Bay Times announcing the closure, “Boardwalk and Baseball, a switch-hitting Central Florida amusement park that tried to combine home runs and roller coasters, has struck out. Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., which has owned the park since November, closed it without warning Wednesday afternoon. The corporation said the amusement … was losing money faster and faster with no prospects for improvement.” The former Boardwalk and Baseball site is now occupied by the immense Posner Park shopping complex.
Wandering Florida 