10.3.13

Sites and Scenes from 2013 Plant City Strawberry Festival

Living in Florida since 2010, we had not yet attended the infamous Plant City Strawberry Festival, but it was an event that we have talked about attending. What made it on this year's agenda was that we're going to have Canadian friends staying with us and we wanted to show them some 'Authentic' and local Florida.





It wasn't difficult to find the Festival; just follow the signs and the long train of cars


As expected, the city streets and parking lots were overcrowded with vehicles so we parked a distance away and then walked to the Festival.








The usual amusements against the beautiful sky created a great contrast for my photos!


There was no shortage for things to do for those who have a great sense of humor.
This is my Canadian friend, Sue


This is Me, L'il Miss Strawberry 2013! :)



Now onto the Edible Eats portion of the Festival








Bring on the Strawberry Everything!


Just when you thought you'd heard of everything........then there's Chocolate Dipped Bacon!
(Nope, we didn't try it)


But Oh, the chocolate-covered strawberry Shish-Ka-Bob, Yes, we DID try that! MMMMMM...


My Hubby, Bob, holding ours


Our Friends, Sue & Brian photographing theirs


Yep, delicious!



An experience definitely worth $5 and we thought the only way it could have been better was if it had been dipped in dark chocolate!


Another uniquely Florida experience for our friends to try!





Our Friends facing the camera: (L) Sue  (R) Brian


The Gator Meat for the Bites
Resemble chicken?





The brave and enthusiastic food tasters. They enjoyed them. 
Chewy, yes. Rubbery, a bit. Taste like chicken: somewhat


What a Gator Bite looks like


A sample of the delicious strawberries in the half flat ($5) that we purchased!

If you are in Central Florida the first week of March, we would recommend The Plant City Strawberry Festival

4.3.13

Who Made Gator Bits of This Gator's Tail? @ Circle B Bar Reserve

Circle B Bar Reserve is a 1.267 acre property located at 4399 Winter Lake Rd, Lakeland, 33803 and is a FAVORITE spot for my husband and I and we find ourselves there frequently on our trail bikes as we like to combine exercise with nature watching & photography.

On a very chilly and windy day, Saturday, March 2, 2013, we were hiking around Lake Hancock on Alligator Alley with Canadian Friends when we saw this large gator on the Marsh side, partially hidden by a tree. The most notable feature was the end portion of the tail, rather the lack of the end portion of the tail. We wondered who or what had made gator bits of this gator's tail!