Fantasy of Flight Attraction Is Closing

Posted on March 29, 2014 by floridatraveler

Fantasy of Flight Attraction Is Closing

Fantasy of Flight, the attraction at Polk City off I-4, is closing its main facilities after 18 years of service. It is another of the “real things” attractions that haven’t been able to attract enough business from the gigantic “fantasy” parks at nearby Orlando..

Fantasy of Flight owner Kermit Weeks noted, “We have a great product, but people have a mis-perception of what we offer.”

Fantasy of Flights has one of the world’s greatest collections of authentic airplanes, dating from the beginnings of the twentieth century. The airplanes are presented in realistic scenes and visitors can take rides in some airplanes at added costs.

Fortunately for airplane loves, the center will continue to be a restoration and maintenance facility for amazing historical aircraft. The reputation of the site with its airfield facilities will also mean there will be gatherings of old planes and special events.

Mr. Weeks plans to reopen the facility in a reduced capacity, probably with an emphasis on the aircraft collections and the rides. As a niche site with a smaller staff, a new Fantasy of Flight will hopefully emerge.

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The Meanest Golf Hole In Florida

Posted on March 24, 2014 by floridatraveler

The Meanest Golf Hole In Florida

What is the meanest golf hole in Florida? Is it the 18th hole at the TPC Blue Monster? Or perhaps the 8th hole at the PGA National Champions Course?

They may be tough on the professional players on the tour, but the meanest hole in Florida for weekend golfers is one of the most photographed holes in the United States. It is the par-3 Sixth Hole at Walt Disney World’s Magnolia course.

This hole at the longest golf course at WDW starts with an elevated tee where you get a wonderful view of the large tranquil water hazard and the even more elevated green. And there it is – staring you in the face – a Mickey Mouse shaped bunker.

Sure, every other golfer takes out the cellphone and snaps sandy old Mickey – but you realize that if your ball lands in that bunker, your friends will have a field day photographing you. You and Mickey will be on the billboard of every office wall, not counting the social media from Boston to Tokyo.

Yes – the Magnolia course at WDW has a dangerous hole. To avoid Mickey, golfers hit bad shots all over the woods and into the water.

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Bollywood’s Film Awards Come To Tampa, Florida

Posted on March 14, 2014 by floridatraveler

Bollywood's Film Awards Come To Tampa, Florida

Tampa, Florida, may seem an unlikely destination for the 15th International India Film Academy show, but unlike the Oscars the IIFA Awards have been given out in Toronto, Macao, Dubai, Singapore, and Amsterdam. This will be the first IIFA convention in the USA.

Unlike the Oscars, the Indian film showcase is a weekend convention of events topped by an award show where the general public is invited.

Will Bollywood fans come to Florida to see their favorites? Before the events and guests were even announced, 15,000 tickets were sold. Don’t worry – there’s plenty of seats for the public since the show (televised globally) is at Raymond James football Stadium.

Most of the events are taking place April 24th and 25th at the downtown Tampa Convention Center, but there are numerous banquets, music concerts, fashion shows, and even IIFA Master Class Panels available to the public. I’m interested in a Panel hosted by American actor Kevin Spacey and Indian star Vidya Balan.

This is the first time that the massive Indian film industry will present their product directly to American audiences as well as the gigantic worldwide Indian audience. One thing is certain. It will be an interesting time in Tampa.

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Andrew Carnegie’s Florida Library Impact Is Still Being Honored

Posted on March 11, 2014 by floridatraveler

Andrew Carnegie's Florida Library Impact Is Still Being Honored

The Tampa-Hillsborough Library system is having their Centennial Celebration this year and every library has a life-sized poster of Andrew Carnegie greeting visitors. It is appropriate since two of Carnegie’s ten Florida city libraries are in Tampa.

In fact, this is near the 100th anniversary of the opening of the West Tampa Library (still in use), in the center of Tampa’s second cigar factory community. I have checked out books here and in the old Tampa Library on 7th Avenue and Tampa.

Still standing is the Jacksonville Old Free Public Library (1902), Bradenton Carnegie (1917), and Palmetto (1914) – the latter two I have visited as resources for research and museum materials. Carnegie would be pleased that even when newer and bigger libraries are built that his originals still have academic use.

Carnegie was very concerned about African-American education and on Tallahassee’s highest hill stands the Florida A&M Carnegie Library (1905), now the Southeastern Regional Black Archives and Research Center (see photo). Carnegie library buildings are still part of the campus life at Rollins College (1905) and Stetson University (Sampson Hall 1906).

When it came to libraries, Mr. Carnegie built 3,500 libraries across the land and in such exotic spots as Serbia, Fiji, and Mauritius.

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George Mira – Always A Native Conch

Posted on March 3, 2014 by floridatraveler

George Mira - Always A Native Conch

Food wagons and trucks are very big in Florida, but I was really shocked a few months ago when I saw one marked “George Mira Native Conch.”

As fast as I could say “The Matador” I discovered the conch fritters were really made by the former UM star quarterback George Mira and one of his sons. I was sports editor of the UM newspaper The Hurricane and had a good front row look at the star from Key West during his glory years.

The recent Super Bowl in NYC reminded me of watching Mira throw for 320 yards vs. Nebraska in the first Gotham Bowl, a stupid idea in Yankee Stadium before 900 freezing fans in a blizzard. I wonder how many yards Peyton would have had in a real snow blizzard.

George was the Johnny Manziel of his at era at barely 6 feet and 180 pounds. Yet he was the third QB in the 1964 NFL Draft and played for the 49ers, Eagles, Colts, and Dolphins; then he played for Montreal and Toronto in the CFL; then he played for Birmingham and Jacksonville of the World League.

The only thing George loved maybe more than football was his home town Key West. All those offensive linemen from Pennsylvania used to joke that they had Desi Arnez as their QB, but they would do anything to protect their leader.

So if you are visiting an event in South Florida and see the “Native Conch” food wagon and you love football or the U, drop by.

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The War For The Best Cuban Sandwich Gets Hotter

Posted on February 25, 2014 by floridatraveler

The War For The Best Cuban Sandwich Gets Hotter

March has been proclaimed Cuban Sandwich month by Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and the Third Annual Cuban Sandwich Festival will be held in Ybor City’s Heritage Park on March 22 and 23. This is a SuperBowl event.

Living in Tampa for 45 years means I have seen a lot of Cuban sandwich contests sponsored by the local newspapers and radio stations. Tampa’s Cuban population came in 1885 with the cigar industry and they also brought most of the popular Cuban sandwich ingredients.

People take their Cuban sandwiches seriously and a victory by a small restaurant or bakery means a big boost in business. With the Cuban population spread out to West Tampa, Town and Country, and elsewhere, every area of town has its sandwich favorite places.

The Cuban has/has not changed as Cuban food spread across the land with the huge Cuban migration to Miami starting in the 1960’s. There are now categories of Cubans with the most serious being Traditional (mustard only) and Non-Traditional (Mayo). I love mayo but I WILL NOT put it in on a Cuban! Pressed Cubans are best – it is an art form.

For the last two years the Cuban restaurants and bakeries of Miami and South Florida have challenged Tampa so this contest is now one of regional pride. Down in South Florida there is a semi-finals in Hialeah on March 15 to send the best people to the Tampa festival.

This Cuban sandwich thing is getting serious. The big winners, I think, will be the thousands who come to the Festival to eat Florida’s creations.

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Pensacola Naval AIr Station – 100 Years of Service to America

Posted on February 16, 2014 by floridatraveler

Pensacola Naval AIr Station - 100 Years of Service to America

In October 1913, Secretary of Navy Josephus Daniels organized a board to develop an aeronautical option for the U.S. Navy. To Captain Washington Irving Chambers, the biggest booster of naval aviation, Florida was the logical choice for air training – the first commercial air flights were just happening in Tampa, Florida.

Pensacola, with its huge Bay, was selected for the first naval aviation center. When the USA entered WWI in April of 1917, Pensacola was still the only training field. The station started with 38 naval aviators, 163 enlisted ground personnel, and 54 fixed wing aircraft.

Pensacola remained the major training field in WWII. The Navy even trained Doolittle’s Raiders to take off from carriers in the Bay. The jets came in 1954 and Pensacola trained the pilots who went to Korea, Vietnam, and the Middle East.

There was concern of the fate of the base when Hurricane Ivan scored a direct hit on the facilities in 2004. But Pensacola continues to produce pilots who go on to great careers like John Glenn and Neil Armstrong.

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The 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Olustee Will Be A Big Event

Posted on February 11, 2014 by floridatraveler

The 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Olustee Will Be A Big Event

On Sunday, February 16th, the 150th Anniversary of Florida’s largest Civil War battle will be honored by the 38th Annual Reenactment at Olustee outside Lake City.

This will be a three day event starting on February 14 with parades, period music concerts, medical and armament presentations, and the creation of real looking military campsites. Civil War buffs from around the nation like to gather in “warm Florida” for this “hot military simulation.”

The full list of events and times can be seen at http://www.battleofolustee.org. Florida was so far South, it had its own Civil War, but Florida provided the Confederacy with two key products: cattle and salt.

In February of 1864, Brigadier General Truman Seymour left Jacksonville with 5,500 Union troops with the plan to cut off the key railroad depot at Olustee. Seymour was stopped here by 5,000 Florida and Georgia troops under Brigadier General Joseph Finnegan.

There is a lot to see at Olustee. There is a “People of Color” presentation honoring the 54th Massachusetts Infantry and 8th and 35th US Colored Troops who engaged in the conflict. Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglas will be represented.

Florida may not have the massive battlegrounds and Civil War cemeteries of Virginia and Tennessee, but the Sunshine State has its Civil War story – Tallahassee was the only Confederate capital east of the Mississippi not captured by the Union.

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It’s Time For Antique Hunting and Lunch On Limoges

Posted on January 31, 2014 by floridatraveler

It's Time For Antique Hunting and Lunch On Limoges

It’s the winter-snowbird tourist season here in Florida and next to going to beaches and parks and visiting Mickey, going shopping is the most popular activity. And going antique hunting in Florida’s small towns is high on the list.

Mount Dora, Quincy, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs, Micanopy, Homestead, Stuart, Monticello. So many towns have made weekend shopping trips a popular pastime in Florida.

Living in Tampa, my wife and I like to visit Dade City in Pasco County. The antique area is packed downtown and we often stop to look at the lovely campus of St. Leo College along the route.

The high point of the visit is a stop for Lunch on Limoges, a landmark restaurant in the middle of the 1908 Williams Department Store. There under the tin roof and surrounded by racks of clothing and artifacts, you can have a sandwich or Pecan Grouper or maybe their Athens Grouper.

The place is NOT open Sundays and reservations (352-567-5685) may be desirable during the winter antique migration of snow birds.

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Bijoux Terner Boomed During the Florida Recession

Posted on January 27, 2014 by floridatraveler

Bijoux Terner Boomed During the Florida Recession

Miami’s Bijoux Terner is one Florida business that just grew and grew during the recent Great Recession. The company has a history of finding trends before the rest of the market.

Cuban refugee Salomon Terner started a handbag factory in Miami in the 1960’s and eventually branched into costume jewelry. Bijoux Terner sold mostly to small retailers but had a few kiosks in Miami International Airport and Florida cruise terminals.

When a recession hit the retail business in the 1970’s, the kiosks were losing money. In a last-ditch effort to clear inventory, everything in the shop was listed at $10.

Everything sold up immediately and soon even restocking the stores fast enough was a major task. It became the strategy of Bijoux Terner – sell trendy accessories, jewelry, and travel items at $10 an item and develop a top notch distribution system so the shops always look updated and filled.

Bijoux Terner found there were dozens of licensees and franchisees that knew of good locations to reach the travel market. There are now 650 locations in 60 countries and 250 stores were added in the last eight years despite the economy.

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