7 Wonders of Old Florida, Palm Tree bracket

The first round of the competition co-created by the Old Florida and Visit Florida Off the Beaten Path Insider Facebook pages is finally completed. The March Madness/NCAA tournament-inspired bracket was based entirely on submissions from both pages. Here are the results from the first round of the Palm Tree Bracket and the match-ups in the 2nd round. The results of the other three brackets will be posted shortly...

The 4th seeded Yearling Restaurant of Cross Creek Florida won against Henry Flagler's 13th seeded Whitehall, once the oil magnate's home, now the site of the Henry Flagler Museum in Palm Beach.

The 5th seeded Citrus Tower in Clermont received more votes than the 12th seeded Stetson Mansion in DeLand. 

6th seeded Chalet Suzanne of Lake Wales was upset by 11th seeded Warm Mineral Springs of North Port. Chalet Suzanne is open as an inn and restaurant, while Warm Mineral Springs is still closed due to the differences between the county and city that co-own the property.

1 seed Silver Springs won despite a strong challenge from the quaint panhandle town of Apalachicola, a 16-seed.

Old Florida favorite, the Kapok Tree Inn Restaurant, a 2 seed, survived a strong challenge from  the Stephen Foster Memorial in White Springs, which is know known as the Stephen Foster Folk Cultural Center.

The Seven Mile Bridge of the Overseas Highway in the Keys, a 3 seed was picked over John Ringling's C´å ´d Zan mansion in Sarasota, a long shot as a 14 seed.  

7 seed Ted Peters Smoked Fish, a St. Pete institution was knocked off by the 10th seeded Senator, the enormous Cypress Tree formerly in Big Tree Park near Sanford, that was tragically burned down.

St. Petersburg Million Dollar Pier, an 8 seed, received more votes than Biscayne Bay's Crandon Park and Zoo.

Here are the match-ups for the Round of 32 for the Palm Tree Bracket.

Winners in this part of the bracket include two springs, a pier, a tourist attraction, two restaurants, and an enormous tree.

I was taken off-guard by the passionate response of the participants of this "just for fun" contest. Folks don't like tough match-ups and seem saddened if their favorites suffer defeat. I think it shows the love people feel for Florida and its places of the past.