Fresh Florida Fun

Here are some of my purchases from the Floridiana Festival last weekend that were related to previous blogs. 

The oversized Citrus Tower postcard dates from 1972 and shows nothing but groves and lakes as far as the eye could see. Just to the right of the big red arrow is the amphibious vehicle that used to offer rides in a nearby lake.

The Orange Blossom Trail linen postcard folder features sights from along 441 from one end of the peninsula to the other. 

What is now Bok Tower Gardens started out as Mountain Lake Sanctuary, created by Edward Bok as a haven for our fine feathered friends, like the flamingos pictured here. At a recent visit to Bok, I was told that it became too expensive to feed the beautiful pink birds so they got rid of them. Homosassa Springs and Sunken Gardens, two parks I've visited recently, still have flamingoes.

And the Florida State Parks map shows the wonderful sculpture at Tomoka State Park that I'm pining to visit.

North/South Arrow

One of the main US Highways coming into Florida in the pre-interstate days was 441. In Orlando it goes right through the heart of town and is known as the Orange Blossom Trail. Back in the day, the section through Central Florida had motels, restaurants and attractions to entice the traveler to stop. For instance, the kitschy Wigwam Village was on 441, close to where the Trail now intersects the 408. Unlike its counterparts in Arizona and Kentucky, our teepee motel did not survive.

A couple miles down the road lies Gatorland, a vintage attraction which despite a fire last year, continues to thrive. In my estimation, it is the most successful of Florida's independent roadside attractions, still operated by its original owners today.

Between the site of the Wigwam Village and Gatorland, both literally and figuratively, lies the Arrow Motel. My friend lives in the motel today and photographed the newly re-painted sign. While I wouldn't say it is the most prosperous motel on 441, it is one of the very few that still has working neon. The vintage postcard shot of the Arrow has an innocence to it – freshly planted landscaping, very little clutter, everything looked nice new and tidy. The back reads: "58 modern spacious units, tastefully furnished, wall-to-wall carpeting, room phones, T.V., air conditioned, heated, swimming pool. Service station. 24-Hour Restaurant." Of all those amenities, it is my guess that only the T.V., AC, carpet and maybe the pool remain.

Today the Trail is associated more with prostitution than tourism and despite the efforts to dress up the road with fancy light poles and spiffy intersections, that arrow has been pointing down for a number of years.