Update on Floatathon 2019 on Ginnie Springs
Recommended Reading and Viewing-

Pirates, Sunken Ships along the Hutchinson Island Treasure Coast and the Suwanee River

Don Pedro Gilbert is the namesake of the last remaining House of Refuge Building on Hutchinson Island according to his story on page 25 of "Twenty Florida Pirates" and just offshore from that historic house was the sinking of the "Georges Valentine" in 1904 on page 85 according to the book "Thirty Florida Shipwrecks" They have some of the original log books written at the time of the wrecks and salvages from the area. you can join in on a Motorcoach trip on Saturday November 14th in conjunction with the South Brevard Historical Society.

To read the Itinerary hit www.dayawaytravelclub.com then hit menu.

This is your link to the slideshow on the Treasure Coast and the Florida Folk Festival on the Suwanee RIver

This is the link to my article in Green Brevard Nature section about the year of hurricane entitled "Storm Guilt"

"If you're only going to one Holiday Attraction make it the Stetson Mansion"

 

How did a cowboy hat maker from Philadelphia who sells mainly to the West end up with a Florida Mansion? These are the type of questions that you may ponder as you visit the decorated Mansion of John B Stetson built in 1886. You may want to keep in mind that we have older large homes in Florida, circa Antebellum such as Kingsley, Gamble and Bronson Mullholland or the Gonsalvez Alvarez house in St. Augustine which is pre Revolutionary War and referred to as the oldest house. However, the most popular well known opulent Mansions of Florida such as Viscaya, Pinewood, Selby, Whitehall and Ringling’s Ca' D' Zan (House of John) were all built in the 1900’s not late 1800’s like Stetson. What a job these guys have done putting this place back together again, Bravo to them! I can almost see Stetson, his hat, dog and walking stick in front of the Mansion. Wait a minute, I can see them based on one of the wonderful Jackson Walker paintings usually housed in the nearby Historic Courthouse in Deland’s Historic District sometimes referred to as the “Athens of Florida”.

Figure 1 John B. Stetson by Jackson Walker

  I think that the copper top domes of the old Southern courthouses along with 

the Greco-Roman columns Architectural Stylings 

were modeled after ancient Greece, the birthplace of Democracy.

Figure 2 Tower of the Historic Deland Courthouse

Figure 3 Corinthian Columns

Figure 4 Stetson Mansion Exterior

 The Athens Theater  has once again been restored for Shows and events in Downtown Deland! This picture hangs in the Deland House on Campus.

Figure 5 Painting of the Athens Theater
from the Gilded Age of Dress and Style.

Back view of those incredible inlaid windows

The Bamboo Meditative Garden on the Mansion premises

My favorite year to year tour selection was always Cypress Gardens with its’  4,000 twinkling lights, wonderful train exhibits, Santa through the ages, Olympic Russian Circus and Ice Skating shows, comedy, gardens and the Eye in the Sky.  However, what makes the Stetson a great substitute is that this is actually a home with ramped up decorations, themes, exquisite parquet floors, glass windows and a feel of the Holidays.  It’s kind of what you think you might want to do if you had the time, ability, finances, space and creativity.  If not it’s easier and much more reasonable to see it here since the boy’s have started over the past several years inviting us in at a reasonable rate to check it out.  And… it changes from year to year.   From pieces of the Frozen theme to Patriotism. From  Stetson Hats to collectibles.  From decked out trees to colorful islands and seas, from quilts to covers and music and lights and extended secret nooks and cranies and flights of stairs and paths to Asia and beyond. If you have the imagination you can make believe its' yours or talk to the walls of yesteryear and Stetson or other time period characters who visited. How about Grover Cleveland since he seemed to leave his mark all over Florida.  Bring the Outside in and take the inside out. Let’s do it again and again and see what they come up with next.   One of this year themes included pathways so let’s borrow one from the White Sands Buddhist Sanctuary in Mims-

 For these and other day trip ideas from the Space Coast of Florida e-mail:  Lee c/o floridagreeters@yahoo.com or visit www.dayawaytravelclub.com then highlight current calendar.
Link to 2014 Stetson Decoration Video

Can you view a Plantation Home in Florida?

The South's Rice Plantations are evident in the Carolina Low Country and the Cotton Plantations were abundant in Georgia and Mississippi.  There were Sugar Plantations from Maryland to Georgia typically 500 to 1000 acres in size.  So what kind of Plantation can we still visit in Florida?  It's the Kingsley Plantation in Jacksonville's Fort George Island which grew Cotton and Indigo with a colorful story filled past and a  viewable present.  

According to most accounts Zephaniah Kingsley was a nineteenth century slave trader of Scottish descent who married a very young (13 year old) African Princess. She herself became the trainer of most of their help over the years. The controversy was over the will which left most of his funds to his Black wife.  She left for the Island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic).  According to some accounts she fought for her inheritance and his prejudiced family relatives and after a long battle won, she returned to Jacksonville to live out her days as the wealthiest Black Woman in America at the time.  Some believe she still haunts the premises and seances have been held there, I'm told.   

Archaeological Digs with the help of the University of Florida team has uncovered the Slaves who died on the grounds so at least now people can acknowledge the site and remember who and where they were.

"The approach to the plantation is as interesting as the site itself :  the last portion on unpaid road under canyons of gnarled oak branches graced by gently weaving Spanish moss. The road passes the highest point of coastal land south of New Jersey, past the Fort George Golf Club, past the point where French Huguenot pioneers offered the first Protestant prayer in the new world in May, 1562"  

from Robert Tolf's Discover Florida

Can you imagine that the entire size of your living quarters was the equivalent of only a Queen Bed today.

These quarters were made of a tabby like coquina rock form and are some of the last remaining samples of this type of quarters anywhere placing them on the National Historic Registar

The view of the back of the Plantation was originally the front and most supplies arrived by boat.

Bicycling for Fun on The Guest Blog with Madhatter, Gary Haas

Bicycling for Fun 

News from MadHatterPromotions.com aka Gary MadHatter Haas

 

There is something about getting out on my bicycle that kicks my endorphins into high gear. I think it is mostly to do with the sense of freedom, of being disconnected from agendas and leaving the day up to whimsy.

 

OK, maybe not entirely to whimsy. My routes, or circuits often require me to plan ahead so that I am not stuck many miles from home when the weather changes or darkness falls. Even wind direction and speed is often taken into account. Yet those things I’ve back-up plans for. Wherever I pedal, more than a few miles, I am wearing a backpack with tools for modest repairs, a rain poncho, extra batteries for both pairs of lights. You get the picture. Still, when I head out, the day is usually mine!

 

I’m also not fond of retracing my route. I prefer a circuit where I will leave my home in one direction, and return from the other direction so that the view always changes. A short ride will take me north to Cocoa Village along the river, then inland to Fiske Boulevard, then south to Avenue Viera (OK, World Of Beer), then home to Lake Pointe Suntree. A long ride will take me north or south, then over one of the causeways, then up/down the beaches, finally back over another causeway and then the run for the barn to home. A REALLY long ride, done only once, took me from Suntree, through Cocoa Village, over to Cocoa Beach, then up to Port Canaveral, then back south all the way to Wabasso (south of Sebastian Inlet), over to US1, up to Captain Hiram’s, then home (Stopped at Squid Lips). I’m in no shape to do that today but will try it again eventually.

 

My approach is different than the racers that frequently blow past me. Frankly, I don’t know how they are even aware of much of the environment that they are rolling through doing the speeds they do, other than the road ahead. I’m sure speeds of 25 to 30 mph is common for them. For myself, I’m riding a hybrid (half mountain bike and half beach cruiser) and I average about 12 mph. I’m determined not to miss anything, to enjoy all that my environment will communicate to me as I roll past. I appreciate the fresh air, smells, sights, and exercise, though I’m not severely straining myself most of the way. Sometimes I will kick it into high gear. And bridges are always a challenge for a while. But I consider exercise to be a fringe benefit.

 

My usual habit is to roll about ten to twelve miles then take a break, usually at a bar, for medicinal purposes, you understand. If the weather is fair and obstacles are few I can cover fifty miles or more in a day without overly straining myself.

 

In recent years I have managed to compromise these events slightly but consider the results well worth it. Group bicycle rides are fun to plan and execute. While independence is sacrificed the added enjoyment of bicycling with friends more than makes up for it, especially at the stops! Essentially it becomes a party on wheels, the un-motorized kind. While not a pub crawl in the truest sense the common ground is that there is a party at each stop, you know most of the group already there, and the group remixes at each stop so that you get more chances to make new friends.

 

To combine both formats, independent bicycling plus a group ride, is the best format of all. This means riding from my home to the start of the group ride, doing the group ride, then continuing on, on my own, eventually returning home. This requires some planning and a long day.

 

What’s next, I hear you ask? I’m in the market for a riverine kayak. The plan is to do in a kayak down the Indian river what I do on a bicycle. And yes, it is just a matter of time before that becomes a group adventure too.

 

Friend me on Facebook at Gary MadHatter Haas and visit www.MadHatterPromotions.com for more shenanigans.

  

Let's Go Horsing Around in Ocala

Ocala is known as the Horse breeding capital of the US with over 1000 farms in the vicinity.  We named our tour to the area, “Let’s go Horse around in Ocala” and we did.   We saw $100,000 Thoroughbred studs behind bars that we were warned could bite off your fingers and some fed them apples anyway.

  We saw Arabians gentle as a baby and some with their babies that we could feed and pet to our heart’s content. 

We heard stories about race winners and their offspring that won several major races up to and including the Kentucky Derby and even the triple crown bred in Florida.

We saw them feed, play, run and literally pose as some of them were show horses that are trained to look good.  Ocala Horse Properties in their Farm Portfolio features the following quote, “Horses- If God made anything more beautiful, he kept it for himself.”    Another states, “A dog may be man’s best friend… but the horse wrote history.”  And finally the great spokesman himself Winston Churchill wrote, “No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.” And we think that in this instance he was referring to horses.  

We started our tour with a look around the historic area of Ocala which has some special houses plus the seven sisters Bed &Breakfast.  This is a property of International acclaim where you can stay in a exotic room decorated as Egyptian, Beijing China, Madrid, Spain, a Parisian Boudoir or the Moroccan Suite.  I have sent clients here for a New Year’s Weekend with a Murder Mystery encompassing the exotic rooms and their main dining area to solve the spoof like a sleuth.  Ask the owner’s about the paranormal history surrounding the property. “ You only get 52 weekends a year
Make the most of each and every one of them with a weekend getaway. Choose your own adventure at one of our great weekend destinations. Be a Weekender.” (source Hilton)  Our next stop is your home away from home for comfort food Southern Style at the new Ivy House in Ocala.  We have been dining at the original in Williston (apx. 20 miles west)

Williston above and Ocala Below

but this was our first encounter with the newly remodeled former Felix’s.  I must say I love what you’ve done with the place was my first thought upon entering what seems to be a Southern tradition similar to Poogan’s Porch

in Charleston where the rooms are set up like you’re in a large house but small areas decorated in French Country or other southern motifs.  The food was ample and tasty just like at their cousin’s in Williston. 

Our guide, Karen Grimes, stepped on the coach after lunch and suffice it to say she knows her way around a horse and horse country.  We learned a tidbit or two about some very prominent families in the area including Charlotte Weber who resides on the largest of the properties named Live Oak and she owns not only Campbell’s as in soup but Godiva as in chocolates and an incredible property that stretches out for a long while.  And then we spotted the Steinbrenner ranch which has a new home under construction in view from the road.  Our last stop of the day in Ocala was the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association Building which besides having a very impressive meeting room where I imagined large horse affairs getting sorted out also included some interesting memorabilia on two floors. 

  Many towns have a theme and our Horse Capital is plainly carrying out theres' with an art in public places colorfully painted horse statue collection. 

We didn’t do the scavenger hunt to find them all since I understand they number over forty but we did see a few in various locations throughout town and country.   We’ll be back since  1000 ranches might take a few trips to get through and we didn’t have time to visit John Travolta’s fly in neighborhood yet and this town has its’  own serious contenders for our Blueberry search since they have many Blueberry farms and you pickum’s all around.