May’s Hidden Gem
Plant City, Florida
If you’d like to get away from all the hustle and bustle of the big name amusement parks, and visit a place reminiscent of what Florida was like before Disney, then Plant City is the perfect escape.
Named for railroad tycoon Henry Bradley Plant, the man who brought the railroad to central Florida in order to bring the region’s crops to market, Plant City is less than an hour west of Orlando. Ironically, Henry Plant never set foot in the town that bears his name.
Bonnie and I start our trip at the Whistle Stop, a lunchtime eatery that once housed a drug store on its first floor and hospital on its second. Famous around town for their coffee, the family business serves sandwiches, soups, and salads, with Marti dressed in an old conductor’s uniform, her husband Jerry and their son Jerry doing the serving. A true family affair, it’s Marti’s sister who handles the cooking back in the kitchen. The history of the town is depicted on a wonderful mural on the side of the building.
After lunch, Bonnie decided to check out one of the town’s 14 Antiques and Collectibles shops while I took a walk through its old neighborhoods. My tour took me past a number of historical homes and the Railroad Depot Museum.
After an afternoon of walking and shopping, we headed over to the Parkesdale Farm, the largest family-owned strawberry and citrus farm in the state. They claim to be world-famous for their strawberry shortcake and they certainly deserve to be. They serve it nine different ways while you sit at a table amid a tropical garden of lush flowers and foliage. If you like, you can even have your picture taken as the strawberry king and queen, seated upon your strawberry throne.
There’s always something going on in Plant City that lends to its small town charm: a Bike Festival the first Saturday of every month; an Antique Street Fair the second Saturday of every month from October through March; and on the third Saturday of each month, the Strawberry Classic Car Show. It’s all topped off with the annual Florida Strawberry Festival (flstrawberryfestival.com) held in late February and early March. One of Florida’s most popular festivals, it has rides, food – particularly foods with strawberries – and top name entertainers every night.
To learn more about Plant City and all that’s going on there, check out these sites:
www.plantcity.org
www.parkesdale.com
www.flstrawberryfestival.com
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