We're never at home it seems.

Hello~ It's been a busy past few days.
Today Jim said he wanted to go check out Spook Hill at Lake Wales; something he's wanted to do for 40 years! So, we headed towards Polk county; and a community said to be "the friendliest small town in Florida". The community population is around 14,000, and has a beautiful lake in the town's center with a walking path all around its perimeter. Oaks, draped in spanish moss, shady park benches, people walking their dogs, on a sunny, blue sky, puffy white cloud day, seemed to be the perfect setting for a Sunday outing. We checked out the Spook Hill website before heading over, and after Jim spoke with a town cop, we located the area where cars are supposedly able to roll backwards "mystically". We tried it twice, and by gum, it's true.
We played tourist and checked out the architecture downtown. The old town historical district contains examples of architecture from the period of the Great Florida Land Boom of the early 20th century. There is a clock tower, and murals depicting the town's history on sides of buildings, a popular trend in many towns. The azaleas were blooming, and second level verandas of the shops, lined with wooden rockers, looked so inviting, and very southern. We always look for train depots when we go explore, and today's was bright pink, built in 1911, and was the cultural museum for Lake Wales. Oh! one of the elementary schools, right beside where Spook Hill is, is called Spook Hill Elementary, and the school mascot is CASPER the ghost!

We saw a train going down the track that Jim called the Tropicana train, a common sight in Florida; refrigerated railroad cars loaded with orange juice, heading north.
We passed open pit phosphate mines as we drove through the rural, orange grove laden, farming area. Florida Natural Orange Juice has its world headquarters in Lake Wales, Florida. "From the grove to your kitchen...it's that fresh," is their advertising motto.
We've seen a couple open a little food wagon, only on weekends, down the corner from us, for several weeks now, and today we stopped. They smoke turkey legs, mullet, ribs, chicken, and make homemade cobblers, banana pudding, and pecan pies. Oh my. We enjoyed the huge turkey legs, and banana pudding, and had a little south in our mouth today.
On Valentine's day, 8 of us went to Brandon, and enjoyed a lively, chatty meal at Sam Seltzer's. I think they are a Florida chain, and their steaks are great. Luckily, we had reservations and were seated immediately; some people waited over an hour I imagine, and all the wait staff
was doing a fantastic job staying cheerful and helpful.

Spook Hill Info: historiclakewales.com/spookhill/