Orlando Without Disney (December 2024)
We continued our Florida trip by driving to Orlando. While driving we stopped at a rest area that had a very interesting alligator statue. Before getting to Orlando, we stopped at the Bok Tower Gardens. The tower contains a 60-bell carillon that we heard being played as we walked through the gardens. The gardens were designed by Frederick Law Olmstead Jr. Great place to visit a little more than an hour south of Orlando.
Hilton Grand Vacations Orlando
While in Orlando we stayed at a Hilton resort near Seaworld. We stayed in a one bedroom with a nice kitchen. They also had some nice hot tubs and an excellent fitness center they we used every day.
We spent the next day visiting two gardens. It was cold in Orlando that morning about 45 degrees and windy. We first visited the Lake Nona Sculpture Garden. This free, publicly accessible garden opened in 2022 alongside the Lake Nona Wave Hotel. Walk into the front entrance of the hotel and through the lobby and you’ll enter a 50,000 square-foot outdoor space bursting with tropical trees, fragrant flowers and both world-renowned and locally created art.
Our second garden of the day was the Kraft Azalea Garden. This quiet 5.22-acre park has eight benches for reading, picnicking, or just spending a quiet relaxing time. There are trails for short walks and the park also has a small dock that is open for fishing nearby Lake Maitland. The park also contains the Exedra monument which is a stone arc monument near the water's edge. Of course, the azaleas weren't blooming, but the trees and lake were impressive.
Our next day began with an exploration of another Florida public garden, Mead Botanical Garden. This garden is in Winter Park, FL. In its 47 acres we found hiking trails, a creek, a boardwalk, tall pine trees, a greenhouse, a butterfly garden, and a pond that’s home to turtles, fish and wading birds,
Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Garden
Our second garden that day was the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Garden located in Winter Haven, FL. This Mediterranean-style residence and studio once belonged to the renowned Czech American sculptor Albin Polasek. We explored the classical busts, decorative works, and sculptures, both indoors and in the lush garden. We went through the historic home, chapel, and garden.
Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida
We concluded our day in a sober way by visiting the Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida. We were struck by the amount of security to get into the building which was right next to a synagogue and private school. There were locked gates and armed guards who let us in. We wanted to be very respectful, so we limited our pictures inside the center. We did ask permission to photograph the ten commandments that came from a destroyed synagogue in Germany.
We did a pilgrimage to the mecca for all retirees. We visited The Villages. The Villages are about 1 hour north of Orlando. We went to Brownwood Paddock Square for a tour. We saw the town square, took a trolley tour, saw several pools and recreation centers, and saw several of the 150 pickleball courts. We had lunch and walked around the square. We were planning to stay for the evening and watch the evening entertainment at the Square, but we decided we were too tired to wait around another couple of hours. I think this could be a fun place to live.
The Showcase of Citrus was an old-fashioned tourist stop from back in the 50s. Seemed appropriate for our Florida finale. It was a long drive back to Travelers Rest, SC.
