Yesterday we toured Mt Dora, a hilly little town on a lake just east of here. Very charming old Florida. Two days ago we toured The Villages, a newer development which has a constructed downtown, very Disneyish. Lots of golf courses, and homes large and small surrounding the golf courses. Of course there is also a lake. Here is a photo of the "downtown" area. Golf carts are the preferred way to get around. It was a very busy scene there. The Starbucks was the busiest we've seen in a long time.
A few observations on produce:
The strawberries from Plant City, FL, are so much better than the Driscoll from Watsonville, CA, that they are not even in the same league. The Driscoll strawberries are bred for travel. They are shipped all over Canada (I have purchased them on the Alaska Highway), and certainly all over the Western and Central US. I have bought Driscoll in Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and as far south as the Carolina's. They have, in my opinion, become quite flavorless. We started seeing Plant City strawberries in Tennessee and Georgia, and thankfully that is all we are seeing in FL. I have seen them occasionally in Walmart Supercenters in various places in the US. Leave it to Walmart to find the best deals, and in this case, the best product!
Here is a large irony: Florida is known for oranges, right? We think of the superb orange juice that comes from Florida, and wonderful Indian River citrus. Well, guess where the navel oranges come from that one purchases in the grocery stores here? From CALIFORNIA! ALL of them that I have seen so far! What's up with that? Unlike California strawberries, California naval oranges are wonderful right now. I wonder what Florida ones would taste like.....?
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