Chalet Suzanne Restaurant & Inn, Lake Wales, Florida

Today, we visited the historic Chalet Suzanne Restaurant & Inn in Lake Wales, Florida.

Cheese baron Charles Kraft, along with Carl and Bertha Hinshaw, originally envisioned the property as a magnificent residential resort appealing to those who loved golf and tennis.

However, when the Great Depression forced Kraft to withdraw from the project and Mr. Hinshaw passed away in 1931, Mrs. Hinshaw changed the direction of the project and Chalet Suzanne Restaurant & Inn was born.

The soups served in the restaurant are canned right onsite in Chalet Suzanne's own cannery which offers tours every weekend.

That's one big pot of soup!

The cans are fed down a conveyor belt into the machines which then fill and seal them.

After being sealed, the cans move to the pressure cooking area where they are heated to the correct temperature to kill all the germs and bacteria which may be present.

The cans are then boxed up and shipped out to their destinations.

Chalet Suzanne's Soups were chosen to be served on Apollo 15's flight to the moon...hence one of their flavors, Moon Soup.

The Inn features 26 guest rooms with beautiful courtyard settings.

Each room is appointed with a wide variety of antique furnishings.

Guests can enjoy the unique surroundings in or out of their rooms.

The Wedding Garden hosts many weddings and other events each year.

The Wedding Garden is also known as the Autograph Garden as thousands of visitors have personally autographed and inscribed tiles throughout.

Huge old trees are abundant around the property.

A view of another room showcases wicker furniture, a favorite of Marlon's mom.

Soon after opening, the Inn was discovered by Duncan Hines, who included it in a list he compiled of wonderful places to stay and dine in Florida.

Chalet Suzanne's Restaurant was named by Uncle Ben's Rice as one of the Top 10 Country Inns in the United States.

Entering the restaurant, visitors immediately see a vast collection of antique furnishings.

A fully stocked bar is available for those who wish to imbibe.

Each individual table is unique with different antique chairs, dishware and glassware.

Diners can enjoy beautiful views of Lake Suzanne from the large windows in the dining area.

For more pictures, click here .

To be continued...

Christmas with Frank, Joyce, Laura & the Boys

We spent Christmas Day with Frank, Joyce, Laura, Aron and Austin.

Joyce always make sure no one goes home hungry or presentless.

Aron and Austin took awhile opening their mountain of gifts.

For a few more pictures, click here .

To be continued...

Disney's Hollywood Studios & Osborne Family Lights

It was a chilly morning as we headed to Disney's Hollywood Studios with Trina and Delbert.

Each American Idol Experience pits three contestants against each other for a chance to appear in the daily finals.

Each contestant gets pointers following their performance just like on the real show.

The daily winners of The American Idol Experience receive a "Golden Ticket" which entitles them to move to the front of the line at auditions around the country.

Next up was the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom stunt show.

The water tower at Disney's Hollywood Studios is cleverly disguised as a mouse.

On the Backstage Tour, visitors get to see props from many famous movies and the plane Walt Disney flew in to scout out the land for Walt Disney World.

Trina and Delbert enjoyed their turn at Aerosmith's Rock n Roller Coaster.

The Wicked Witch of the West proclaims her warning "I'll get you, my pretty...and your little dog too!"

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights first came to Disney's Hollywood Studios in 1995.

After a brief absence in 2005, the lights took over The Streets of America in 2006.

The display includes over four million individual lights.

Frosty looks on from the safety of his telephone booth.

Snow flutters down to the ground as music fills the air.

The Osborne Lights can be viewed annually from the second week of November until just after the New Year.

Catch the lights in action in this video.
For more pictures, click here .

To be continued...