The Bodyguard at Theatre Winter Haven, Winter Haven, Florida

Tonight, we attended the next to final performance of The Bodyguard: The Musical at Theatre Winter Haven.

The curtain call for the four main performers: Jensen Hurd as Whitney Houston's iconic Rachel Marron, Jeremy Chase as Kevin Costner's Frank Farmer, Cici Elise as Michele Lamar Richards's Nicki Marron and DeVaughn Nixon's Fletcher Marron.

The curtain call for the entire talented cast.

A shot taken from the production's Facebook page.

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To be continued...

Florida Strawberry Festival - Plant City, Florida

Today was our first visit ever (having lived nearby since 2007!) to the Florida Strawberry, Festival held in the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World, Plant City, Florida.

FUN FACT: Watsonville, California is considered THE Strawberry Capital of the World.

This event has been held annually (except during WWII) in Plant City since 1930.

Entertainment included talented dogs...

and swimming pigs, who also raced to the finish line.

Robinson's Racing Pigs have entertained at State Fairs and Festivals since 1985, when they first appeared at the Florida State Fair. They have since been featured on many talk shows nationwide, including those hosted by Mr. Carson and Mr. Leno.

The Strawberry Shortcake, and every other food you can imagine, is aplenty at the Festival.

Plant City is also home to the Robert W Willaford Railroad Musuem. Closed the day of our festival visit, it is located at Union Station Depot and features a two-story Train Viewing Platform.

Seemingly endless entertainment, included in the price of admission, was comprised of magicians, dancers, musicians and many other forms of entertainment.

Here's a taste of entertainer Dennis Lee

Here's a short video of magician Aaron Radatz

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To be continued...

Some Sights of Saint Augustine

Today we spent the day in St. Augustine, Florida. The oldest continually inhabited city in the United States, St. Augustine was discovered by Ponce De Leon in 1513 while searching for the Fountain of Youth and later founded as a city in 1565 by Florida's first governor, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés.

This is Old City Gate. Built in 1808 as a line of defense again attacks, it is the north entrance to St. George Street, the multi-block long pedestrian-only shopping district in St. Augustine.

The oldest masonry fort in the continental United States, Castillo de San Marcos, is more than 320 years old and is now a national monument built, originally by the Spanish to defend Florida and the Atlantic trade route.

Admission is $15 for age 16 and over and free for those under 15.

With a National Park pass being $80 a year and allowing three adults in with the passholder, it is a no-brainer what a great deal the pass is. Bonus for those over 62 - the $80 fee gets you a lifetime pass.

Our St. Augustine Santa's Red Express Nights of Lights Tour by Ripley's (Believe it or Not) was preceded by a showing of The Polar Express. We watched the last half in English as they started it earlier than scheduled and then the first half in Spanish. Luckily, we were able to stream it on our phone in perfect synchrony to hear the dialogue in English.

It was now time to board the train.

It was one of the first chilly nights in Florida and we were about to embark on a Christmas Sing-A-Long train ride with our special magic glasses (not shown).

Watch a video of Santa's Red Express Nights of Lights Tour by Ripley's by clicking HERE

To see more pictures and videos, click HERE

And don't miss these blog entries from our visit to St. Augustine in 2008!

The Fountain of Youth, click HERE

Old Jail of St. Augustine, click HERE

Old St. Augustine Village, click HERE

More Sights of St. Augustine, click HERE

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To be continued...

Final Day In Key West

Remember the Key West cats? One must have came for a visit last night.

Today we visited the Flagler Railroad Museum. Henry Flagler built the railroad starting in 1906 and service began January 23, 1912.

Here is one of the train's old schedules.

Several hurricane setbacks in 1906, 1909 and 1910 delayed the building of the railroad. The railroad ran for over 20 years until a final hurricane in 1935 shut it down for good.

In 1938, the state built the Overseas Highway using the viaducts from the railroad. The Overseas Highway, US 1, was rebuilt in the 1980s. The old viaducts are now used a fishing piers.

We went back to Pan American's birthplace, now a bar. Check out the ceiling fans.

Doug stands next to one of the many statues around Mallory Square.

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To be continued...

Key West Trolley Tour

Today we set out to do a trolley tour of the town.

St. Paul's Episcopal Church was restored in 1994.

This was the birthplace of Pan American World Airways.

The Banyan is one of the many resorts and guesthouses.

The kapok tree can grow 130 feet.  Read more about this tree below.

Chickens are welcome almost as pets around town.  In the 1860's Cubans, disheartened with the situation in their own country following the Ten Year's War, began moving to Key West.  Their love for cockfighting brought many chickens with them. Today you will see chickens roosting in trees and around town in many areas.

One can't visit Key West without visiting the Hemingway House.

Tours of the home are given daily.

Hemingway did a lot of his writing in the upstairs of a garage in the back of the house.

A luxury for a 1930's home was this pool costing $20,000 dollars in 1930's money to build.

Home to Polydactyl cats (six- toed cat), there are currently 40-50 cats at the Hemingway home. Ernest named his cats after famous people.

On this hot day, a smart cat found a cool spot to hang out.

With the sun going down and the tourists headed for Mallory Square, it was a good time to get pictures at the Southernmost Point.

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To be continued...

Sunset in Key West

We started the day walking around town exploring all the sites. Key West has a lot of historic buildings to see.

The Strand Theater opened in the 1920's and became Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum in 1993. It has since became a Walgreens.

In 1969, the Coast Guard decommissioned this lighthouse and it was later turned into a museum.

The cemetery is 19 acres and it is estimated that 100,000 people are buried there. This is a lot considering the population is only around 30,000. You will notice that, in many case, tombs are stacked on top of each other.

The Southernmost Point Marker is a popular area for photographs and only 90 miles from cuba.

Completed in 1866, Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park played a major role in the Civil War and Spanish-American War. Today, this area offers some of the most popular beaches in Key West.

Want to know how far away you are?

At Sunset in Key West, you will find tourists gathering around Mallory Square to watch the many street perfomers.

Some visitors catching the final sunset.

One of the many street performers.

A party boat coming in from a day out.

Dominique's Circus Cats are always great fun

The Cat Man poses with Doug

Key West is where Highway 1 begin.

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To be continued...