Dirt Roads ~ High Heels

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Oranges Aren't Always Orange

The Showcase of Citrus, located just outside of Clermont, Florida, is the perfect to spot to spend an afternoon. This 2500 acre estate produces over 50 different kinds of citrus with you-pick options during season, a country store, gem mining, and feeding the farm animals. Not to mention the Monster truck adventure that allows you to view the citrus and ranch estate from twelve feet up. These massive trucks with tires weighing in at 2000 lbs. each will guide you on a 45 minute adventure through swampland, native woodland, pastureland, and groveland. It's a great way to experience the site. I highly recommend grabbing a wine slushie from the bar area before making the tour! They sell a lot of local Florida goods too so it's the perfect place to stock up on local wine and alligator jerky!

Did you know that juice oranges usually never turn orange? We saw thousands of oranges that were green. The color of the orange depends on where it grows, that's because oranges are not tropical, but rather subtropical. The fruit will stay green in hotter climates because the orange is pumped full of chlorophyll. When the weather cools, the orange starts turning, well orange. So, if you see a green orange, it's OK to eat it! When they start turning the color orange, they are actually on the downhill slide to being unripe! By the way, Chlorophyll is a green pigment and is responsible for the absorption of light. A little scientific fact for you and something I was unaware of until I took the Citrus tour!

Be sure to check out the Showcase of Citrus if you are in the area! Not to mention there's a really cool shark and alligator in the nearby pond! Don't worry, no harm was done to any of the animals :)

Orange you glad I shared this?

See you soon Florida!

Shona

Follow Me ↠ #kcgypsea
Travel IG: http://www.instagram.com/dirtroadshighheels
Personal IG: http://www.instagram.com/shonamhouston

Monday, October 15, 2018

Sunshine, Seaplane City, and the Silver Medal

This trip to Florida was a little different than my usual solo flight there. This time, my sister and I surprised Miss Remi for her 8th birthday. She found out only just a few hours before leaving where we were going and we had so many surprises in store for her! A quick bite to eat in the River Market and we were off to the airport.

We took a late flight out arriving in Florida just before 1 a.m. and she was awake the entire time; a quick drive back to the parent's house and it was off to bed. The next morning we had the usual sun-room coffee followed by breakfast before making our way to spend the day at Tavares. This was my first time visiting there but I was instantly drawn to this small town known as America's Seaplane City. With plenty of outdoor dining options where you can watch the Seaplane's land, we were hoping to be able to see one.

We decided on lunch at Puddle Jumpers. Fresh fish, cold beer, and a few Mermaid Water's later, we ventured off to explore the area. By the way, Mermaid Water is the most gorgeous color of blue and made of Captain Morgan, Coconut Rum, Pineapple Juice, Blue Curacao, and lime juice. We found some cool areas along Lake Dora, with wide open water views where the Seaplanes would land and of course found a few photo-op spots. I found a flying Pirate Flag so of course that was my favorite! Fortunately for us and right before we were leaving, a Seaplane flew in and landed right before our eyes, I guess it was our lucky day! We made a quick stop at Yahala Bakery for baked goods, spent a few hours in the pool, and took an evening golf cart ride to end the day.

The next morning we had to be up bright and early to show support to our Olympic-participating parents! Today, it was Pickle Ball. As the crowd gathered to watch the teams play, I have to brag about our cheering section; it was definitely the largest and most vocal. As the last game was played and they won 5 out of 5, I couldn't help but play the Olympic Fanfare and Theme as they exited the court. Overall, they ended up taking the silver medal, which we were pretty impressed by. We headed back to the house for a quick bite of lunch before heading off to our next afternoon adventure. More on that and the 2500 acres we explored on the next blog!

Until tomorrow, Florida!

Shona

Follow Me ↠ #kcgypsea
Travel IG: http://www.instagram.com/dirtroadshighheels
Personal IG: http://www.instagram.com/shonamhouston

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Tropical-ish in Missouri

You guys! I have been waiting to post about this for a couple of weeks and finally, I had a minute to share! Remember Devils Well that I talked about on my last blog post? Well, if you don't, go back and read it! Because it's the trail head, which leads to something you would never expect to see in Missouri; Cave Springs. The only way here is to hike or by canoe...I supposed you could take a helicopter, but that seems a bit excessive.

So, we hiked. Cave Springs Trail is a 4.6 mile loop not far from Akers Ferry in the heart of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. We started the hike late morning knowing it would probably take us around 2-3 hours, but the goal was to make it to Cave Springs which is about half way through the hike. As we made our way, the trail wasn't very clear but we were able to follow the tracks. We had a small guide map that gave us coordinates for waypoints and various distances between landmarks. As we embarked, it wasn't really making sense but we kept going anyway. We made it to the Current River and could hear people passing by canoeing or rafting but it seemed we had come to a dead end. After spending about 30 minutes trying to figure it out, we finally hollered down to a guy who told us the Spring was about 2 miles up the river; a bit perplexed we took off that way hoping to find a glimpse of another trail. Persistence pays off, we found a path we hadn't taken yet, so we took a chance. This has to be right, right?

We walked and walked and finally hit Overlook Junction...and that is when we figured it out, we had taken the trail backwards, no wonder the landmarks weren't matching up. I was a bit frustrated but was reminded by the BF, this is what makes it an adventure. He was right, all was well in my world again. Ha! Once we made it through Overlook Junction, the sign appeared; Cave Springs, 0.7 miles. I literally wanted to take off running! Let me tell you, 0.7 miles seemed like 10! The paths were very overgrown, but we made it. As Cave Springs appeared, I was in awe. It was one of the prettiest places I have ever seen, in the Midwest anyway. Tropical appearance with ice cold water, so instantly I was reminded we weren't at the Caribbean. But, after the hike, the water was the perfect temperature to cool off in before heading back on the trail. 1.3 miles to go before hitting the "end" or for us, the beginning. How we missed that, I have no idea. But how many people can say they started at the end? Raising my hand now.

That evening back at camp was another adventure as I was taught how to build a fire. No matches, no lighter fluid, no lighter; just kindling, vaseline cotton balls, magnesium, a knife and flint. My teacher was patient with me; and eventually I finally started to get the hang of it and let's be real, kept us warm for the evening with my newly built fire. We attended Game Night at the Shelter House and when we told the ranger we hiked the Cave Springs Trail, he was a bit shocked. He informed us that that trail doesn't start being tended to until Fall, so he wasn't surprised when we told him the trail was hard to follow. Just call us Pro-fessionals Mr. Ranger! Can I get a one your cool Ranger outfits please? More card games around the fire and a few more pages of The Hatchet before calling it a night.

The next morning, after BLT's for breakfast, we packed up camp and headed out. We decided to take the long way home on back roads and going through small towns to explore more of the area. We detoured to check out Round Spring and Round Spring Cave. Unfortunately we didn't get to tour the cave because "no dogs allowed"; but for good reason though, it's underground and a bit strenuous. We did get to view the beautiful blue Round Spring which is 55 feet deep and cycles around 26 million gallons of water per day. No swimming here folks, it's for viewing only! Round Spring was one of Missouri's first state parks in 1924 and was donated to the National Park Service in 1964.

As we continued South, we drove through Eminence and passed the Dairy Shack; think old fashioned, outdoor ordering, and fried food. There wasn't even a discussion, lunch was about to be served. Hamburgers, fried cauliflower, chicken strips, cheese cubes and one very large Coca-Cola classic. It was a good day.