Fun Day in Lake Placid, Florida!

 The 4 of us left the CG at 9:30 and headed to Lake Placid which is about a 1 1/2 hour drive from Harbor Lakes.  On the way we stopped at Joshua Citrus Inc. which is a family owned citrus grove where you can purchase oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit at very reasonable prices.  They had a 1/4 bushel of any of the fruits for $10.00, but buy 1 get 1 for FREE.  So we each got a bag that we filled for $5.00 and it was a lot of tangerines and navel oranges.  While there, we shared a dish of fresh orange and vanilla ice cream - it was so good.

Liked the sign!

The samples were soooo good, but we each only had a few!

This is a family run business and they pick all of their fruit
by hand, putting it in these big tubs and then it is dumped
into the bed of a truck!

Oranges, oranges, and more oranges!

We passed numerous trucks loaded with oranges during our drive and thousands of citrus trees!

We arrived in Lake Placid and what a fascinating town that is known for its murals that are painted on the outside walls of many of the buildings.  In 1992, Lake Placid had 15 empty stores and black mold and mildew was evident on many of the walls in town.  After visiting a small town in Canada that had been revitalized by having murals of the town's history and culture painted on the its buildings, they Porters founded the Lake Placid Mural Society and the 1st mural was painted by a friend of theirs in 1993.  By the end of 2013 the number of historic murals grew to 46 and cover over 30,000 square feet in the town.  During these 21 years tourism has increased.  Lake Placid became known as the Town of Murals and was crowned Florida's Outstanding Rural Community.  In 2013 Lake Placid won the coveted title of "America's Most Interesting Town" in a nation-wide search by Reader's Digest.  

For $3.00 you can buy a brochure/magazine that gives a description of each mural and the hidden characters, animals, etc. that you can search for in each picture.  It is a lot of fun!  Here are some of the murals -

This is the 1st one called "Southwinds".  This was a famous
resort during the glory days of Lake Placid!

This is a huge mural depicting how the picking and hauling of oranges
has changed.  The truck looks so dimensional!

In this large mural you were supposed to look for 4 oranges
with smiley faces and sunglasses!

Since 1980, Eddie Mae Henderson cooked Christmas Dinner for
the less fortunate.  More than 40 volunteers help her serve over 800
dinners each Christmas.  

Annie Hill - Nurse Mid-Wife!  She was a mid-wife for
59 years in Lake Placid.  She delivered 1500 babies from
1918 to 1976.

Rare Resident Florida Panther.  There are approximately 100
panthers alive in the wild - the most endangered species
in Florida

The Rose Man!  From 1994 to 2015, the Rose Man grew
beautiful roses and gave them away.  He often delivered 140
bouquets of roses each day throughout the summer to nursing
homes, hospitals, and assisted living facilities.He washed
200 vases each day before  picking the roses!  What a story!

Highland County is known for its lakes and bass fish!  It really
looks like the bass is leaping out of the wall!

Jewels of Highlands County.  There are 27 beautiful freshwater
lakes within 7 miles of Lake Placid.  

Lake Placid County Fair.  This mural is 108 feet wide by 18
feet high.

Birding.  Florida has the 3rd greatest number of different bird
species of any state in the nation!

The Turpentine Industry.  This industry created more jobs in
this area than any other around the turn of the century!

Caladium Fields.  Lake Placid is the Caladium Capital of the
World, where 95% of the world's caladiums grow.  Most of them
grow in 1,500 acres of black lake bottom muck.  They have a
Caladium Festival each year! 

The Green Dragon Basketball Team in 1939 played all their
home games outdoors on a cement tennis court.  At night,
automobiles would surround the court to provide light for the game!

In the basketball mural you were supposed to hunt for the skunk
in the photo!

The Lost Bear Cub.  Lake Placid was once the best bear hunting
territory in the country.  

The Scrub Jay's World.  Florida scrub jays are on the
federal endangered list and live only in the scrub oak.  We
know they are extremely friendly!

Here he is taking a photo of the birds with one
is sitting on his camera!

Town of Murals - How it All Began!  This is a mural with
a picture of the founders, Bob and Harriet Porter!

The town also does special painting on their trash cans -

Clowning in Lake Placid -

Toby's First Clown Class.  He started a school in Lake Placid
for training clowns so they could visit the local hospital.
Today clown students come from all over the US and Canada to
learn to become a clown.

The Art of Clown School.  This mural depicts what clowns do
to entertain and bring smiles, love and laughter!  There are 3
types of clowns:  Auguste, White Face, and Tramp/Hobo@

There are towns depicted throughout the town.

I got to sit with Nibbles!

As you can see, it was an interesting day in Lake Placid.  Ken went to CR's in the evening and I worked on this blog and downloaded photos.  Also talked to my sister and camping friend, Doloris.  Left a message for Melissa and Chuck, but hope to talk to them in the very near future.

Good night!