... in Winter Park

We spent a nice afternoon at the Leu Gardens in Winter Park, north of Orlando. Because I was determined to avoid driving on the nerve-wracking I-4, the slow route took us nearly 2 hours to get there. The camelia garden was one of the largest in the US and was supposed to be in bloom but in fact was past it's prime unfortunately. So we didn't see many flowers but we walked the grounds and followed a trail of big bugs wood sculptures. We also took a 30 minute tour of the founder's 19th century home.

On our way home we stopped at the Florida Mall, Central Florida's largest mall. We only went to 2 stores, Macy's and JC Penney. The next day there were 2 young men shot and killed in the parking lot outside of JC Penney where we had parked our car. Shopping has become a high-risk activity. There is almost a murder a day in Orlando. Lots of car accidents as well.....saw 3 crashes on our way to the Gardens.Read more