Jess' Journeys // I want to live under the live oaks

Cheryl's View // Coral Castle Museum - Homestead, Florida

My daughter and I visited the Coral Castle in early September. The castle wasn't quite what I expected or where I expected it to be. I thought that the castle would be much larger and farther outside of town. The Coral Castle sits at an intersection right as you come into town, and it was very easy to find. I have to say that even though it wasn't as large as I had envisioned it to be, it is still an a very interesting place to visit.

The castle is the creation of Ed Leedskainin and was dedicated to the love of his life Agnus Scuffs, his "Sweet Sixteen". Ed was born in Latvia in 1887. In 1913, he was engaged to be married to Agnus, but the day before the wedding, she decided that she didn't want to marry him because he was too old. The story goes that he wandered around for a while and took odd jobs. He lived and worked in Canada, California, and Texas. Sometime between 1918 and 1920, Ed was misdiagnosed with Tuberculosis, so he moved to Florida in search of a better climate, because in the early 1900's that was the treatment for his condition. Ed died in December 1951 of cancer.

When you take a look around, you can't help but be amazed by how a man that was only 5 feet tall and weighed about 100 pounds managed to single-handedly carve and sculpt over 1,100 tons of coral stone to build the Coral Castle.

The Coral Castle was originally known as "Rock Gate Park" and was located in Florida City before being moved about 10 miles to Homestead, Florida. Ed decided that he need to move the castle when he heard a new subdivision was planned near the original castle location. Ed was a very private person. He even worked on the castle mostly at night with lantern light because didn't want anyone to see him work. 

The cost of admission to "Rock Gate Park" was only ten cents. When Ed moved the castle to Homestead in 1936 he raised the cost of admission to 25 cents. Ed always kept the castle gates locked. There was a sign that said "ring twice". If you rang the bell twice, and he wasn't busy working, he would let you in.  If you rang more or less than that, they say he would ignore you.


 Ed was quite the craftsman. He made rocking chairs that weighed almost 1,000 pounds each, and they actually rocked.  He made the BBQ cooker, which is part cooker and part oven. The pot for the cooker is made from a rear end from an old ford and hangs on a pulley system. When he was cooking, he would slide the oven over the fire pit.

He made the "Feast of Love" table, which is a 5,000 pound heart shaped table. Ed planted the Ixora plant in the center of the table because he loved flowers. The original Ixora plant is still in the center of the table. He also built several other things to like the Throne Room, Sun Couch, Repentance Corner, Florida Table, Grotto of the Three Bears  and many others.
He also had a great interest in the Astrology. He carved a Polaris Telescope, Sun Dial, and Moon Fountain. The East wall is dedicated to the planets, Mars and Saturn as well as the Crescent Moon. 

 Ed also made sure that he has the necessities. He dug himself a well. He used the well not only for water, but to keep his food cool. Ed also carved himself a bathroom. Early in the mornings, he would fill his concrete sealed bathtub with water from his well and let the sunlight warm the water to his desired temperature before bathing in the afternoons.


You will also see what they claim is Ed's most astonishing achievement, the "Nine Ton Gate". The gate weighs in at 18,000 pounds and measures 180" wide, 92" tall, and 21" thick. Until recently, it was able to be moved using only one finger. The gate has been examined by several engineers and scientists, and they haven't been able to figure out how he managed to balance such an uneven shape.

Jess' Journeys // FDR's Little White House - Warm Springs, Georgia

When Franklin Delano Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio at the age of 39, one of the few things that helped ease the pain was immersion in warm water. As the popular thing to do at that point in time for the well-to-do was to visit Georgia on vacations, he visited the city of Warm Springs in 1924, having no doubt heard about their natural springs. The resort he visited was not the greatest, but with a town boasting an 88-degree natural spring, how could he resist? He actually continued to visit the town every year (except 1942) from 1924 until his death in 1945.

Eventually, FDR bought the resort he had visited and turned it into the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation. Out of that same small Georgia town came the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, or as we know it today, The March of Dimes. These are just two of the amazing things to come out of FDR's life.

When you first visit the Little White House, you walk through a museum at the visitor center that details FDR's life, political career, and causes that he was involved in. While definitely educational, it's also really interesting. Did you know that he collected stamps? How about the way his car was customized to hide his disability? Trust me, don't rush through the museum.



FDR's Little White House was finally finished in 1932, a modest cottage in the woods, where you can still soak in the gorgeous Georgia landscape. In the main house, there is a living/dining room with wood paneled walls, modeled after the inside of the ship. To the right side of that main room, there is a bedroom for FDR's personal secretary and a small kitchen. To the left, you will find FDR's room, a bathroom, and Eleanor's bedroom.

The back of the house has a huge porch, shaped like the bow of a ship. If you look off of the porch, you can see the guard towers where secret servicemen would be posted during the President's visits.



So many things in the Little White House are still the same things that were there when FDR was visiting. The little things like Fala's (his dog) scratches on the front door are really great for reminding us of the real people and animals behind the history. In FDR's bedroom, you will find his actual desk that he used when he was staying there. In his bathroom, you can see the piece of wood he attached to the wall so that anything he dropped beside the bathtub would slide down so he could still reach it with his limited mobility.

The most striking things about this house are the somber things. On the wall in the kitchen, his cook Daisy Bonner notated "Daisy Bonner cook the 1st meal and the last one in this cottage for President Roosevelt". While he was seated in his favorite chair in the living room, having his portrait painted, the President had a massive stroke. He was carried to his bedroom, where he died later the same day. The chair and bed are both in the same place today that they were there. The unfinished portrait hangs in the Little White House's visitor center.







Side note: You will not find any pictures of me from this trip. Why? Well, I went on my birthday in August. Have you ever been outdoors in Georgia in August? 

Jess' Journeys // Laumeier Sculpture Park - St. Louis, Missouri

What, you've never seen a 12 ft. tall eyeball? You should probably fix that. Luckily, I know the perfect place to see one, Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis, MO.

Admittedly, I didn't see the entire park. We just didn't map off enough of my visit to St. Louis to see it. We had to fit it in after pancakes, but before Ikea and the art museum. This was all after being awake since 3 for my flight from Atlanta. I'm sure my friend Kim was ready to see me leave after the whirlwind of a weekend.

My absolute favorite sculpture in the entire sculpture park was "Eye" by Tony Tasset. It really is a gigantic eyeball. When you look up close, you can see the red veins around the entire thing. It was mesmerizing. Of course, I had the song "Somebody's Watching Me" stuck in my head for the rest of the sculpture park. I've got one thing to say about that though, #worthit.

After you park at the main entrance and walk through the"museum circle" visitor center area, "Eye" is the first big sculpture that you'll see, and it definitely sets the tone for the sculpture park. All of the sculptures are so much fun to look at, and most of them are so gigantic that you can fully interact with them.

The one that is on all of the brochures and posters for Laumeier that I've seen is called "The Way", and it's by Alexander Liberman. This sits at the end of a huge, green field. The way I see it, you have two choices with this field. You can either walk around the pathway and look at all of the sculptures, or you can take off your shoes and walk on the soft green grass. I'm not going to tell you which to choose, but I definitely walked to "The Way" differently than I walked away from it.

There are lots of different sculptures here, and they seem to change pretty regularly. So grab a friend, a camera, a picnic, and a good book for a great afternoon.

What's really fun about places like this sculpture park is that they take art out of stuffy, intimidating  museums and put them into the organic, casual world. Once you get art into this kind of environment, it opens up a whole different line of dialogue, which is so much fun.

If you visit Laurmeier Sculpture Park, remember the lesson we learned about Stonehenge. Look, but don't touch and most definitely don't try to write your name on anything or chip off a chunk of it to take home. You don't want to ruin this park for everyone.


My one regret? I didn't bring a kite!

Up-close view of the veins painted on "The Eye"

"The Way"

Everything was just so green & pretty!

I'm not proud of how long it took me to realize that this said "upside" upside-down.

Cheryl's View // Solomon's Castle - Ona, Florida

So, what is the last thing you would ever expect to see in the middle of nowhere in Central Florida? A castle, that's what! Way out in the middle of orange groves, cow pastures and hay fields, there sits a "Medieval Tin Castle". Solomon's Castle is the creation of Howard Solomon.

The tale is that he purchased property to build a home and work on his projects, unfortunately the property he bought ended up being swamp land.  After discovering the truth about his purchase he had to change his building plans. Instead of building out, he decided to build up.

The castle is pretty amazing, a bright and shining masterpiece. It is covered by old aluminum plates discarded from the newspaper, you can still read some of the print on the plates. Guarding the castle doors are two armored knights, known as "Night and Day". The windows are stain glass depicting a medieval dragon, nursery rhymes and the zodiac among many other things. The pathway leading up to the castle is a stamped "Yellow Brick Road". This place is a folk art lovers dream!  He really does amazing work and has a great sense of humor and is quite "punny".

All of Solomon's art is made from everyday discarded and recycled items.  He uses most anything he seems to be able to find. Some of his biggest and most impressive are a lion and an elephant made from old oil drums.



There are so many unique, cute, and funny things to see such as his self portrait, his flower bed, the purple dragon, and cats with hearts on their chests.

 Our tour guide was great! He was very funny.  The tour moved very fast and you got to see many of the rooms in his castle.



                                                                                                                                                                              

 A castle isn't complete without a "Boat in the Moat"!  Solomon has created a boat which serves as a restaurant. He says that the boat is a 60 foot replica of Portuguese galleon.  Most all of the windows on the galleon are stained glass and are unique and beautiful.  The restaurant is ran by other family members and the food was good.  Solomon has also added a lighthouse on the outside dining area for the restaurant because if your going to have a ship you must have a lighthouse.  I think it was definitely worth the trip.  I would like to go back again.

Jess' Journeys // Let's Talk About Stonehenge

Just in case you've been living under a rock for your whole life, Stonehenge is a really huge deal. It's one of the "Seven Wonders of the Medieval World", and it's just outside of the town of Salisbury, England. No one is really 100% sure who built it, or why. They estimate that it was built sometime between 2000 BCE and 3000 BCE. There are tons of theories and a lot of speculation about that. You could read on the subject for years and still not have read everything.

I wanted to visit so badly. The pictures in magazines and online are always so pretty. I was so excited about seeing the stones up close. In 2005, I finally got my chance!...and I was disappointed.

Here's the thing. All of the pictures make it look like a monument in a huge, grassy field. Which technically it is. What they don't show usually is the road that runs nearby, the dirt walkway leading from the visitor center that goes under that road, or the big, dirt, circle walkway that's roped off, maybe 200 feet from the rocks. They also don't show the crowds of people that are standing on the dirt walkways or the security guards that are standing on the dirt walkways watching all of the people. After you're done walking in the circle, you get to exit through the gift shop and buy all sorts of Stonehenge merch. I'm not going to lie. I'm a great consumer, so of course I did my duty and bought all sorts of things in the gift shop. The whole experience felt just like visiting the world's largest ball of yarn.

Here's the thing. As disappointed as I was by the sight itself, the worst part is what led to that. They didn't take these measures just because they could. People used to vandalize Stonehenge all the time. Just look at old pictures of it. Of course people want to leave their mark, and people want to take tiny ships off of the stones to take home as a souvenir. The problem is that when you're talking about such a widely-known landmark, you're not getting one or two people that want to do that, you're getting millions. If someone hadn't taken action, Stonehenge wouldn't exist anymore.

The ropes and walkways aren't the first things that have been done to keep Stonehenge in existence. I would highly recommend looking up the restoration of Stonehenge online. Fair warning though, it will crush your dreams of this magical, ancient landmark in the middle of rolling hills.

 As far as my bucket list goes, I'm really glad that I can check off Stonehenge. I just hope that in the future, they can find a way to make it a more mesmerizing place to visit.

Welcome to me in high school. There are tricks to make it appear that you're a lot closer to the stones than you are, such as cropping above the rope lines. See how far away the people in the background are? They're just on the other side of the circle from us.

Cheryl's View // Panhandle Pioneer Settlement - Bluntstown, Florida

There are many historic buildings on the property such as the Red Oak Methodist Church, blacksmith shop, cobbler shop, Shiloh School, Sexton cabin, and Wells cabin. Each of these buildings offers a unique look into our history.


One of the most interesting buildings on the property is the Altha Calaboose (a small jail). The Calaboose was built in 1927 by Haywood Baggett and Miles Richards. Later that year these two builders of the Calaboose also happened to be the first ones to be tossed into it for selling a horse without a license.


The Pioneer Settlement offers several family friendly events, programs, classes and demonstrations throughout the year. I encourage you to check a few of them out. It is definitely worth the visit if you are a history buff. 

Cheryl's View // Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens

Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens is such a pretty and peaceful place.  It's hard to believe that it sits so close to town.  Once you cross the first bridge onto the trails its like you step into another world. 

My daughter and I arrived just as they opened on a bright and sunny morning.  We were greeted by volunteer staff that were pretty amazing, they were very friendly and helpful.  They gave us our visitors guide and pointed us in the right direction.  There is so much to see and enjoy.  I could have walked around for hours.  The trails are shaded and the flowers trees  are beautiful.  There are 25 specific areas in the garden and the visitors guide gives a brief description of each area.  You will get to stroll through a bamboo grove, view several rock gardens, see several small waterfalls and you can even have your picture taken with Buddha.

Cheryl's View // Gumbo Limbo Nature Center - Boca Raton, Florida

Gumbo Limbo Nature Center is located in Boca Raton, Florida and gets its name from one of the tree species that is located within the park, the Gumbo Limbo Tree (Bursera simaruba), otherwise known as the "tourist tree" because of its red peeling bark. The center was founded in 1984, sits on 20 acres, and is committed to protecting and rehabilitation of sea turtles. 


There were two large fish tanks in the lobby when we entered. One contained tiger fish, and the other one had pretty, bright and colorful saltwater fish. They also had a tank display that gave information on some of the animals that you may see while at the center, such as the Golden Orb Spider and snakes.

The ladies at the front desk in the lobby were very friendly and helpful.  They gave us our map of the facility and brief description of where everything was. They told us how to follow the painted animals on the sidewalks,which is really cute and kid-friendly.  When you follow the blue fish, you find two large marine aquariums. These aquariums had sting rays, puffer fish, sharks, and several other native fish. There are two large aquariums just to the right of the marine aquariums that have sea turtles who are in the process of rehabilitation. There were several turtles in the tank that were being treated for “Bubblebutt Syndrome". We were told that these turtles were struck by a boat, which causes air to get trapped under their shell and that they would have to spend the rest of their lives in captivity. The treatment for Bubblebutt Syndrome is having weights attached to their shells, which allows them to dive for their food.

Gumbo Limbo has a few rehabilitation tanks and a hatchling area. We were able to see some of the rehabilitation process for three turtles while we were there, and we were able to see several hatchlings. 

While there, we followed the black and yellow butterflies painted on the walk way to the butterfly garden and walked through Ashley's Trail.  The butterfly garden has several different types of butterflies and lots and lots of the Golden Orb Spider.  I don't think that I have seen that many of them in one place.  They were everywhere! I am thankful that most of them were high enough in the trees that we didn't have to walk through them.  Ashley's Trail ends at the Intercoastal Waterway, where they have an authentic Seminole Chiki, which is used as an outdoor classroom for the schools and Gumbo Limbo Programs. There is also a boardwalk at the center but unfortunately it was closed when we were there. 

Would you like to help with Gumbo Limbo care for these turtles? There are several ways you can help.  You can adopt a sea turtle or a hatchling or you could volunteer at the center.

Jess' Journeys // Hershey, Pennsylvania

How do you resist the lure of a town whose streetlights are shaped like Hershey's kisses? The answer, of course, is that you don't. I've driven through Hershey, PA four times, and I've managed not to stop exactly once.

While the town of Hershey has a lot to offer in general, the main draw is its tourist attractions. While the rumor that the entire town smells like chocolate isn't true, the tourist attractions definitely do.

My absolute favorite part is Hershey's Chocolate World, more specifically the Hershey's Chocolate Tour. It's this absolutely cheesy ride that takes you through the process of how Hershey's chocolate is made. There's even a theme song that almost rivals Disney World's "It's a Small World" song...almost. Plus, this ride is totally free! As an added bonus, you get a free fun-sized candy bar on your way out of the ride.

The first time I ever stopped through Hershey, PA, I was driving to be a camp counselor at a summer camp. I had about an hour and no money at all. Thank goodness for the chocolate tour ride! It was so cool that the next time I drove through Pennsylvania, I specifically mapped my route to go through Hershey again.

My second trip was much more fun. I got to spend an entire day exploring. My mom & I drove into town late at night, and when the doors to the hotel opened, the lobby smelled like chocolate! It was the perfect way to start a visit. The next morning, we got up bright & early for our visit to Chocolate World. This time, not only did I get to ride the chocolate tour ride again, but I got to do the chocolate tasting adventure. With the chocolate tasting adventure, you go into a room setup like a classroom with little paper placemats in front of everyone. On your little placemat, there are samples of different types of chocolate that Hershey's makes. The "instructor" walks you through the history of chocolate and the proper way to taste each one. It was really fascinating. I would definitely recommend doing this.

After shopping in the huge gift shop, we were off to visit The Hershey Story museum. This museum about Milton Hershey, the Hershey's company, and the city of Hershey is really interesting. The museum has lottos interactive exhibits and is really informative overall. My favorite part was the flight of different samples of chocolate from around the world. Imagine those flights of different beers that breweries sell. It's like that but for chocolate. They were delicious. I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed the flavors of the bitter ones even since I don't like dark chocolate generally. The paper placemat that the samples are presented on tells about each type of chocolate, which is really nice so that you can pick out the subtle flavors in each one. Honestly, if I could have convinced my mom to do it again, I would have stayed to drink liquid chocolate for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, we were out of time.

On my way out of town, I finally figured out how to make my house smell like chocolate just like our hotel did. Inside the museum gift shop, they sold cubes for wax warmers that are chocolate-scented! I was skeptical because chocolate-scented things usually smell really gross to me. This was amazing though!

My third time driving through Hershey, PA, I skipped the tourist attractions. Instead, we went on a tour through the outskirts of the area where the cows live who produce the milk that goes into Hershey's chocolate.

If you happen to find yourself going through this region of Pennsylvania, I highly recommend taking the time out to spend a day in Hershey. You won't regret it!