Monday, February 6, 2017
Dade City, Florida (Travelers Rest
Resort)
Mid 70s, sunny
Early
this sunny, dewy morning TK and I headed to Webster West Side Flea Market about
45 minutes away in Webster, Florida. According to the website, it has been the place to find everything imaginable for the past 50 years!
There are thirty five acres of open air markets with produce, flowers,
bakery items, jewelry, plants, boutique items, furniture, musical instruments,
electronics, hardware/tools, pet supplies, crafts, and clothing—just to name a
few things. Webster, open every Monday rain or shine, is especially known for
great deals on good quality antiques and collectibles as a primary source for
the old and unique. Today it was open from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m.
So what did we see? What did we buy? First, I was quite
surprised to see what looked to be advertised as medical marijuana. I did not
really study the situation, and I do not know if it were really so, but the
packages looked the part. I also saw rifles for sale and small working cannons.
Mounted lizards, bats, and beetles were intriguing and I heard the vendor say
that he orders the specimens from South American and then prepares them for
selling.
However, I was more interested in any World War I items (there
were none), handmade American Girl clothes, crocheted necklaces, and watches. Perhaps
that is what I purchasedJ. TK bought kettle corn and deep
fried pretzels.
Together we purchased a flat of strawberries, fresh from Plant
City, Florida. Can you imagine fresh strawberries in January? We finished
our shopping at Webster—in four hours I racked up 4.5 miles on my Fitbit!
We had lunch/dinner at Sunrise Restaurant where we have
eaten before—they have my favorite fries (coated).
On the way back to TRR we stopped at Publix in Zephyrhills for
whipped cream and shell cakes for strawberry shortcake. While looking for the
little cakes I asked a young man stocking the shelves if he knew where they
were. It turned out he was from Germany and had only been in this country for
four weeks. He had no idea what strawberry shortcake was! We had a delightful
conversation and when we found the little cakes I showed him the picture on the
front.
Encounters like this have really made me consciously think of
the many nameless people who come into our lives every day, like our dear
servers on the ship, wait staff in a restaurant, the cashier at a gas station, those
people behind the scenes like the cooks or the even the people who wash the
dishes. Every day I depend on so many nameless people who I may never meet or I
meet for a brief moment in time. I must value the network of people who enrich
my life.
After our excursion today, we returned to TRR. The drive along
the back roads is very interesting—orange groves, beef cattle, horses, an
assortment of shotgun houses, bungalows, and estates, palm trees, barbed wire
fences. I have reported before that George Steinbrenner of NY Yankees fame had
a plantation very near TRR that his sons now own and I believe are trying to
sell. Contractors/builders are trying to buy the land in this area for more
Florida 55+ communities. The farmers are giving in little by little---and every
year we are here there are more developments being built. The infrastructure is
amazing—TK is always commenting on how nice the road system is.
The strawberry shortcake was delicious and tonight I am writing
from the TRR library with very good Wi-Fi service!
Finally, I forgot to mention that a few days ago I finally found
rocks! For my brother! He lost some J
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