Very overcast this morning...seems to be the way most of this weather this week was. Still very warm though... you kind of sit there waiting for it to rain, but it never did.
We decided upon an indoor activity today, so thought we would drive over to Lake Wales, and tour the Florida's Natural Facility.
If you have ever drank orange juice, you have probably drank Florida's Natural. It is made right here in Lake Wales, and shipped and sold all over the world.
Above is the Visitor's Centre, where you can go in and learn all about the Company. They have been growing oranges here in Florida for over 500 years now! They had a nice juice bar inside that you could sample many of the products they produce right here... The Factory is right across the road, and is very big!
They depicted the history of the Company very well inside. This is actually a Farmers Co-Op. The growers got together and formed a Co-Op to help grow the industry. Today there are over 1,000 growers in the Co-Op, and they produce oranges on over 50,000 acres right here in this area of Lake Wales/Winter Haven. Trees are all over the place.
At the Visitor's Centre, they had a bunch of these small oranges growing on trees... did not know what they call them.
After we left the Centre, we toured downtown Lake Walles, and of course, what do we see... a big old truck full of Oranges heading to the Factory. Over 95% of the oranges grown in this area go to the making of orange juice. They also have another factory located in California.
Above is what they call Historic Downtown Lake Wales. They Town was formed due to oranges, and survives today because of it. Florida's Natural is by far the largest employer in this area. They pride themselves on this product as it is Natural Orange Juice, and NOT from concentrate! Very important!
Judy found this bird of prey out front of the Visitor's Centre. Great tour, well worth the time and effort.
We ended up at Eagle Ridge Mall, just up the way from the Factory, and spent some time shopping this afternoon. Had lunch in the food court at Taco Bell, and look what we found...
This is a full blown Carousel, right inside the food court... like everything else around here the mall is huge... including Sears, Dillards, and J.C. Penny as anchors in the mall. We did them all!
Ended up across the way tonight, having dinner with Wayne and Carol from Nova Scotia... had to re-hash yesterdays swamp tour you know... Had a great time with them over a nice Chili Dinner... thanks!
Tonight Judy and I decided to go back to the mall, and there is a big Ciniplex there, and we took in the new James Bond thriller, "Skyfall"...
I have always liked the James Bond Movies, and this one did not disappoint! Good story and of course, James Bond come out on top at the end!
Whew... busy day...
till tomorrow...
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Just found your blog on hitchitch.com as was suprised to see a post about Lake Wales. That's where we live! We have lived here 20yrs now and love it here. My husband and I plan to retire soon and go fultime RVing. We enjoy the Mild to Wild Airboat Tours they are awesome! Our favorite to camp is just across from there at Lake Kissimmee State Park. We enjoy watching the deer walk thru the campsites in the mornings. Loved seeing the pictures of our quaint little town and Florida Natural too. It use to be called Donald Duck Juice and they had a picture of him on the water tower. Miss seeing the duck sometimes. Thank you for sharing these pictures sometimes we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life and take our surrounding for granted. Nice to see them for a different view. Hope you enjoy your stay here.
ReplyDeleteRobert and Diane
great day for a glass of 'oj'!!nice that got to enjoy the tour!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tour of Florida Natural and Lake Whales. We drove by there the other day but did not have time to stop.
ReplyDeleteMaybe next time we are in the area.
What an interesting tour that would be. Down here in the Rio Grand Valley there ae orange and grapefruit trees every where. Love smell of the blossoms.
ReplyDeleteNothing like a fresh squeezed glass of orange juice first thing in the morning. Nice tour.
ReplyDeleteClearly a nice day had in central Florida.
ReplyDeleteI'm suggesting spending a winter in that area in the future.
We are getting closer to the warmer weather. In Hope Mills, NC tonight. new satellite dish installation tomorrow. Then we are off to Myrtle Beach for a few days.
ReplyDeleteI am ordering much warmer weather for Florida over the next week or so. Hope you get it!