Day 363 – Fort Mellon Park Sanford FL

Splash Pad at Fort Mellon Park in Sanford FL

Fort Mellon Park Sanford FL

Fort Mellon Park in Sanford has one of the most beautiful settings, right by Lake Monroe. This is a great location for kids and the perfect spot on a hot summer day thanks to the Splash Pad. There is also a large playground, making this a very entertaining spot for the little ones. Be sure to check it out if you have kids and are looking for something to do in Sanford.

Today it was actually quite empty, probably because school already started. During the summer break you can expect more traffic ;o)

Fort Mellon Park
600 East First Street
Sanford, FL 32771
Phone: 407.688.5103

Fort Mellon Park

Day 360 – Bettye D. Smith Cultural Arts Center Sanford FL

Sanford FL Cultural Arts Center

The Bettye D. Smith Cultural Arts Center is located on 5th Street in the historic district of Sanford. This building is available for lease 7 days a week for all kinds of events. With a capacity of about 115 people it makes a great spot for wedding receptions (especially attractive because of the adjacent Centennial Park with its large gazeb – makes the perfect outdoor wedding…), Baby Showers or Bridal Showers.

More information can be found here.

Day 346 – Sanford Veterans Memorial Park

Sanford Veterans Memorial Park

After having lunch in downtown Sanford on a beautiful Saturday I walked down to the Veterans Memorial Park. The flag hung on half mast that day because of Ted Kennedy’s death, I assume (so yes, I am once again behind on my posts…shame on me!).

Sanford Veterans Memorial Park Monument

This little park right by the Sanford Riverwalk is actually quite interesting and the city has provided a good amount of history to read off the signs around the park. If you walk the park you will also notice pavers in the concrete that name all the wars the US has been involved in over the past, including the most recent ones in the Middle East. Those and other interesting details make this park worth a visit.

One of my favorite things in this very well thought through park is the main monument in the middle of the park. The fact that it’s located right by Lake Monroe makes  it look even more impressive. I liked taking the picture from an angle because it makes the brass eagle on top look majestic and quite impressive.

On each side of the monument there are sayings of famous Americans engraved into the black marble. They read as follows:

“A nation united can never be conquered.” Thomas Jefferson

“Give me liberty or give me death.” Patrick Henry

“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” John F. Kennedy

“We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.” Abraham Lincoln

I personally love monuments because they say so much about the history of a country and culture. The symbolism is powerful and there is so much to read just from a single, at first simple looking monument. So I could dwell on here for another hour but I think it’s better you check it out yourself and let me know what you think ;o) Keep in mind, this is only a small monument so don’t compare it to anything you might have seen in Washington (where some of my favorite monuments are located).

Sanford Veterans Memorial Park

Day 343 – Sanford Chamber of Commerce Event at Carlos and Charlies

At Carlos & Charlies Lake Mary

This evening we were invited to an event at Carlos and Charlies for all members of the Sanford Chamber of Commerce. It was a great success and Carlos & Charlies generously provided free drinks and food for all guests.

Here is the info of the Sanford Chamber of Commerce in case you are interested in becoming a member:

SANFORD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
400 East First Street
Sanford, FL 32771
(407) 322-2212

Day 330 – Step It Up Sanford FL

Step It Up in Sanford FL

I first became aware of the Step It Up Recovery Center in Sanford through a friend whose brother was injured in a car accident. He is now in a wheel chair (diagnosed as a C-5 quadriplegic) but on his path to recovery. As someone who is not directly affected by such a terrible accident and life changing event it is sometimes difficult to become even aware of great non profit organizations like Step It Up. That’s why I wanted to write this little post.

I was amazed that Sanford FL is actually one of the few locations in the South East that offers such a unique recovery facility. From what I have learned, Step It Up is about getting the patient out of the wheel chair and making them work and train their muscles, based on “Project Walk” in Carlsbad, California, a facility that uses the Dardzinski Method. The concept behind this method is to strengthen the muscles of the paralyzed parts of the body without having to actually feel them.

Training at Step It Up

Step It Up is a facility for patients who want to be active and keep a positive attitude despite their injuries. As the name already suggests, this organization is very up beat and you can sense the positive energy. I really liked their approach and I was glad to see how much everyone involved supports Step It Up.

Now, I am not an expert on the topic and don’t want to say anything that isn’t correct. If you want to learn a bit more or even better, if you want to get involved and support Step It Up please visit their web site at StepItUpRecovery.org.

Step It Up is located at 508 Central Park Drive in Sanford, just past the Seminole Town Center Mall, off highway 46. They can be reached at 407-878-3757.  I also wanted to make you aware of their upcoming fundraiser at Crane’s Roost Park in Altamonte Springs on September 12, 2009 (walk starts at 9am, registration at 8:15am).

Connecting Sanford’s Past and Future at the Student Museum on 08/24/09

Sanford Student Museum

Here is an announcement for a special event in Sanford that will take place at the Sanford Student Museum (I had previously written about it on Day 221. I received this information from a Sanford365 reader who wanted to make the public aware of the event so below is the event description, quoted:

Mark your calendar for 8/24/09 to be at the STUDENT MUSEUM, 301 W. Seventh Street for two significant events! At 9:00 am the bell in the tower of the 1902 school will ring (for the first time in decades!) to signify the opening of the 2009-2010 for the Seminole County Public Schools. Afterwards, a plaque will be unveiled at the site of the first school lunch room in Seminole County. Then, the museum will be open for tours! Light refreshments will feature the yummy hot rolls long associated with the school. For additional information contact Judy Wiant at the Student Museum 407.936.1679.

This sounds like a great opportunity to explore Sanford’s past! I will try to be there )

August 31st Update: Here are some beautiful pictures of the event that SCPS shared with me. Thank you so much!

Bell Tower - Sanford Student Museum

Lunchroom Plaque

Dr.Vogel at the event

Day 325 – A Saturday Morning in Sanford FL

Sanford Farmers Market

Sanford FL is a great place to enjoy a relaxed Saturday morning, away from all the hustle and bustle. Since I also wanted to check out the new covered shade I had written about during the week, I decided to visit the weekly Sanford Farmers Market on Magnolia Square and then walk a bit through downtown Sanford to see what was new in town.

It was quite hot but nevertheless there was a good amount of people out here enjoying Sanford, listening to live music at Magnolia Square and visiting the surrounding stores, cafes and restaurants. The shade on Magnolia Square by the way turned out great and I was happy to spend some minutes under it ;o) After buying some fruits we walked along First Street and just took some pictures (see below).

Maya's Book Store

Maya Books and Music is a wonderful place to browse and find some used books. It’s located right on Mangolia Square. I had previously written about this unique book store on Day 6 when it was still located next to the Willow Tree Cafe (German restaurant).

When we walked by the German restaurant (who wouldn’t know this one by now?) I saw the weekend issue of the Sanford Herald displayed in front of the restaurant and found out that the Willow Tree Cafe is competing to be named the top German restaurant in the US! As a big fan of the Willow Tree Cafe, they definitely have my vote. In case you want to cast your vote, visit GermanDeli.com where you can vote once a day until September 1st. Support “Gemuetlichkeit” – there is no better place to live this very “Gemuetlichkeit” than Sanford ;o)

Willow Tree soon #1 German Restaurant in the US? You decide!

I am always amazed by the detail in the beautiful “art wall” (that’s how I call it) on First Street so today I took some more pictures of it… You can really get inspired here and I think I must have spent 20 minutes just looking at it. Very inspiring!

First Street Art Wall

After this quick stop on First Street and Magnolia Square it’s always nice to walk a bit around the Riverwalk or sit on one of the swings overlooking Lake Monroe.

Click the link below to see some more pictures taken on a Saturday in Sanford FL

Day 323 – Seminole Community College Sanford

Seminole Community College Entrance Sign

Founded in and with 86 different degrees and certificates, Seminole Community College is a major education facility in Central Florida. Recently it was announced that SCC will now also offer a 4 year baccalaureate degree (Interior Design starts in January 2010). That is exciting news for Sanford and Seminole County and will make this area even more attractive for students in the future. The college will now certainly also look into offering more 4 year degrees. I am sure Interior Design will be a hit, I have heard good things about the AS degree that is currently offered here at SCC in Interior Design – as ValenciaCC Graphic and Web Design Alumni I want to mention though that VCC still rocks for those degrees ;o)

Seminole Community College is currently asking students and the public to name the college. The new name will take the place of the old, “Seminole Community College”. So if you have any ideas, don’t be shy and submit yours at http://www.scc-fl.edu/namechange/ On the page you will also find details about the reasons for the name change. Deadline is September 1, 2009. The name will be selected in Spring of 2010.

At the Sanford Lake Mary Campus

I have taken some Community Education classes at SCC, one of them was Interior Decorating, the other Salsa Dancing. Both classes were great fun. I was sad to just see that Community Education at SCC has been cut due to a lower budget. Hopefully those classes will be offered again in the future, they are a true enrichment to the community!

BTW, new classes start this month (end of August 2009).

Here is the information about the different campuses of Seminole Community:

Sanford/Lake Mary Campus
100 Weldon Boulevard
Sanford, FL 32773
Phone: 407.708.4722

Heathrow Campus
1055 AAA Drive
Heathrow, FL 32746

Altamonte Springs Campus
850 South State Road 434
Altamonte Springs, FL 32714

Oviedo Campus
2505 Lockwood Boulevard
Oviedo, FL 32765

Campus Map

Day 319 – Sanford Civic Center

Sanford Civic Center

The Sanford Civic Center is located across from beautiful Lake Monroe in downtown Sanford. The civic center has been a great place for community events. It is also meeting point for various groups, clubs and organizations of the area. The facility makes a great location for any type of community event like fundraisers, seminars or expos. The entire complex fits over 1,000 people comfortably and even has a stage. For more information and to find out about rates or how you can book the center for any of your events, please contact the Civic Center at 407.688.5129 or click here to read through the Sanford Civic Center FAQs. The center is available 7 days a week, except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

Here is their information:

Sanford Civic Center
401 E. Seminole Boulevard
Sanford, FL 32771

Sanford Civic Center Sign

Day 314 – Amtrak Passenger Train in Sanford FL

Amtrak Station in Orlando FL

Jose’s nephew who is currently staying with us to learn English just visited his girlfriend in Miami. Since we couldn’t drive him down there he decided to take the train. Today I picked him up at the train Amtrak train station in Orlando (Kaley Street Exit, after the 408 Exit when coming from Sanford).

So as I was waiting for him in the car I started thinking about how awesome it would be to have such a train station closer to us, even better, in Sanford! When I got back home I started some research…

Growing up in Europe I was obviously used to trains and the convenience they bring. I used the train a lot to get from city to city. Needless to say I was very disappointed with the rejection of the Sun Rail project in Orlando. But now there’s at least some hope for Sanford in terms of a passenger train station. You might remember that Sanford did have an Amtrak passenger train staion before the hurricanes of 2004 hit us badly. After the hurricanes the train station was never fixed so that the onlt train stations in the area remained in Deland, Winter Park and Orlando. Well, as it turns out Amtrak is receiving funds from the government (part of a specific act, don’t quote me on any of this info) and will resurrect the train station in Sanford as early as this year. Please visit the Sanford City web site for more accurate and up to date info though!

The train will connect Sanford not only with Miami but also with New Orleans. I am really hoping that further stops will be implemented in the future (how about routes into the North to cities like Chicago, Washington DC or New York?). Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

Last but not least Juan Jose (Jose’s nephew) reports that riding in the Amtrak train is comfortable but that it gets quite cold in there…