The World of Fruit

Despite what the title implies, this isn’t about the residents of Orlando (well, maybe a little).  To the Northwest of Orlando (near Clermont) is the Showcase of Citrus, or what I affectionately call the World of Fruit (WoF).

WoF is from the same heritage as Dinosaur World, Waltzing Waters, Cypress Gardens and others.  It’s what provided Florida with its charm before the Disney’s of the world changed the game.  I don’t have a problem with Disney, but I do appreciate these small roadside attractions.

When I worked in Florida, I drove by this stand twice daily.  That was in the extremely difficult consulting environment following 9/11, and my commute was not something to which I looked forward.  It was only on the last day working in Florida that I decided to stop and check out the stand.  There’s a genuineness and eternal optimism to the people that man this stands.  Unlike the painted smiles of American Airline attendants, these people truly enjoyed their jobs.  And why not?  They are outside in beautiful weather, enjoying the scent of orange blossoms, and purveying fresh, vine ripened fruit and vegetables.  It was a lone bright spot back then, and is still a bright spot in the much better now.

We packed up the Klepper clan in the car and headed out to WoF.  Despite the urban crawl of Orlando, WoF is still outside the reaches of civilization.  Florida still has stretches of orchards, but to see them in proximity to Orlando is becoming rare.

Upon opening the door, we were greated with the most pleasant orange blossom scent.  WoF features two lightly constructed buildings, one for retail and one for making orange juice.  We browsed around the selection before journeying into the orchards.

WoF qualifies for roadside attraction status due to a few ketchy features:

1. Roosters and other wild animals wander the grounds.
2. It doubles as an RV park.
3. You have the option to pick fruit from a school bus that was transformed into a monster truck.

Yes, a monster truck.  A wicked cool, totally impractical, converted school bus, monster truck.  We were unable to ride the monster truck as its owner, Bill, was not answering his phone.  It was still relatively early (11 AM) and he may have had a long night.  Still absolutely stellar.

Undeterred, we wandered the grounds under clear skies and 78 degress, picking tangerines, monstorous grapefruit, meyers lemons, key limes, and many other varieties of citrus.  Other groups would pass by with a look a contentment and nod at each other, subtly recognizing how lucky we were to be in that moment.  People are friendly in orange groves.

Think the kids had a good time with the fresh air and sun.  Kenzie and I explored the orchard, finding trees with ripe oranges on the back of the property.  We also came across a rose bush, whose irresistable flowers led to a happy pose.  Gryphon was content to be a pirate.

Did more things on Sunday, but don’t really remember that much.  I think orange blossoms might have memory altering capabilities, and that might be a good thing.

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