Inside Florida: Spirited DeLand

De Land has risen from its "Deadland" reputation.

This town of 30,000 (34,000 when Stetson University's students are in residence) has largely been by-passed since I-95 and I-4 made reaching Orlando and points south easier and faster to reach.

What has been happening in our absence is a remarkable success story. During a recent visit I discovered a DeLand that has
• the oldest downtown association in the state
• a walkable downtown filled with interesting architecture
• three state parks
• 50 events a year downtown from a Mardi Gras dog parade to an ice cream walk with a unique flavor created for each merchant to serve to strollers
• a Halloween party that attracts 4,000 downtown

When artist Erica Group painted a blank wall visitors and locals loved photographing themselves with it, inspiring the Wings project.

• art projects galore: painted wraps on utility boxes, a sculpture walk sparked by Museum of Art DeLand  and a wings project to come.

Faces of current residents stand in for the first snowbirds to vacation in DeLand based on an 1890s photograph.

• An intriguing history merging Henry DeLand, John B. Stetson, Thomas Edison and Chinese immigrant Lue Gim Gong, preserved by the West Volusia Historical Society and depicted by eight regional artists in a 15-stop Historic Mural Walk
• a growing variety or restaurants downtown with cuisines from three continents (Thai, Latin Fusion, Italian, American). Breweries, bakeries, candy, doughnut, coffee and wine shops, too.

Even the alleys are interesting.

A sense of humor also pokes out.

DeLand has a number of firsts to claim. It had one of the first electrified house in the country, the first power plant in Florida, the first electric light power and ice company in the state, the oldest continuously operating printing company in the state.

it also lays claim to the Skydiving Capital of the World. Here is where the tandem skydive was conceived and developed as well as the Accelerated Freefall Program that teaches beginners to be skydivers at Skydive DeLand.

Across the street is the Naval Air Station Museum. Founded in 1995 on the site of the WWII DeLand Naval Air Station and dedicated to the sacrifices and valor of the men and women who worked there, it honors all veterans.

Restoration in progress of a Vietnam era medical helicopter.

Developed and run  by volunteers, it includes everything from a pilot's license signed by Orville Wright to restored and being restored planes, a Vietnam era PT boat and a Korean era jeep. Even a wedding photograph of Al Capone's nephew, the white sheep of the family. Everything comes with a fascinating story that dedicated volunteers are eager to tell.

In a very short time visitors realize there is a spirit of community here. Newcomers have become part of the town. Young entrepreneurs are welcomed by customers open to new ideas. It's not a can-do attitude, rather a we-are-doing-it pride.

Swimming area at De Leon State Park

About those state parks. I visited two. De Leon Springs State Park, six miles away, features a large, spring-fed "swimming hole," rental canoes, kayaks and pedalboats, a boat ramp and dock.

However, even those immune to the pleasures of nature will like the  Old Spanish Sugar Mill Grill and Griddle House. You and your group make and customize your own pancakes Early American style with unbleached flour or the house's five stone-ground flours. Order any toppings you want and in no time pitchers of batter, bowls of fruit and syrups arrive. Wait staff ready the griddle that runs the length of the table and you are cookin'. It's fun so arrive early; everyone else thinks so, too.

The Blue Spring  of Blue Spring State Park.

Six miles in the other direction from DeLand is Orange City and Blue Spring State Park.  This is a favorite of manatees and their fans. According to Park Services Specialist Darrell Thomas, the lovable mammals broke records for attendance last year when 488 gathered here for the winter. During peak time you can check for yourself on the manatv.org. A boardwalk makes it easy to get to the spring.

We spotted one stay-at-home manatee.

Both parks are extremely popular and often hit their maximum capacity, so plan to arrive early in the day.

Adult barred owl.

Want to let someone else handle the water craft?  The best river tour I've ever taken was with St. Johns River Eco Tour. Based at Highbanks Marina in DeBary, 12 miles from DeLand, the tours take in the St. Johns, its flora and fauna. Owner Doug Little and captain W.E. Dooley helmed the Naiad. Among a host of other things, we learned three rivers and 300 springs feed the river and that at one time 150 steamboats a month were taking passengers and cargo up and down the river. That all alligators can jump the length of their tails.

Juvenile barred owl isn't sure what to do with his fish.

In addition to gators we saw egrets, anhingas, limpkins, purple gallinules, a red shouldered hawk, a swallowtail kite, a female osprey on her nest, red bellied cooters, a pair of barred owls and their offspring.

I barely touched the surface of what there is to see and do in West Volusia County and look forward to returning soon, After all, what's not to like about DeLand?

Scoop up Scallops and a Deal

Scalloping season runs from July to Sept. 24 this year and the Plantation on Crystal River is offering guided and unguided tours along with accommodations. 

The guided package starts at $695 for mid-week stays for two. Included:

• Two-nights stay in garden or water view deluxe room

• Guided scalloping tour with masks, snorkels and fins

• Souvenir bag filled with mesh scalloping bag, scallop recipes and water

• Chef-prepared cook-your-catch  from the day's harvest of scallops or fish from lunch or dinner, served with two sides

• Breakfast daily 

The unguided package begins at $350.

If you choose not to take advantage of a package, you can still have your scallops cooked. For $14.95 the chef at West 82° Bar & Grill will prepare shucked scallops during lunch or dinner in scampi, au gratin, sauteed or Chef's choice and provide two sides.

For details, plantationcrystalriver.com or 800-632-6262.

Golftoberfest?

 That is what they are calling Golf Advisor Getaway, a buddy trip at Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro, GA, midway between Atlanta and Athens. Oct. 21-24 are the dates when golf buddy foursomes can join travel guru Matt Ginella of Golf Channel for an immersion into luxury golf and sporting lifestyle.

 Each participant receives three rounds of golf, private group dinner parties, daily breakfast and lunch, with optional experiences at the Reynolds Kingdom of Golf (club fitting, presentation by TaylorMade head of Research Design and Engineering) and the resort's new Sandy Creek Sporting Grounds with sporting clays, shooting stands and archery. That's in addition to access to lake activities, swimming, tennis and fitness facilities. 

Accommodations range from private rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, to shared  four-bedroom National Club Cottage or three- or four-bedroom Lake Club condominium. 

 Registration is limited to 72. Prices are $2,649 with condo accommodations, $3,449, rooms at the Ritz-Carlton.

Contact www.golfadvisor.com/getaways/reynolds-lake-oconee.html

Warsaw, Poland - Europe's Next Hot Spot?

Royal Palace in Warsaw's Royal Lazienska Park. Photo © Judy Wells.

A steady stream of Americans visits Poland; after all, Chicago has the second largest concentration of Poles, making it Poland's second largest city. Increasingly, the rest of America and the world are discovering this reasonably priced center of interesting history and sites, beautiful countrysides and welcoming hosts. After centuries of struggling to rule their own nation, the Poles have achieved their goal and want to show off.

LOT Dreamliner gets the inaugural traditional water spray welcome at Newark.

 LOT, the national and most aggressive airline in Europe, is making it easier with 27 new or reinstated routes for 2016. A direct flight between Los Angeles and Warsaw and Chicago and Krakow have recently been added. I was invited on the inaugural reinstated flight from Newark to Warsaw April 28 followed by a quick look at Warsaw and Krakow.

Here's my take on Warsaw.

The Holocaust

It is impossible to ignore the tragedy of Poland's Jewish populations. From the mid-13th century, Poland was known as the most enlightened and tolerant of European countries. Its rulers gave Jews all the rights of Christians. Scholars, musicians, merchants, writers and scientists flourished and so did the country. All changed with the 20th century and the rise anti-Semitism exacerbated by fascists and Nazis, who turned Jews, gypsies and homosexuals into scapegoats for all of society's ills.

There were more than 3.5 million  Jews, a large percentage of the world's Jewish population, living in Poland prior to World War II. More than 3 million of them were killed by war's end.

More Polish gentiles, 6,706, have been recognized by Israel for their efforts in saving Jews than in any other country.

Flowers fill the base of the Holocaust Memorial at POLIN Museum of the History of polish Jews.

Memorials to victims of the Holocaust dot the Polish cities and countryside, always with fresh flowers.

Warsaw

The current Old Town isn't so old. Photo © by Judy Wells.

Old Town after the war.

Most - 70 percent - of Poland's capital was destroyed through World War II and the Soviet takeover, but in many areas, primarily Old Town, you'd never know it. Even the Soviets recognized the importance of recreating the 13th century historic district.

Photo © by Judy Wells.

Tourists and natives flock there, picking up souvenirs, snacks and floral headbands, a popular adornment.

The "Palace's" redeeming feature is its 360-degree view deck.

The Soviets also made sure major boulevards were wide (easier crowd control) and gifted the city with the enormously large and ugly Palace of Culture and Science, tearing down what bombs hadn't already destroyed around it. Unfortunately, one of those wide roadways the Soviets built runs along the Vistula River, effectively separating it from the city.

Outside the Warsaw Rising Museum. Photo ©by Judy Wells.

Two museums that are musts for anyone with a taste for history.  The Warsaw Rising Museum effectively recreates the uprising of Polish Nationalists and Jewish ghetto residents Aug. 1, 1944, the heroic but doomed to fail struggle. From Nazi occupation, torture and systematic killing to post-war communist fears and oppression,  the museum honors all who have given their lives for a free Poland.

A recreated 17-18th century synagogue is exuberant from ceiling to floor.

POLIN,  Museum of the History of Polish Jews, entertainingly, joyously and gut-wrenchingly covers 1,000 years of Polish Jewish history.

The POLIN.

Named Europe's Museum of the Year in 2016, it is worth the better part of a day's visit. Design your own 12th century coin in Hebrew, see a book printed in 1644 in Krakow, listen to Klezmer music, follow the footsteps to dance a tango, watch a Jewish movie, wonder at the dazzling ceiling of a reconstructed 17-18th century synagogue and yes, feel the terror and horror of the Holocaust.

Poles set up their own altars when Soviets discouraged religion. Photo  by Judy Wells.

Warsaw is still getting its act together. Some areas are in disrepair, others will have ramshackle buildings  amid attractive period or contemporary-style ones. Tangles of ownership are yet to be untied.

Inside the Neon Museum. Photos © by Judy Wells.

As soon as ownership is established, urban renewal jumps in as it has in the artsy Praga, the Bohemian district, where you will find the Neon Museum and snazzy restaurants moving in near the old Milk Bars and the unrestored area where "The Pianist" was filmed.

Chopin is front and center in Royal Lazienka Park. Photos © by Judy Wells.

Parks, 40 percent of the city, add to its charm. Don't miss Royal Lazienka Park with the larger than life memorial of favorite son Fredyryk Chopin under a willow tree. If you can't make one of the Sunday afternoon concerts there at noon and four mid-May through September, look for the marble bench, one of several near significant spots for the musician. Sit, download an app and listed to his music.

Zoologist Richard Totola chats with Moshe Pirosh, who became friends with Richard, son of Zookeeper Dr. Dan and Augustina Zabinski, when as a 10-year-old he was hidden in the Zabinski's basement.

If you are a fan of The Zookeeper's Wife, definitely visit the tree-filled Warsaw Zoo and arrange a tour of the house where it all took place. Quite an experience.

The tunnel through which Jews were smuggled into the Zabinski's basement and out to, if lucky, freedom.

Food can be a highlight of your visit.

Elixer Dom Wodka, the vodka restaurant, combines imaginative cuisine with vodka pairings in a sleek setting.  

Der Elefant attracts families and singles with a wide array of choices - pirogie to tartare to creative burgers and plate-filling fish. There's even a supervised children"s room so the adults can linger.

Regent Warsaw Hotel Lobby. Photo © by Judy Wells.

Our group was hosted by the Regent Warsaw Hotel, a beautifully designed contemporary retreat near Royal Lazienka Park. Staff is helpful, breakfast excellent, rooms large and well-equipped with divinely comfortable pillows.

Hotel Bristol.

If you want something more historic, Hotel Bristol is your spot. The rooms are smaller but you will be sleeping in an Art Deco-style hotel once owned by composer, pianist and politician Ignacy Paderewski where heads of state and celebrities have stayed.

Wasn't there long enough to evaluate the night life, said to be hopping, but Warsaw is definitely a work in progress.

Incredible India at a Bargain

Twelve days, Delhi, Ranthambhore (tiger reserve) and Jaipur in 5-star hotels, 15 meals and all the rest offered by World Spree Travel.

Hard to resist at $1,599 to $1,899 per person double occupancy depending on departure date (Sept. 29 to Dec. 5, 2017), including air.

Details: Log onto www.worldspree.com  and  click  “Destinations”  and  then “India.”  World Spree’s toll-free telephone number is 1-866-652-5656.

Naples, the closer one

 The Inn on 5th and Club Level Suites have paired up for a two-night "Cuisine and Cruise" package in downtown in Naples, FL. Room for two nights, sunset sightseeing cruise for two and $100 credit for dinner at Ocean Prime.

Package price, $403 for deluxe room, $623 club level suite. Taxes and tips extra.
Go to www.InnonFifth.com.

Virginia's Wintergreen is a cool summer destination

Overlook at Devils Knob loop.

Wintergreen Resort is known by most as Virginia's largest ski area. Snuggled into the peaks, slopes and valley of Devils Knob and Black Rock Mountains, it is within three hours' drive of the D.C. area, two of Richmond and one of Charlottesville. Skiers know it for the 24 ski runs, snowboard and tubing facilities, children's programs and ever-present snow.

Looking at ski runs is more comfortable in summer.

In summer its charms include 30 miles of marked hiking trails, challenging golf courses, an excellent tennis and aquatic facility and a well-staffed spa to ease over-stressed muscles.  Several good restaurants, too.

Blue Ridge Retreat

All Wintergreen accommodations are private and range from efficiency suites condos to where I and a group of travel and golf writers stayed, Blue Ridge Retreat, a nine-bedroom, nine and one-half-bathroom house with more than the comforts of home. Two dishwashers and a commercial gas range for example.

While the golf writers tackled Stoney Creek, the 27-holes of  Reese Jones' valley courses, and Devils Knob, the soaring track designed by Ellis and Dan Maples, several of us chose to explore other attractions to be found in Nelson County.

King George II granted this land to James Dickie.

Apples older than America

The Dickie orchard ranged across the valley slopes below Little de Priest Mountain before there was an America. The original James Dickie, a sea captain, received land grants from King George in 1752, 1756 and 1780; the sheepskin and parchment deeds and the land have been in the same family every since.

John Bruguiere (his mother was a Dickie) brought us up to date and into the complexities of apple growing. As apple varieties have increased - there are more than 7,000 - trees have shrunk while the apples they produce have grown in size and quantity.

Dickie Brothers Orchard grows 20 different apple varieties along with peaches, pears, nectarines, plums, blackberries, sweet potatoes, pumpkins and squash on 100 acres. One-third of the apple crop, including Gala, HoneyCrisp and McIntosh, all ripen in August. In a county of 15,000 residents one-half million bushels of apples are grown each year; 70,000 bushels from the Dickie Orchard.

Turn here and you will find it.

You won't find Dickie Brothers on a main road, but any Newton County resident can give you directions.

Handsome sitting area in Nellysford Cider Barn.

Appropriately, we headed next to where some of John's apples go, the Nellysford Barn of Bold Rock Cidery in Rockfish Valley.  Started in 2012 by founding partners Virginian John Washburn and New Zealander Brian Shanks, the company's success is in large part due to Shanks' internationally acknowledged skills at producing cider.

Using locally produced apples he has developed a surprising variety of drinkable flavors.

Looking down at Rockfish Creek.

We thoroughly enjoyed learning the history of cider in the small upstairs museum and lunch of sandwiches on the deck overlooking Rockfish Creek, but best of all was sipping our way through a tasting flight of ciders.

Overlooking the vines at Veritas.

Veritas Vineyard and Winery was our next stop and the handsome building in a  bucolic area of rolling hills covered with rows of grape vines did not disappoint. Of course Virginia had a head start in the wine biz with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers trying their hands with producing wine just as they did with cider.

Happy wine samplers.

This family operation has gone for quality over quantity and it tastes it. Judging from the groups there when we arrived and those who came in before we left, it is one of the more popular stops on the wine trail.

Wintergreen Spa

We might have lingered but spa treatments awaited us at Wintergreen.  I selected the Signature massage, a bit of everything - Swedish, reflexology, hot stones (from local creek beds!) and a few techniques Amanda used I couldn't identify. Suffice to say it was the fastest 80 minutes ever enjoyed, although is any good spa treatment ever long enough?

Not long enough was how I felt leaving Wintergreen. I wanted to return to the Copper Mine Bistro to try the boneless short ribs, a specialty they were out of the night we dined, and to sample a few more of their excellent wines. There had been no time for trying out a hiking path, diving into the aquatic center, stopping at more of the overviews or finding out where Muhammed Ali's property had been.

Not to mention the air, clear, cool with tones of hay and fruit and evergreens. Need more deep breaths of it.

B and B Special

Speaking of cool, consider this Wintergreen Fall deal.

Rates begin at $69 per person, per night for

• Accommodations
• Breakfast per night of stay at The Copper Mine Bistro

• Unlimited access to the Aquatics & Fitness Center.

The offer is valid through Nov. 23, 2016 (restrictions apply; rates vary depending on dates of stay).

Wintergreen Resort accommodations options include 230 villa-style condominiums and rental homes, from studio suites to nine-bedroom homes, each offering a fully equipped kitchen, and comfortable living area, and most come with fireplaces and a balcony, or deck.

With Wintergreen as B&B hub, fall excursions to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and James Monroe’s Ash-Lawn Highland estates are within an hour’s drive and promise plenty of picturesque Virginia landscapes.
Now available to reserve, the Wintergreen Bed & Breakfast package includes:

For more information call (888) 329-5828 or visit www.wintergreenresort.com. 

Apples ripening for picking during that time:

September - Jonagold, Empire, Golden and Red Delicious.
October - Black Twig, Fuji, Granny Smith and Winesap
November - Pink Lady.

Have your First Round on the House

Of golf, that is, at Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee in Greeensboro, GA.

Available October 1 through December 31, 2016 the golf and cottage package includes

• Complimentary round of golf on day of arrival (after noon EDT)
• Complimentary round of drinks (one per person) following each day’s round of golf
• Choice of cottage for one to three nights
• Breakfast daily
• Same course, same day unlimited golf on Oconee, Great Waters, National and Landing ($50 signature course charge for play on the Great Waters and Oconee course is applied to the first round of the day)
• Pricing from $249 per person, per night (minimum two people per cottage).

With 19,000 acres and 374 miles of shoreline, Lake Oconee is Georgia's second largest lake, providing some of the state's best fishing, along with swimming, boating, water skiing, camping, picnicking, and water skiing. Other amenities include four full-service marinas and an award-winning tennis center.

www.reynoldslakeoconee.com.

Affordable India 

World Spree’s 12-day Incredible India tour starts as low as $1,399 in December and April, and that includes round-trip fare on Air China from San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York (Houston is $100 more), all transportation in India, 5-star hotels, daily international buffet breakfasts, six other meals, sightseeing tours, entrance fees, baggage handling and English-speaking tour guides. Non-stop flights on Air India are available from New York, Chicago and San Francisco for an additional fee.

Those who fly Air China via Beijing can take advantage of China’s new 72-hour visa-free transit program and stopover in Beijing on the way home for 3 days/2 nights for only $200.  There are also extensions to Amritsar (the Sikh Golden Temple)  and Nepal.

All prices are per person, double occupancy, and are subject to availability. There is no additional charge for credit cards. For additional information, visit www.worldspree.com or call toll-free 1-866-652-5656. 

Casa de Suenos

St. Augustine Midweek Special  

Stay for two nights, Sunday through Thursday, at www.StFrancisInn.com or www.Casadesuenos.com now until September 29, 2016, and enjoy dinner and a cruise a no additional cost.

Schooner Freedom

The special includes 
• a 2-hour sail in Matanzas Bay aboard the tall ship Schooner Freedom
• a $30 gift certificate to Meehan's Irish Pub and Seafood House
• value $120 per couple

 Fine print: Offer must be mentioned at time of booking, based on double occupancy. Not available during holiday periods and may not be combined with  other offers or discounts.

Qamea Resort and Spa Fiji

 Stuff of Dreams

"Dive in Paradise" at 17-room Qamea Resort and Spa Fiji, named by CNN as one of the world's top luxury dive resorts.

The "Paradise" package includes
• seven nights of accommodations in an oceanfront bure
• 10 tanks of diving
• Unlimited shore diving
• a 30-minute massage at the Jungle Spa per guest
• round trip van and boat transfers from Taveuni Airport  to Qamea
• all meals including full American breakfast, two-course lunch and three-course dinner and afternoon tea and coffee
• daily housekeeping, turn-down service, a hosted wine tasting and nightly entertainment
• water sports including sea canoeing, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, swimming and scheduled snorkeling trips with gear
• Fijian cooking demonstration, village visit, Sunday church service, Lair (crab hunt), a Kava ceremony and meke (Fijian dancing and storytelling).

Package price is $2,450 per person, space available, exclusive of taxes and based on twin share/double occupancy and is non-transferable, non-refundable. Must be booked by October 2016 for travel through March 31, 2017.

Fiji can be reached by nightly 10-hour non-stop flights out of Los Angeles (LAX) to Nadi airport. Qamea Island is reached by an hour-log flight from Nadi to Taveuni followed by a short scenic private transfer for a 10-minute boat ride to the island and van to the resort.

Hot Stuff

Spice up your life at the 9th annual Pepper Festival in Chapel Hill, NC, 2-7 p.m. October 2, 2016. Celebrating fresh produce, Southern cuisine, bluegrass, craft beer and local peppers, the fest attracts 50 or so of the state's best chefs who create and dish up everything from pepper donuts to pepper beer.