Bok Tower Gardens

On Friday Barbara and I went up to the Orlando area so she could visit with two of her cousins while I got the tires rotated, not sure who had more fun that day. At the motel we were able to get in the pool for a swim and it was wonderful. Then the next day we went over to Lake Wales, Fl. to visit Bok Tower Gardens. On the way we stopped at Davidson of Dundee (www.davidsonofdundee.com) to see the Citrus Candy Factory there. The factory was not working due to the fact we were there on Saturday but we got to get some samples and even bought some products. The next stop was at Florida's Natural Growers Grove House. A visitor center setup by Florida's Natural (www.floridasnatural.com) company instead of a factory tour they just have a gift shop and show a 15 minute movie about the company and how they make the orange juice. Next we were off to Lake Wales, Fl. and Bok Tower Gardens (www.boktowergardens.org). The first stop was to watch the 9 minute movie that tells how Edward W. Bok came to Florida and wanted to create a garden for birds and people and he certainly accomplished that. We then went and had a very nice lunch in the cafe. After lunch we went to the window by the pond were you can sit quietly and watch the wild life in the pond. We then got a ride up the hill to the tower. The 205 foot tower houses a 60 bell carillon and there are two 30 minute concerts every day at 1PM and 3PM. We walked around and then found a quiet bench in the shade to listen to the 1PM concert. After the concert we walked over to Pinewood Estate (www.boktowergardens.org/about/pinewood-estate) the house built by Charles Austin Buck a Vice President of Bethlehem Steel as a winter residence. We bought tickets for the inside tour and enjoyed it very much. Mr. Buck used the house for maybe 6 weeks a year and had 6 to 8 overnight guests every night. The house is a Mediterranean-style and has 20 rooms and is considered one of the finest examples of Mediterranean-style architecture in Florida.

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