All Entries in the "Lakeland" Category
Restaurant Review: Smoothie King
What can be said about a chain drinkeria like Smoothie King (3423 S Florida Ave, Lakeland, FL 33803-4755, (863) 647-9602)? Not much that hasn’t been said about a million smoothie places before. If you enjoy cold, tasty fruit beverages with added powders and vitamins that may or may not make fruit taste like library paste, you’ll probably enjoy Smoothie King.
That said, I wanted to take a moment to note a trend I’ve noticed in how I feel after I consume something from smoothie king. At first, I thought I was buying into the hype. I drink a smoothie (usually the Gladiator, a ridiculously high protein and high vitamin C concoction that actually tastes like fruit and yogurt) I feel great for 4-5 hours afterwords. When I was working out every day, I’d have one on my way home and the combination of simple sugars with all of that protein piled on top of a rigorous workout gave me a buzz that I would carry the rest of the day. Even without the workout, I find that the drinks give me a good feeling of fullness and general satisfaction that I haven’t found from anything else.
There’s a lot more to Smoothie King than just smoothies. They sell a number of power bars, take home shake mix, add-ons for your workout and other quick fixes for the mechanical quagmire that is the human body.
The employees at Smoothie King range from clueless to helpful, depending on which store you go to and who you get. For this particular trip, I got the very helpful perky girl in her twenties that genuinely wants to help her customers. I also spoke briefly with the disenfranchised jock who is coming to terms with his life as a slush-barista after this near miss as High School Hero. Over all, very nice people and quick service.
As for the taste of the smoothies, I can’t complain. It seems they’re getting more creamy and less fruity each time I go, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Cirque Du Soleil’s Saltimbanco
I have to apologize up front about the quality of the photos I took of the show. They really don’t give this amazing experience the justice I wish I could have given it. As many of you know, I’m more of a faux-tographer than a photographer. Thus, my archaic SLR setup doesn’t give the kind of clarity in shooting dark scenes as I would prefer. I’m working to remedy this problem with a shiny new F/2.8 70-300mm Canon Lens, but for now please enjoy what I was able to capture.
When I heard Cirque Du Soleil’s Saltimbanco show was coming to the Lakeland Center, I knew I had to go. I had seen Cirque before in Las Vegas, but this was a very different show.
The differences are in both scope and scale, but I wouldn’t say that either show is better than it’s counterpart. The show I saw years ago had a moving stage and this stage was a large part of the act. The traveling Saltimbanco show, a mix of performance pieces including flying trapeze, acrobatic stunts, dance, creative musical numbers, imaginative customs and live music makes up for the moving stage with higher energy and more adventurous stunts.
The show starts off a little slow, introducing the audience to a few characters. Within a few minutes, the band steps up the tempo and with it an array of colorful characters join the mix. The acrobatics and feats of strength are the highlight of the second half, sending performers tumbling into the air. The performance was flawless. It’s obvious that the choreographer and the performers for this show make this their dream, and we all can share in that dream if only for a few hours.
Costume design is also top notch on this show. Ranging from the simplest of form fitting one pieces to elaborate head dresses and masks, the colorful ensembles draw your eye across the stage, trying to take it all in at once. As my companion at the show said, “It’s sensory overload. You can never take it all in.”
The Saltimbanco Arena Tour will stop in Tampa, FL at the St. Pete Times Forum for a limited engagement from June 25 through July 5, 2009. Tickets are on sale and available at cirquedusoleil.com, or by calling 813-287-8844.
The world premiere of Saltimbanco was held in Montreal on April 23, 1992 and featured a cast of 36 performers. During its 14-year tour under the big top, the show visited 75 cities on five continents, for a total of more than 4,000 performances before a combined audience of 10 million people.
In 2007, Saltimbanco embarked on a tour of over 40 arenas across Canada and the United States. The new tour model allows Cirque du Soleil to bring its shows to additional cities, giving more people than ever the opportunity to enjoy a Cirque du Soleil show in their own town.
Saltimbanco belongs to the emblematic style of Cirque du Soleil – a signature Cirque du Soleil show with a style that borrows from theatre, dance and music and where spectacular costumes, lighting and make-up take pride of place. The current cast of 49 artists, 15 of whom were part of the show’s original big top tour, hails from Canada and 20 other countries.
Full of color, amusement and amazement, Saltimbanco is a fun show for the whole family to enjoy, a great outing for everyone!
Sun N Fun: Spring Break for Pilots, Picture Opportunity for Me
I love a good airshow. I kick myself for not having gone to Sun N Fun before, considering I used to live in Lakeland where it is hosted every year.
This Sun N Fun featured every facet of flight that I person could be interested in. Billed as “Spring Break for Pilots”, hundreds of small aircraft fly in from all over the world. You’ll see Cessnas, small private prop planes, warbirds and jets all converge onto this site for five days of fun, aerial acrobatics and exhibition.
For non-pilots like me, there are a few hurdles to enjoying the show. Firstly, the organizers don’t make it apparent where to park or what to do. I drove around the Lakeland Linder airport a dozen times, asking various people posted at gates what to do. No one seemed to know. I finally ended up parking in the only place I could find, walking a half mile to the ticket booth, walking another half mile or so to the tarmack and taking my spot next to the runway.
Secondly, the way the exhibits are laid out are different than most festivals. There were a couple of small food/drink shops set up but they were all clustered together. Usually, they are spread apart for easy access no matter where the crowd is. Thirdly, the bathrooms were all at the very back of the show instead of being strategically placed. None of these are deal breakers, but it did make tasks that are normally integrated difficult if you planned on being at the show all day.
The airshow itself was quite nice. As I got there, a series of four Aeroshell acrobat planes took to the skies and performed a number of maneuvers.
Next, the Navy’s F-18 came out and performed a series of high speed and low speed tricks. Here you can see a slow pass at less than 100MPH. It amazes me how they can keep such a heavy plane aloft at such low speeds, but it’s just one of the many features of this jet.
Just watching it take off at near vertical was incredible.
The fact that it could turn upside down in almost zero time was incredible too. At one point, the pilot continued to barrel roll across the staging area.
But slow isn’t what these jets are known for. I’ve seen jets in afterburner before as they pass Mach 1.1, but this one had an exceptionally long vapor trail. I was really hoping he would create a sonic boom, but no such luck.
Talk about control! Here you see the burners as he turned hard left and banked on the axis. This whole maneuver took less than a second and he was going the other direction.
At the end of the jet show, a jet and a warbird did a banana pass together, showing off their underbellies.
The staging area was filled with warbirds from the WW2 and post-WW2 era. Every time I get near one of these beauties, I’m amazed by how impressive they really are. It’s like standing next to a bomb, or a drag racer. So much innovation went into something the designs 50 to 70 years ago. Even though we have planes that are faster and better in every way now, it’s amazing to me how much they got done with the technology available at the time.
The crowd was attentive, even between shows. Here you see the lawn by the tarmac, filled with people video taping and grabbing photos.
Sun-N-Fun returns to Lakeland next spring. I’m hoping I can spend the whole weekend there, as just have one day isn’t enough to take in even a fraction of the whole experience.
For the complete photo set, see the gallery:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/denisbaldwin/sets/72157617268438305/
Sun N Fun Flies into Lakeland this weekend
The yearly festival of flight, Sun N Fun, flies into Lakeland this weekend.
From the Sun-N-Fun Website:
Welcome to Sun ‘n Fun! We’re often asked “what is Sun ‘n Fun”? That’s not an easy question to answer, because the truth is, it depends on who you ask. Like the old proverb about the blind men who offered widely different descriptions of an elephant, it depends on how you experience it!
Most people refer to us as a “fly-in” and that’s certainly an important component, as Lakeland Linder Regional Airport becomes the busiest airport in the world during our event, with over 40,000 recorded aircraft movements! That’s busier than Atlanta or Chicago!
We are also host to one of the largest aviation tradeshow/conventions in the world with more than 500 commercial exhibitors showcasing the newest products in the industry. From multi-million dollar aircraft to aviation art and avionics, our vendors have something for just about everyone. Plus, our education corridor is filled with more than 400 hands-on workshops and forums, all taking place during the six-day event known around the world as “Sun ‘n Fun”.
And, don’t forget the daily airshow, Friday “night” airshow, Saturday morning balloon race, kids activities, aviation lectures at the Florida Air Musuem, and numerous food vendors and daily entertainment that goes well into the evening. Thousands of guests who just can’t get enough Sun ‘n Fun join us in the on-site campground, to awaken every day to the seductive sound of aircraft engines.
We hope the information within this site will give you a glimpse into this event we call “Sun ‘n Fun” and encourage you to visit us and find out for yourself why tens of thousands of aviation enthusiasts travel from around the globe to be here every April for a six-day celebration of all things aviation. There’s someone for everyone at Sun ‘n Fun!
Events start today and run until Sunday the 26th. I’ll be there sometime over the weekend to take photos.
Lakeland Pigfest
While I generally avoid Lakeland at all costs, I was drawn there on Saturday for the Pigfest. A collection of vendors and competitors, alike in ingredients (mostly pulled pork, chicken, and brisket) and all looking to win competitions, and your Pigbucks.
Many of these teams are professionals in the food industry. Some are offshoots of restaurants. Some are caterers. Some are just backyard crews that happen to build BBQ rigs for themselves and compete. No matter who they are or where they come from (and some come from all over the U.S.), they are all here to pay homage to barbecue.
As I made my way down the main aisle, I ran into a lot of names I recognized when I used to be involved in the barbecue industry. Amongst them was Chris Tate of Smokin’ Taters.
Fellow grill fabricator and all around good guy, Chris has been working to make BBQ his side business for the last few years. From what I’ve observed, he’s grown in leaps and bounds, both in his build quality and his food. The rib sampler from him was amongst the best I’d had on Saturday and his ability to sculpt old propane tanks into grills shows he’s just as good at turning junk into competition equipment as he is in turning raw meat into competition food.
Chris makes the competition a family affair, as his young son won an award for the young cooks competition.
Next stop in my obesity tour-de-force was Skin and Bones BBQ. Not only did these guys have absolutely amazing ribs, but they were very friendly in telling me their story and how they got involved in BBQ. This fortified my view of the BBQ industry, that it’s really built around families and friends who love the food first and winning a close second.
One of the characters I ran into along the way, as well as one of the most gracious human beings I’ve ever met, was Gary from Smokin’ Rednecks.
This guy truly has a life I can only hope for. After years following Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings around the country in their bands, he decided to start his barbecue business. These days, he competes and serves in over 45 shows/year. His sauce is also ordered, 100 cases at a time, by the New York Fire Department. “I like my BBQ the way I make it. It might not win every award, but I already have all the awards I need. I make BBQ the people like… and that’s how I’m going to continue making it.” He continued to describe his method making brisket, which is the way I personally make brisket. “When it quits being fun, I’ll quit doing it.” he assures me.
His staff was equally fun, and his food was fantastic. No matter what else I saw at the Pigfest, Gary and his team at Smokin’ Rednecks will always stick out in my mind.
As I continued down the way, I ran into more fierce competition and more interesting grill/smoker designs.
As we continued around the way, we found a variety of characters, both of the mascot and the “not-so-dressed-up” variety.
Also, I received an education about the various regional varities of BBQ, including the “Real North Carolina Eastern Style BBQ”, which is a vinegar-based bbq that melt right off the bone:
If you want to see more pictures of pigfest, here’s my online album:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/denisbaldwin/sets/72157613233266540/
All in all, was a nice event. For those interested in going to a BBQ event with a good cause, next weekend in Winterhaven you’ll find Smoke on the Water that will benefit the Citrus Center Boys and Girls Club.