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Lake Wales

Wesley Chapel couple launches tourism-themed podcast

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Wesley Chapel’s Andy and Shannon Herbon love exploring Florida — then sharing those experiences with anybody who’ll listen.

As often as they can, the Herbons and their two young children venture across the state to visit theme parks and state parks, beaches, springs and waterfalls, hidden gems and other attractions.

Andy Herbon, left, and Shannon Herbon recently created a Florida tourism-related podcast, ‘Sunshine State of Mind.’ From hidden gems and state parks, to beaches and theme parks, Shannon and Andy discuss, review and debate all the wonderful (and occasionally weird) destinations and tourism news throughout the state.
(Courtesy of Andy and Shannon Herbon)

From the Florida Panhandle, to St. Augustine, to Miami — they’ll go just about anywhere to seek out fun, meaningful adventures.

“We live in paradise, so take advantage of it,” Shannon said.

The married couple’s interest in traveling the state recently sparked the idea to create a Florida tourism-themed podcast called, “Sunshine State of Mind,” that focuses on activities, events and destinations around the state.

The free, weekly podcast launched in April and has 18 episodes to date.

“We’d always be doing stuff on the weekends and friends would ask us for tips…and we kind of got to be real pros at what do around Florida, and we said, ‘Well, why don’t we do a podcast about this?’” Andy explained.

The couple got the extra motivation they needed to start recording as Shannon was wrapping up her master’s degree in digital media this spring from University of South Florida St. Petersburg.

She figured a podcast would make for the perfect thesis project.

They’ve been recording ever since, making it a regular part of their weekly routine, from their home studio. “After you do it, it kind of gives you a little buzz, like, ‘Yeah, that was fun,’” Andy said of podcasting.

In each episode, which run about 40 minutes, Shannon and Andy discuss, review and debate destinations and tourism news throughout the state.

Podcast topics have included “Our Summer 2018 Bucket List,” “Ten Amazing Places Floridians Don’t Want You to Know About,” “Ten Tips for Saving Money at Walt Disney World,” and “Florida Tourist Trap Alternatives.”

Said Andy, “People love lists. It’s a way to break it down easy – easy to digest.”

Other episodes have been reviews of entertainment venues such as TopGolf, Legoland Florida and other spots along the Interstate 4 corridor.

Yet, the podcasters don’t just focus on major tourist attractions such as Disney World, Busch Gardens or Universal Studios, nor the state’s collection of well-known beaches.

They also like to dive deep into lesser-known locales, such as Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park in Micanopy, known for its bison and wild horses; Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, a contemplative garden and bird sanctuary; and, Devil’s Den Spring in Williston, where divers, swimmers and snorkelers travel in an underground spring inside a dry cave.

Locally, they’ll share tips and ideas about some of their regular adventure staples like Hillsborough River State Park and Lettuce Lake Park.

Sometimes the banter comically spreads to other Florida-related topics, such as to whether the state truly can be considered part of the South.

Andy and Shannon happen to be at opposite ends of that debate.

“It’s the south, geographically, but culturally it’s not the South,” says Andy, who moved to Tampa from Chicago in 2001.

Shannon quickly counters, as a sixth generation Floridian born in Tampa and raised in Land O’ Lakes: “My argument is that just because all of the northerners came and invaded doesn’t mean that those of us from Florida aren’t Southern.”

This podcast is picking up listeners
Lighthearted quibbles aside, “Sunshine State of Mind” has steadily grown in popularity.

Sunshine State of Mind, a Florida tourism podcast that focuses on fun and exciting things to do throughout the state of Florida, was launched in April by Wesley Chapel residents Andy and Shannon Herbon. The free, weekly podcast is available for download on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Podbean and TuneIn.

After telling several friends and family members about the podcast, word-of-mouth eventually spread to complete strangers, many who’ve come to use it as a resource for upcoming vacations to Florida.

The podcast has a 5-star peer review rating (the highest possible rating) on iTunes among 34 reviewers.

Each episode has averaged anywhere between 150 to 200 downloads, Shannon said.

The most popular episode is “Ten Tips for Saving Money at Walt Disney World” with more than 300 downloads, closely followed by “Our Summer of 2018 Bucket List.”

Also, the podcast’s official Twitter page has nearly 3,000 followers and YouTube page has more than 1,400 subscribers.

“It’s been a lot more successful off the beginning than we thought,” Andy said, noting the number of listeners increases each week.

Shannon added: “Every once in a while when we do hear from strangers it’s like, ‘Wow, people are actually listening! What a thought?’ It’s kind of surreal because it’s only been a couple of months.”

Living in a subtropical state where others vacation is something the Herbons try not to take for granted, especially Andy, who came from the cold Midwest.

He explained: “Up there you’re stuck indoors six months out of the year and you really can’t do anything, and here, the festival season is great here during the winter time; there’s just so much to do all the time.”

Added Shannon: “(Andy) kind of opened my eyes to, ‘Wow, we really do have amazing things here,’ because to him, it was all new…”

They try to instill the same mindset into their kids, who are ages 10 and 11.

Said Shannon, “We don’t want them indoors, on their screens all day. We want them outdoors, experiencing Florida, having fun and being active…”

For families looking to get their kids out of the house this summer, Andy and Shannon highly recommend a visit to Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, in Spring Hill.

The park, which opened in 1947, is renowned for its live mermaid shows, river boat cruises, animal shows and Florida’s only spring-fed water park, Buccaneer Bay.

“I feel like it’s so underrated,” Andy said of Weeki Wachee.

“It’s such a great park,” Shannon added. “It’s very ‘Old Florida’, like ‘Old Florida’ nostalgia. They have the waterpark, which is included with the admission, and you can swim in a spring; it’s beautiful.”

For information on Sunshine State of Mind, visit SunshineStatePodcast.com or email the Herbons at

Published July 11, 2018

Nobody seems to know for sure if Coolidge visited Dade City

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About a year ago, my first history column for The Laker/Lutz News posed the question: “Did President Calvin Coolidge have lunch in Dade City?”

Since that column published, on Aug. 19, 2015, new information has surfaced that keeps the question open.

Edward Bok and his wife, Mary Louise, are shown here with President Calvin Coolidge and his wife, Grace, on Feb. 1, 1929, the day that Coolidge spoke at the dedication ceremony at Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales. (Courtesy of Bok Tower Gardens)
Edward Bok and his wife, Mary Louise, are shown here with President Calvin Coolidge and his wife, Grace, on Feb. 1, 1929, the day that Coolidge spoke at the dedication ceremony at Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales.
(Courtesy of Bok Tower Gardens)

At the July meeting of the Pasco County Historical Society, I reminded those gathered that Dade City didn’t appear to offer much back in 1929, when Coolidge was said to have stopped there for lunch.

There’s no doubt President Coolidge was in Florida that year, because he gave a speech at the dedication ceremony for Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales.

It’s possible he could have stopped at the Edwinola in Dade City, if he took a detour and came to the area on the Seaboard Airline Railroad.

The Edwinola opened as a hotel in 1912. There, Coolidge could have enjoyed the tea dances held with an orchestra at one end of the large porch.

But, the Valencia Restaurant was not open for business. Neither was the Crest Restaurant.

Lunch on Limoges would not serve its famous pecan chicken until 1981.

And, A Matter of Taste restaurant did not open until 1997.

So why does rumor have it that he lunched at the Gray Moss Inn?

This photograph is believed to be from the dedication day of Bok Tower Gardens on Feb. 1, 1929. (Courtesy of Bok Tower Gardens)
This photograph is believed to be from the dedication day of Bok Tower Gardens on Feb. 1, 1929.
(Courtesy of Bok Tower Gardens)

Supposedly, there was a connection between Coolidge and the owners of the Gray Moss Inn. However, I was never able to confirm that lead.

After my first column was published, though, I heard from Susan Maesen, of Dade City.

She wrote: “Mr. Sanders, I am sorry I didn’t have the opportunity to give you information concerning this article.”

As the daughter of Jack Dudley, Susan has memories of her family running the Gray Moss Inn after the death of her grandmother.

“There were ledgers that each guest had to sign in,” she wrote. “I cannot verify that Coolidge signed a ledger. I can verify my dad telling me that he visited.”

In last year’s column, I indicated there were unconfirmed “tips” that the old guest registry wound up in the hands of Dr. R. D. Sistrunk, who lived a few blocks down the street across from the First Baptist Church.

Now, I know from Susan, that Dr. Sistrunk was her grandfather on her mother’s side.

Legend has it that President Calvin Coolidge ate lunch at the Gray Moss Inn in Dade City, but no documentation has yet been found to verify that. (Courtesy of Helene Eck Sparkman Collection)
Legend has it that President Calvin Coolidge ate lunch at the Gray Moss Inn in Dade City, but no documentation has yet been found to verify that.
(Courtesy of Helene Eck Sparkman Collection)

But, did the Pasco County Historical Society know that Coolidge’s train may have stopped briefly in the early morning hours at Trilby?

Dade City Commissioner Scott Black, who grew up in Trilby, said he was told by the late Clifford Couey, that no one got off the train when it stopped in Trilby, before it departed from there traveling on the Orange Belt Railway en route to St. Petersburg.

I was unable to independently confirm that Coolidge’s train did stop in Trilby. But a year later, it can be documented that Coolidge appeared at the Vinoy Park Hotel, in St. Petersburg, on Jan. 24, 1930.

After my original column on Coolidge was published, Daniel Wright, of Citrus Springs,  wrote: “Perhaps something new will turn up in a private collection that will confirm it one way or the other.”

That is still a real possibility.

So, please, look through your closets and check your attics. If you can find evidence that Coolidge visited Dade City in 1929, I’d love to see it and to share it with readers of this column, which is published regularly in The Laker/Lutz News.

Doug Sanders has a penchant for unearthing interesting stories about local history. His sleuthing skills have been developed through his experiences in newspaper and government work. If you have an idea for a future history column, contact Doug at .

Published August 10, 2016

Bok Tower Gardens: A place of tranquility and beauty

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Long before Interstate 4 sliced through a swath of Florida, and Disney theme parks put Kissimmee on the map, there was an attraction in Lake Wales that beckoned to visitors to partake of its beauty.

Bok Tower Gardens, deemed one of America’s finest gardens, offers visitors the chance to step away from the world’s cares and savor the handiwork of nature.

The 205-foot Singing Tower is the architectural centerpiece of Bok Tower Gardens. Those who enjoy fine craftsmanship will find plenty to appreciate, and those who enjoy carillon music can enjoy two half-hour concerts daily. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
The 205-foot Singing Tower is the architectural centerpiece of Bok Tower Gardens. Those who enjoy fine craftsmanship will find plenty to appreciate, and those who enjoy carillon music can enjoy two half-hour concerts daily.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

The National Historic Landmark is worth a visit for people who enjoy music, architecture, history, wildlife, plants and flowers.

This is a place that offers a feeling of serenity, as you walk along the mulched paths that meander through spacious grounds of oaks, palms, azaleas, irises and camellias.

The garden was a gift to the American people from Edward W. Bok, a Dutch immigrant who became editor of The Ladies Home Journal and won a Pulitzer Prize for his autobiography.

“He wanted to make a place where people could just relax and get away from the grind of the world,” said David Price, president of Bok Tower Gardens. “Bok wanted a quiet place where people could come and sit and enjoy the sounds of birds and kind of find themselves.”

An estimated 75,000 people attended the formal dedication on Feb. 1, 1929, where President Calvin Coolidge delivered an address. The National Broadcasting Company, which would later become known as NBC, provided national coverage through a hookup with a Gainesville radio station.

Before Bok decided to transform the spot into a place of beauty, not everyone was sold on his vision.

“There were a lot of naysayers who said you couldn’t plant on a sand hill and it would be hard to keep things alive,” Price said.

But Bok commissioned famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., to design the garden. After Olmsted’s work was well on its way, Bok revealed his plans for a carillon tower, inspired by the carillon towers of his childhood in the Netherlands.

He hired Milton B. Medary of Philadelphia to design the 205-foot tower that became the architectural centerpiece of the garden.

Constructed of pink and gray marble and tan coquina stone, the tower houses 60 bells, ranging in weight from 16 pounds to 12 tons. A carillonneur plays the bells by striking wooden keys that tug on a wire that activates the clapper of the corresponding bells.

“The tower complements the serenity of the garden,” Price said. “It’s a neo-gothic style. It has almost sort of a spiritual quality.”

Nearly 150,000 visitors drop by Bok Tower Gardens each year, with about 60 percent of those guests traveling more than 50 miles to get there, Price said.

Some visitors sign a guest book in a small building called Window by the Pond, where they can sit to gaze through a picture window to observe wildlife. The visitors come from diverse places, but seem to share a common appreciation of the Lake Wales gem.

“Came here for an hour, will spend the day here,” jotted a visitor from California.

“Best day in Florida,” scribbled a New Yorker.

“Beautiful, tranquil, spiritual,” wrote a visitor from Rhode Island.

“Peaceful, lovely and a real treat to visit,” opined a New Mexico guest.

Attendance fluctuates throughout the year, with January through April drawing the biggest crowds.

No matter when visitors drop in, though, there’s plenty to see.

“We plan for year-round color and interest,” Price said.

The camellias, for instance, bloom in fall and winter, while azaleas blossom in spring. A table outside the visitor center displays a collection of vases holding cuttings to let guests know what’s in bloom.

There’s an interesting display inside the visitor center detailing Bok’s life, there’s a film that tells the attraction’s story, and there are numerous displays about the garden, area wildlife and the carillon.

Pinewood Estate, a 20-room Mediterranean-style mansion, also is open for self-guided tours for an additional charge.

From its beginning, Bok Tower Gardens has sought to be someplace special. Besides bringing in Olmsted and Medary, Bok also hired Lee Lawrie of New York, Samuel Yellin of Philadelphia, and J.H. Dulles-Allen of the Enfield Pottery and Tile Works in Pennsylvania to work on the project.

Lawrie designed sculptures to be executed in marble. Yellin made wrought-iron pieces for the tower’s interior and bridge. He also created a series of panels on the tower’s massive brass door, recounting the biblical story of creation.

Dulles-Allen did the tile work on eight grilles enclosing the bell chamber.

While enjoying its rich history, Bok Tower Gardens is mindful of a need to remain relevant during changing times, Price said. Along those lines, it has completed a 20-year master plan, and will begin work on the first phase this summer. Initial changes will include additional gardens, work to restore a sand hill and new surfacing on key paths to make it easier to get around.

Some things, however, will not change.

When Bok Tower Gardens opened, Price said,  “peace and tranquility was our theme.”

Some things, it seems, never go out style.

If you go
WHERE: Bok Tower Gardens, 1151 Tower Blvd., in Lake Wales
WHEN: 365 days a year from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Daily carillon concerts are presented at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
COST: Admission to the garden is $12 for adults and $3 for children. Combo tickets, which include self-guided tours of Pinewood Estate, is $18 for adults and $8 for children
INFO: BokTowerGardens.org

Published  May 21, 2014

In Print: Take a trip to Bok Tower Gardens

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It’s a place of beauty. It’s a place of serenity. It’s a place of history.

The 205-foot Singing Tower is the architectural centerpiece of Bok Tower Gardens. Those who enjoy fine craftsmanship will find plenty to appreciate, and those who enjoy carillon music can enjoy two half-hour concerts daily. (Photo by B.C. Manion)
The 205-foot Singing Tower is the architectural centerpiece of Bok Tower Gardens. Those who enjoy fine craftsmanship will find plenty to appreciate, and those who enjoy carillon music can enjoy two half-hour concerts daily. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

Bok Tower Gardens has been a part of Florida since before the interstate highway system criss-crossed the region, becoming a popular stop since it opened in 1929.

But even before the park opened, there were some who didn’t believe the Lake Wales landmark would survive the year, let alone decades.

“There were a lot of naysayers who said you couldn’t plant on a sand hill and it would be hard to keep things alive,” Bok Tower Gardens president David Price told reporter B.C. Manion.

Instead, it became a gift from The Ladies Home Journal editor Edward W. Bok to Florida, and is one that keeps on giving.

Too see some of the great images of gardens, and find out if it’s worth the trip, check out this week’s print edition, which you also can read online here.

Speaking of beauty, Pasco County commissioners want to keep their county looking as amazing as possible, and it might mean making some changes to the way residents can report code violations.

Commissioner Kathryn Starkey wants to give residents a chance to report violations anonymously, similar to what other communities inside the county do. This, she said, would allow for more people to become involved, without fear of retaliation.

But not everyone is convinced.

“I am very concerned with going anonymous,” Commissioner Henry Wilson said during a recent workshop in Dade City, as reported by Michael Hinman. “I think it would be a huge burden to the (code enforcement) officers, but I will defer to them. If they think it’s the better option to do that, then I would be willing to look into it.”

What do the other commissioners think? Check out this week’s print edition, or read the story online by clicking here.

And finally, Bruce Hockensmith and his crew of flag wavers have made their home in front of the Old Lutz School every Friday for more than a decade. And all they want is for people to remember there are service members in harm’s way overseas, and they continue to need our support.

“If you stand here and watch us, you’ll hear the horns honking and see the lights flashing,” Hockensmith told reporter Michael Murillo. “It’s like a silent majority, people who support the troops.”

Get the full story in this week’s Lutz News, which you can read online right here.

All of these stories and more can be found in this week’s The Laker/Lutz News, available in newsstands throughout east and central Pasco County as well as northern Hillsborough County. Find out what has your community talking this week by getting your local news straight from the only source you need.

If The Laker/Lutz News is not coming to your door, call us to see where you can get your copy at (813) 909-2800, or read our free e-edition by clicking here.