A Day in the Life: Invasion of the Strawberries

It's that time of the year. Strawberries are at their peak and Floridians are literally driving by the truckloads to the Strawberry Festival celebrated in Plant City annually.  Currently a resident of the Sunshine State, I decided to do like the locals and check out the buzz sans a Chevy truck, of course.

A packed Mazda5, carrying 4 Cuban pure-breeds and 2 half-breeds, arrived at the festival grounds located approximately 30 minutes away from home. Parking was at your "own risk" as folks opened up their homes to anyone looking for a parking spot for a price.  We quickly found one and made our way to the action.

Maneuvering through the crowds was a challenge, but we were able to accomplish two goals. The first was to taste the highly touted Strawberry Shortcake dessert and the second was to purchase massive amounts of strawberries at a really good price. After all, this is about strawberries; from how they are cultivated, harvested, and finally used to make products.

False advertising came to mind. I was a bit dissapointed with the dessert. For one, a larger serving of the shortcake would of been nice. The $3.50 charge was high for a bowl full of whipcream (I requested a hold-off on our servings), a thin slice of cake, and fresh strawberries soaked in sugar. Oh well. We did leave with a flat of strawberries to be used in making homemade milkshakes.

What was the highlight of my day? The pig races! Although I grew up with farm animals at a point in my life, they were there as a food source and not entertainement. These littles guys don't know how lucky they are having this daytime job.