I Like Lakeland: Part Two

My nerdy interest in health food stores brought me to Anthony's Health Hut, the other health food store in Lakeland. This is not my kind of health food store: too many supplements, not enough food. They have a teeny, tiny cafe that makes a couple of soups, a couple of sandwiches, and a couple of smoothies and juices. I will say that their smoothie prices are reasonable; much cheaper than your average Smoothie King or Tropical Smoothie Cafe. Still, unless you're looking for every vitamin on the market, skip Anthony's. (I didn't have my camera with me for this visit, but there wasn't much to photograph, anyway.)

I stopped at another roadside produce stand on this camera-less visit and loaded up on cheap veggies and blueberries for the week. They offered hot boiled peanuts, but they were out of a Crock Pot! Authenticity Fail!

With my camera back in hand, I visited Hollis Garden, a small colorful botanic garden on the lake that is popular for weddings and photo shoots. There were many photographers roaming the gardens while I was there.





Oh, hey! They're vegan-friendly!


Strolling along the lake

Found this bad-ass family park


I'm also interested in libraries (SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY!), so I headed back over to the Lake Morton (Swan Lake) area to check out the Lakeland Public Library, where I was incredibly impressed and pleased to find three shelves of veg*n cookbooks in the cooking section! Go Lakeland!

The library is currently undergoing renovations inside, but it's still a nice set-up with a sitting area by giant windows that overlook Lake Morton. How could anyone read with a perfect view of swans, geese, ducks, and other seabirds romping around right in front of them?!


Time for another piece of fun Lakeland trivia! Does this look familiar to any of you? (Especially Johnny Depp fans.)


There's plenty to like in Lakeland, Florida, and I really enjoyed exploring the city over the weekend. Because there's only so much eating one can do in a short visit, I plan on returning and scouring the area for hidden vegan treasures. Until then, I hope you enjoyed learning about The City of Swans.