On Highway 557 between Lake Alfred, Auburndale and the Fantasy of Flight we stumbled across this quaint restaurant with a gift shop and Antinque showroom.

The restaurant provides some fantastic sandwiches that are served up in a quaint picnic basket. You can eat inside or outside. There is also a bar that does the usual selection of American Beers along with some Iced wine - My wife thought this was great.

As we sat outside on the decking beside the samll lake we were introduced to Bob by the staff. He was their resident alligator who came right up close whilst we were sitting there. Don’t be afraid he was in the water below the decking.

You get a selection of fillings and bread for you picnic. The staff can’t be anymore helpful and they never rush you out of the place.

Right next door is a large antique shop and a gift/garden centre with some quaint little gifts.

Give it a try it’s a great place away from the usual tourist traps that you would associate with Florida.

I have discovered that whilst there are loads of colourful Disney stamps available on auction sites such as Ebay, or at stamp dealer stores, the official Disney stamp ring-binder type albums to place them in – now several years out of print – are extremely difficult to obtain.  Disney produced annual supplement pages to include all countries that issued their licensed stamps each year, and illustrated the pages with black and white images showing where and how each stamp in a set should be displayed.   Also for some reason there are no up to date thematic Disney stamp guide books published now.  Brookman guide (last & 2nd edition published 1998 is still available sometimes on Ebay, but there won’t be another print run and when stocks have gone sadly that will become scarce.  I was lucky enough to purchase a brand new Domfil Disney Stamp guide with colour illustrations, from an Ebay seller in France.  Stanley Gibbons co. told me they had sold all their supplies and could not get others because, like the Brookman guide, publication ceased at the end of the 1990’s.

Disney still issues stamps and it amazes me that no albums or guides are available now, and collectors buying lots of loose stamps at bargain prices from auction sites, will have difficulty putting stamps into sets without a thematic guide.  The UK’s Stanley Gibbons catalogue or the American equivalent Scott Guide,  will list individual stamps under the relevant country, but it won’t be as easy as having a Disney stamp guide.   Disney also issue commemorative stamps in larger souvenir panels, the albums I have managed to obtain show hundreds to collect, along with the regular postage stamps.    I think it is interesting for children to collect these colourful stamps as it helps to teach geography in a fun way.  There are 26 Classic Disney Fairy Tales  - a Commemorative set displayed on beautifully illustrated A4 size story panels that have a special hardback album cover.

Anyone wanting to create a Disney memory for a young child’s bedroom could easily buy a souvenir panel and/or stamps of a favourite character or film, and frame them to hang on the wall.

I have seen complete collections of albums containing all every one of 1970’s to late 1990’s Disney stamps and souvenir stamps listed on Ebay at buy it now prices of several thousand dollars listed by stamp dealers in the United States.

I was also fascinated in my Internet search to discover websites selling anything and everything Disney.  Take a look at rubylane.com and type Disney in the search box and you too will be amazed at some of the asking prices for antique older Disney toys and dolls.  He highest prices of course are for items in mint condition.  A rare 1930’s Disney Mickey Mouse book is listed at $500.  A Mickey Mouse alarm clock is listed at almost $375.  There are also figurines, framed pictures, watches, jigsaw puzzles, Mickey Mouse Club comics  – the list goes on, page after page. 

We have an animated Mickey Mouse bedside lamp in our villa and I imagine in time, this too, these colourful moving/talking lamps will be extremely sought after.

Next time you visit one of Disney’s theme parks, maybe you will purchase a future Disney ‘heirloom’.

Since then, the friendly teller at our local bank has been saving Presidential Golden Dollars for me.  Briefly the background to these is that in December 2005, Congress approved the creation of a new dollar coinage known as ‘presidential dollars’.  During each year from 2007 to 2016, four different dollar designs, each bearing the image of a different president, are being released.  Living presidents, both current and former, are excluded from the programme.  The presidential dollars are the same golden colour as the sacagawea dollars.

On our recent visit to Florida, we discovered a coin and stamp specialist store at American Plaza, 1516 W. Vine Street, Kissimmee (on the 192).  It is an absolute treasure trove for coin or stamp enthusiasts.  The store carries an enormous amount of stock.  If anyone is searching for a specific item, I am sure the owner could track it down for you.  The tel. no is 407-933-2225.  I was able to purchase a presidential dollar coin album to start my collection.

My husband used to collect stamps many years ago, and he still has his albums.  We were interested to see second-hand collections/albums on sale.  Disney has also, over the years, released special ‘character’ postage stamps, and during the 1990’s special Disney albums of ‘Movie Classics’ were issued - A4 full story-book pages, with colourful illustrations by Disney artists and the relevant character stamps from various countries.  I couldn’t resist buying some of these, and I hope to collect some more.  

Jewellery  At Eagle Ridge shopping mall on Highway 27 between Haines City & Lakes Wales, we found Treasure Island Jewelry (outside Sears department store) 

The owner is very knowledgeable on gemstones and has some beautiful, good quality pieces on sale.

Jewellery Appraisals & Valuations  Approximately every four to six weeks, depending upon demand for the service, a certified gemologist  from the IGA will visit for the day to appraise and value customers jewellery for insurance purposes. Appointments are necessary and the fee is $85 per item.  This company also specialises in high quality loose diamonds, and customised jewellery can be obtained.

Their tel. no is 863-679-8989.

Badges are available for purchase from all the shops in the parks and also on carts around the Parks. There is a badge for every ride, every character and every park so you can buy a badge showing your favourite character on your favourite ride, the combinations are endless !

All the Park Staff wear badges on their waistcoats or on badge bands hung around their necks, you can trade one of your badges with them if they have one that you want - but you have to be prepared to part with one of yours. You can also buy your favourite big badge to hang off the bottom of the badge band – my daughters has a Mickey as the Sorcerers Apprentice and a Stitch hanging from her neck straps. There are purpose made bags and books to display your badges in, if you prefer not to wear them, these bags and books are all available to buy from the Disney outlets.

As new films and rides are created a new badge will be produced to mark the event. My most recent favourite character is Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean, I love that crazy pirate and have really enjoyed the films. There are badges with a picture of Walt Disney himself on, some of my particular favourite badges are the black and white old ‘Steamboat Mickey’ style badge (which I bought Christmas 2006). Also, special edition badges are produced to mark anniversaries and other notable events. My daughter has a fine collection of badges which must now number around one hundred of them.

If you manage to visit the Pin Badge Trading Post in Downtown Disney, you will not only see a fantastic selection of badges for sale, but also the serious badge collectors exhibit their badge collections outside the Trading Post and you can take a look at their collection. They are always on the look out for rare and unusual badges and will trade with you to enhance their collection.

If you miss buying your favourite badges whilst in the parks then visit the big Disney store in Downtown Disney and from Carts along the way from one end of Downtown Disney to the other, Park Badges are also available to buy.

Pin badge trading extends to all parks including Islands Of Adventure, Sea World for example and also to some restaurants, including the Outback Steakhouse.

I have never been a coin collector.  However, on visiting one of Florida’s fleamarkets at St. Cloud in 1999, I discovered a stallholder dealing in various coins.  There were several colourful and interesting Albums on display, with information and pockets for each of the State Quarters, and that’s how my interest for the State Quarters began.

The  State Quarters Programme was launched in early 1999, and finishes at the end of 2008.

Whilst serious coin collectors are particular only to purchase newly minted ‘uncirculated’ coins from a bank or coin collecting establishment, you can  have lots of fun (it’s still not too late) to look for these interesting coins in your change.  Even the earliest ones, if slightly tarnished, can be gently cleaned with a jewellery cleaning cloth and will shine nicely in your album.

The programme began as a bill introduced by Delaware Congressman Michael Castle.  Congress members thought that by putting each state on a coin, it would teach people about the USA’s history and geography.  President Clinton was in favour of the idea and authorisation was given on 1st December 1997.

As a result, the US Mint releases (every ten weeks)  five new designs each year.  The coins are being released in the order in which the states became part of the US.  When the programme ends later this year, the American Eagle (on the reverse – “tails”) will again appear on the coins as previously.

The State Quarters are produced at two branches of the US Mint – Philadelphia and Denver.  This means there are two different versions.  A small ‘P’ or ‘D’ can be found under the words ‘In God We Trust’

The coins in order of circulation ……

1999 -  Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut.

2000 -  Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia

2001 -  New York, North Carolina, Rhoda Island, Vermont, Kentucky

2002 -  Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi

2003 -  Illinois, Alabama, Maine, Missouri, Arkansas

2004 -  Michigan, Florida, Texas, Iowa, Wisconsin

2005 – California, Minnesota , Oregon, Kansas, West Virginia

2006 -  Nevada, Nebraska, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota

2007 -  Montana, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah

2008 -  Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, Hawaii

Each of the State Quarters have designs of interest to each particular state.  Also the Album I have lists each individual State’s symbols, i.e. State Flower, State Bird and State Flag, together with other details, such as the State’s nickname.

Florida as everyone will know is called ‘The Sunshine State’.  Florida’s State Flower is Orange Blossom, and the State Bird is the Mockingbird.  Florida was the 27th State to join The Union on 3rd March 1845.

There is also another coin ‘The Golden Dollar’ – it isn’t really made of gold, but if you have a special slot for it in your album, it is worth collecting too.  It is the first new one-dollar coin issued in 20 years.  The woman depicted on this coin is a Shoshane Indian named Sacagawea.  The reverse side shows the American bald eagle encircled by 17 stars.

I hope I have whetted your appetite to look through the coins in the purse or pocket.