Back to Normal Living

(Wauchula, FL)  Hi 87 Lo 57 --  This has been such a hectic week that it was good to get back to a normal day.  We didn't even have to keep an eye on the weather.

We made a couple of other stops yesterday that we didn’t tell you about because we didn't want the post to be too long.  We’ll catch you up today.

After the balloon flight, on the way back to the hotel for breakfast we stopped at Showcase of Citrus, a family-owned "you pick-em" citrus grove in Cleremont.  Their gift shop sold all kinds of citrus fruit and vegetables.


The oranges were right off the trees.  We found out that if you're caught picking oranges from a private grove it's a $500 per orange.  Years ago so many groves had no fruit on the first couple of rows because of people picking them bare, so the state passed the current law banning picking.

I have never seen such huge tomatoes and onions!




There were all kinds marmalade and honey


Alligator heads are hot sellers

We bought some oranges and they’re very juicy and good. The ones you buy in stores around here are usually shipped in from California.

This next section is for all you guys out there.  Jim was excited about visiting Randall Knives in Orlando.  A little background.  Jim likes to collect knives.  He has a modest collection of different kinds of pocket knives and folding and fixed blade knives.  One of the most famous knife makers in the world was W.D. "Bo" Randall, who started making knives by hand around the time of WWII.  He made a few knives for friends in the military, who used them during the war.  They loved their knives so much, and their friends starting placing orders, and suddenly Bo Randall was in the knife making business for good.  Bo died in 1989 and his son Gary has carried on his father's business.  He and a small team of workers make their knives one at a time, by hand, and if you place an order today the waiting time for your knife to be delivered is 58 months.

The shop is set back about a quarter mile off a main highway, and is in a very unimpressive looking building.


We weren't allowed in the production area, but we got a peek through the open door.  That one small room is the entire factory operation.  Kinda messy and unorganized looking.


Bo Randall was a knife collector himself, and during his lifetime he collected thousands of knives of different kinds and brands.  They're all on display in three rooms.  Here's Jim drooling over one of the displays of pocket knives.


The other side of the same room.
 

This is a section of one of the glass cases.  Most of these are pocket knives with mother of pearl handles.


Another display room.









This is a display of the different model knives that Randall makes.  All of the knives they make are fixed blades.


They're very beautiful to look at.  And they're some of the most rugged knives you can buy.  But most people who order them these days never use them, they just store them away.  The prices start a little under $400 for a basic knife, depending on the model, and the price goes up if you order fancy handle materials or engraving.  But they gain value over the years.  There are some Randall knives selling on Ebay for thousands of dollars.  Jim was like a kid in a candy store.  :)  A few years ago he came really close to ordering a Randall knife, but at the time it seemed like four years was an eternity to wait for delivery, and he never could justify spending that much money for a knife.  Ironically, he'd have it now if he'd ordered one, and it would probably be worth more now than when it was ordered.


We didn’t do much today. It was so good to have a down day.  Jim did the laundry and I backed up all the photos we took yesterday.  There's a link on the right side of this blog if you'd like to see all the photos of our balloon flight.

Jim got out the grill and cooked up some pork ribs.  After a great dinner, we watched the NASCAR Craftsman truck race at Daytona.