Dixie Crossroads Seafood Restaurant, Titusville, Florida

 

“Good food is all that sweet when shared with friends and family.”

Anonymous

Joe and I are always looking for a great place to go for fresh seafood. This restaurant came highly recommended so we decided to give it a whirl. We arrived at the restaurant in Titusville around 2 pm and the parking lot was still pretty full even between meals. We took that as a good sign. As we walked towards the entrance, there was a long bench straddled by cute smiling Rock fish statues to sit while waiting for a table. After we entered the restaurant, we noticed how many of those statues were present all over this place. How fun.

Our lovely hostess met us at the door and guided past the unique glass wall divider with lit lighthouse fixtures on the corners, to our table. The nautical decor throughout was fabulous with many great pieces of art to look at and appreciate. Before our hostess left, she gave us the menus, brought us water and their famous corn fritters dusted with powdered sugar. Oh my, I could have just ate those for dinner. They were scrumptious. When she came back, we ordered drinks while choosing what we wanted for dinner. The menu was very diverse, from fresh Cape Canaveral shrimp and fish, to steaks, prime rib, chicken, and salads.

We had a great meal to include oysters, shrimp, crab cakes, and clam chowder. Everything was cooked to perfection. The Rock shrimp were very small in August but still delicious. Their peak season is in late winter. You can order them by the dozen or all you can eat. Rock shrimp taste like lobster when dipped into butter. What a treat.

Can you imagine, for years the shrimpers would be disgusted when they brought up Rock Shrimp as they had a harder shell and felt they were worthless. They would just throw them back. So sad.

Rodney Thompson founded the restaurant in 1983. His daughter, Laurilee, who currently owns the restaurant, came up with the idea of splitting the Rock shrimp, putting butter on them, and broiling them. Now they sell over 100,000 pounds of shrimp each year. Since this discovery, the 30 seat diner has expanded and now has over 460 seats in this family friendly restaurant that does a booming business.

After our lunch, we headed out to check out the turtle pond and the Koi ponds. You can get fish food from the restaurant to feed the fish. There is a small covered bridge you can stand on the watch all the activity. It was fun watching the fish life swim around underneath the spraying fountains.

I recommend this restaurant as the food is great, it is casual with a down home feel to it, wonderful southern hospitality, and a nice atmosphere. This restaurant is open from Sunday – Thursday 11 am – 8 pm and Friday and Saturday from 11 am – 9 pm. It is located at 1475 Garden Street, Titusville, Florida. They now have another restaurant in Port Canaveral. Check them out at: www.dixiecrossroads.com.

Bon Appetite. Till next time. Bye for now.

Turnbull Ruins in Old Fort Park, New Smyrna Beach, Florida

 

“Strangely, an ancient ruin warms you while you feel cold looking at a modern building! Why? Because the past had a soul, it had an idealism; it had an aesthetics and a grace!”

Mehmet Murat Ildan

While in the quaint seaside town of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, we were driving around, exploring the area when we turned down Julia Street. Right after we turned, we found this lovely park and ruins. The ruins look out of place now in an area that is now full of traffic and modern stores. We love to see Ruins so we had to stop. Parking was easy since there are parking spots on the road surrounding the park. After we parked and walked up the paved path to these impressive ruins that are made from Coquina, which is a sedimentary rock made of shell fragments.

These ruins looked like an old Spanish fort. In fact, there are amazing similarities between how these ruins were built and the Castillo de San Marcos. We walked up the stone steps and when we reached the top of the ruins, it was wide open. You can walk around the outer walls and peer into what once was. This 40 foot by 80 foot ruins is divided by thick walls dividing it into different sections. The walls were in great shape for something that was build in either the 1600’s or 1700’s depending on what you want to believe. You get great views of the park and the New Smyrna Marina across the street on the Intra Coastal Waterway.

After exploring the top of the ruins, we headed down a different set of stairs and walked around the structure. Walking around the base of the ruins, you can see that the east and south side of the rock face is sloping while the north and west side are exposed and you can see a great amount of detail. They keep this park and ruins meticulously clean and well kept. There are historic signs to read while roaming around.

Curiously, no one seems to know why it was originally built. There are many theories. It could have been a colonial church, Dr. Turnbull’s mansion, a building used to build ships or store shipping materials, or maybe a fort. Many articles give credit to Dr. Andrew Turnbull, who was a Scottish physician who was sent from England in 1768. He sailed over the sometimes wild Atlantic Ocean carrying with him 1403 people who were Moroccans, Greeks, and Italians. By the time they arrived on shore, 148 souls had died on the harsh journey. It is questionable that they could end their treacherous journey when they were weak and sickly have had the strength to build something of this size.

Turnbull established the largest North American colony and named it after Smyrna Asia Minor, his wife. They produced Indigo dye, rice, hemp, and other crops for shipping to England. They also established a canal system and built many wharf's. This colony lasted for twenty years - 1763 – 1783. The colonist abandoned the colony in 1777 because of Indian attacks, mosquitoes, heat, inadequate housing, intense labor which was under strict and harsh supervision. At that time, the 600 survivors mostly moved to Saint Augustine.

Some historians believe these ruins and New Smyrna Beach may predate anything even in St. Augustine and that it may have been built in the 1600’s by the Spanish to be used as a fort. It may have gotten buried when it was no longer needed. The exterior walls were built very thick which may have been for a defensive reason. Homes were not built with such thick walls. That is why is is unknown the exact date of when this was built.

What they do know of these ruins is that in 1801, Dr. Ambrose Hull came to live here from Connecticut to start a new settlement and built a house on top of the ruins. His home was later destroyed in 1812 during the Patriot War. Later Thomas Stamps used the property as a Sugar Plantation and rebuilt the home. It was burned to the ground by Seminole Indians in 1835.

A 40 room hotel was built there by John D. Sheldon in 1854 but was destroyed on July 1863 during the Civil War. It was later rebuilt with scrap lumber in 1867 but was eventually torn down in 1896.

The ruins are now a part of a lovely park with gorgeous trees and flowers. On July 10^th, 2008 the ruins were added to the US National Register of Historic Places. It is located at 115 Julia Street, New Smyrna Beach, Florida. It is a fascinating place to visit and it is free so go check it out.

Till next time. Bye for now.

Airboat Rides at Midway, Christmas, Florida

 

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air...”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

While staying in the historic town of Titusville, Florida, (near Cape Canaveral), we decided to do something we had never done before. We drove by Midway Airboat rides on the St. Johns River the day before and thought, what a fun thing to do. So we called up and booked a seat for a party of three for the next day.

We woke up to a gorgeous day and excitedly drove to the Midway Airboats just east of the town on Christmas, Florida. Christmas is a unique town to visit also and if you want to learn more about it, check out my blog on that: https://sepielli.blogspot.com/2021/09/fort-christmas-and-quaint-town-of.html. When we pulled into the driveway, Porkchop, their pet pig was just roaming around the front of the building and we all exclaimed, “Look at that pig”. By the time we parked, he was no where in site. He was large so we knew he couldn’t hide. We walked up to the boat ramp beside the office,  where we saw baby alligators and turtles.  

We walked into the office and met Shawn, a lovely lady who was working the front counter. She helped us get signed in and told us since we were there early, she would call us back closer to our departure time to pay. Since we got there early so we had plenty of time to walk around their very interesting store. They sell many unique items that were fun to see as well as drinks and snacks.

On one side of the shop is a bunch of cages with various types of snakes including, a Burmese Python, a Red Tail Boa, and many other Florida native snakes. We walked out on their covered deck which overlooks a beautiful waterway that leads to the St. Johns River. We could see all the docked airboats lined up and ready to go.

That is when we spotted Porkchop again. There he was sprawled out on the floor up against the back door, which we found out is his favorite resting spot. He was sleeping and making a grunting noises as in delight of whatever he was dreaming about. He is super friendly and loves to be petted. I asked Shawn about him and she said he is over 12 years old. Also on that back deck was also many varieties of parrots. The one that impressed us the most was Coco, a white Umbrella Cockatoo, who is also 14 years old. That bird loved people and we were able to hold it and pet it. We loved hearing it talk. Along with that parrot, there was an Amazon Parrot that was 35 years old, and two Sun Conure parrots, one that was 9 and the other 15 years old. It was fun interacting with all the birds and Porkchop before our trip.

 

The trip started off by going slow down a narrow tributary and then onto the main body of water. Captain John gave us a history of the area and pointed out the local birds and wildlife we saw. One we got to the main area, he got that airboat going at a good clip of speed and the boat seemed to just float over the water. What an exhilarating ride. The boat just took off and roared through the wide open space of water. Then he aimed it at the low grass, and we thought, he was making a mistake. No, the boat just glided over that as well. Now we were in a wide open area with lots of native birds, turtles, alligators, raccoon, and even cows.

Then we saw the strangest site of all. We were way out in this marshy area far from land when we spotted cows grazing on small islands of grasses surrounded by water. We saw some cows forging across the water with only their heads out of the water, traveling to another area to graze. We wondered how they could survive out there. Then he took us to an area where there was a cow that was laying in the water with alligators surrounding it, waiting for a meal. Some of those gators were extremely large and fast and I was glad I was on a boat.

Captain John slowed the boat way down and drove into a Cypress Forrest that was just gorgeous. It was so peaceful with the tall Cypress trees covered with Spanish moss, and birds standing on the banks of the swamp and in the trees. It was silent. Alligators glided past staring at us with great curiosity. He stopped the boat there and took pictures of us.

The trip was an hour ride and was worth every penny. We will now do this every time we come to Florida as it really was the highlight of our trip. When we got off the boat, Captain John told us to come see the alligators and anyone who wanted to hold one could. He led us over the cage where there were a bunch of gators, unlocked it, went inside and grabbed one. He then put a rubber band sleeve over his mouth so no one would get hurt and carried him out to us. At that time, anyone could hold it and get pictures taken. Our son, Josh held it as well as many other brave souls.

If you are looking for something unique and fun, this is a great thing to do in Central Florida. All the Captains are US Coast Guard Master Captains and their boats are all inspected and certified by the US Coast Guard. Midway Airboats is exactly that, midway between Orlando and the Cape Canaveral. Check them out: https://www.airboatridesatmidway.com.

Till next time. Bye for now.