Discovering the Sunflower Trail and Festival near Shreveport, Louisiana

Looking for something fun to do in the Shreveport area in June? The Sunflower Trail and Festival in Gilliam, Louisiana is the perfect activity! And guess what! It’s free!

The annual festival is held every June in the downtown area of the very small town of Gilliam. What looked to be about a hundred arts and craft booths are grouped in a shaded area behind an old general store. As we make our way through the crowds, I notice several booths with activities for children and can hear music from a band. We didn’t stay long due to the heat and what seemed like thousands of people. I would recommend going early to find a parking place.

The highlight of the festival is the sunflower trail. It runs along Highway 3049 from Gilliam to Shreveport.

 There are many fields of sunflowers along the way to stop and visit.

 The fields are perfect for taking cute photos! There is even a photography contest. As with the festival, go early to miss the crowds!

You can drive the Sunflower trail anytime in the month of June. Oh, and you can pick the flowers!

Gilliam is located about 20 miles north of the Shreveport/ Bossier City area and about 48 miles south of Texarkana, Texas.

Happy Travels!

Exploring the Luxury and Artistic Side of Palm Beach, Florida

Palm Beach, located on the east coast of Florida, is best known for its extravagant estates, upscale shopping, Palm trees, and beautiful beaches.

It is home to the rich and famous, including President Trump. Trumps “winter home” (including the Mar-a-Lago) is located water front on Ocean Boulevard along with other massive estates.

Our fist stop was the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens. It is two-acres of lush tropical grounds with sculptures throughout. Read more about it in my post here.

After spending the morning at the gardens, we headed to Worth Avenue for some serious shopping.

Worth Avenue is a downtown area with upscale boutiques and restaurants.

Parking is a nightmare! I did notice valet parking carts in front of some of the stores, but we finally found parking about six blocks away.

I have to say, it was worth all of the trouble to get to it! Worth Avenue is beautiful!!!

And of course, my daughter had to shop in the Lilly Pulitzer store.

We had so much fun in Palm Beach! We were not able to stay in Palm Beach for the night, but we can not wait to go back and explore more of this beautiful city. We are looking at staying at The Colony Hotel, The Brazilian Court, or The Chesterfield for our return. They all are beautiful!

Location:

Palm Beach is located in southern Florida about 2 hours north of Miami and about 2 1/2 hours east of the FortMyers/Sanibel Island area.


Happy Travels!

Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens: A Haven for Art Lovers

The Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens is two-acres of lush tropical grounds with sculptures throughout, located in Palm Beach, Florida.

The Gardens were designed by world-renowned botanist Sir Peter Smithers and include 250 rare palm species.

The house in the gardens was the residence of Ann until the time of her death in 1982. It is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Nine of Ann’s statues are located throughout the gardens. They are made of bronze, stone and wood. More of her works can be found inside the studio and house.

The Garden is located less than two miles from the popular Worth Avenue in Palm Beach.

Address:

253 Barcelona Rd, West Palm Beach, FL 33401

Hours:

Wed - Sun   10 am – 4 pm   October through June


Admission:

Adult Visitors: $15 per person
65 and over: $10
Children ages 5 and up: $7 Children under 5 free





Happy Travels!

Naples, Florida: Exploring the Paradise of Southwest Florida

The best way to describe Naples is “beautiful”! The beaches are beautiful, the shopping centers are beautiful, and the gardens are beautiful!

Where We Stayed

The Fairways Inn of Naples

Find out more about the Fairways Inn in my post here

Places We Visited

Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park

Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park has beautiful white sand beaches and clear turquoise water. Shelling is good if you can beat the locals to the beach in the mornings. After about 10am, it gets fairly crowded.

Hours: 8 a.m. to Sundown, daily

Entry Fee: $6 per vehicle

Address: 11135 Gulfshore Drive, Naples FL 34108

Naples Botanical Garden

Naples Botanical Garden is 170-acre tropical paradise featuring plants from around the world.

Hours: 9am - 5pm, daily

Entry Fee: Adults $19.95 , Child (4-14) $9.95 

Address: 4820 Bayshore Dr, Naples, FL 34112

Bayfront

Upscale community containing condos, boutiques, and fine dining on Naples Bay.

Parking is very limited.

Address: 436 Bayfront Pl, Naples, Florida 34102

5th Avenue

Things to do - Upscale shopping, hotels, and dinning

Address: Downtown area

Parking on or near 5^th Avenue is impossible to find. We finally found parking in front of the Cambier Park Softball Field   

  Where we parked address: 585 Park St, Naples, FL 34102  

Naples City Dock

Charter boats     https://www.naplesgov.com/cdw/page/charter-boats

We visited some of the cutest boutiques around the dock area!

Address:  880 12th Ave S, Naples, FL 34102 

The Village Shops on Venetian Bay 

Address:

4200 Gulf Shore Blvd N, Naples, FL 34103

T J Maxx

Someone told us they had some Lilly Pulitzer dresses there, so we had to check it out. 😀

Address: 5018 Airport Pulling Road North, Naples, FL 34105

Tigertail Beach (Marco Island)

We did not get a chance to visit Marco Island on the trip, but it is amazing! You can read about my trip there with the hubby here.

What we thought of Naples

This was my second trip to Naples, but my mother and daughter's first. Getting around was easy and everything was closer than it seems on a map.

Three generations of opinions to help you decide what you may like best! lol

 My favorite places were Naples Botanical Garden and Delenor Wiggins state park.

 My daughter favorite places were 5^th Avenue and Delenor Wiggins state park.

My mothers’ favorite places were Naples Botanical Gardens and the hotel (Fairways Inn of Naples)

Overall, we all loved Naples and can’t wait to return!

Happy Travels!