by James Coulter
One year passed since I moved out of Polk County. Recently, my editors were kind enough to finance a business trip allowing me to return to the county and visit for a week. These are some of the highlights of my trip.
Fri., Apr. 4, 2025 (Lake Wales)
I woke up in Winter Haven for the first time in over a year. It was nice to be back in a town I used to call home.
First thing I did when I woke up was walk around Downtown Winter Haven near the public library. Again, it had been a long time since I’d taken a stroll through the city. It was really refreshing.
I then drove over to Lake Wales to have brunch with my editors Carl Fish and Kip Kirchberg, along with their wives Shelly and Jody. Nothing beats a greasy breakfast prepared at a local diner.
Because why settle for a run-of-the-mill chain restaurant like IHOP or Denny’s when you can have good old-fashioned cooking from a mom-and-pop eatery? (Besides, apparently, Denny’s had closed and re-opened as a Mexican restaurant.)
And what would be a better meal to eat after having recently undergone your first colonoscopy with a clean bill of health than a greasy breakfast? Because nothing beats a breakfast that clogs your colon and your arteries.
So, I decided to have the Biscuits and Gravy Bowl with buttermilk biscuits, sausage gravy, fried chicken, and topped with two eggs over easy and a side of bacon. (And don’t forget the hot sauce. Never forget the hot sauce!)
After brunch, I drove to Downtown Lake Wales. First, I decided to drop by the museum. Sadly, they were undergoing renovations, so I did not see much. I did, however, get a chance to step inside the caboose out back. That was pretty neat.
I also took a stroll downtown to check out the freshly renovated Park Avenue and Market Plaza. Really dug the swinging benches. Nothing’s more relaxing than a porch swing. And the renovated streetscape and additional benches and tables were a nice touch, too.
Finally, I drove over to Bok Tower Gardens. The entry fee was rather steep ($20 for adults) but otherwise worth it. I loved strolling through Hammock Hallow. I especially loved the tiny fairy houses. It’s something my late father would have loved and built for himself.
Of course, the best sight to see was the garden’s namesake: Bok Tower. At 205 feet tall, the Singing Tower sits atop one of the tallest points in peninsular Florida, even standing taller than Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World.
I admire how the Art Deco design, along with the colorful stained-glass windows, contrasts beautifully with the surrounding natural landscape. No doubt this is the crown of this city within a garden.
At the risk of sounding like one of those “reject modernity, embrace tradition” Twitter accounts with Greco-Roman bust avatars, they don’t make grand buildings like this anymore. It would be nice if more buildings these days were built to look grand and majestic, with an overall emphasis on aesthetics over functionality.
Not going to lie: my visit to Polk County had proven to be rather bittersweet. While I was happy to be back in Polk County and see all the people and places I used to visit, I knew I was only here as a guest and not as a resident. It reminded me that I no longer live here anymore, and with my old house sold, I can never go back, not to the way things were. My visit was both happy and sad like that.
