Food Trucks on the Fun Coast

Food trucks have been enjoying great popularity in the United States, even having their own show on Food Network. The food truck movement has finally made its way to the Fun Coast. In the Greater Daytona Beach Area, we can now enjoy individual food trucks as well as food truck ‘rallies’ from Ormond to New Smyrna Beach. 

A Little Food Truck History

The Texas chuck wagon is a precursor to the American food truck Food consisted of dried beans, coffee, cornmeal, greasy cloth-wrapped bacon, salt pork, beef, usually dried or salted or smoked, and other easy to preserve food stuffs. Yum!

Then there was the lunch wagon in the late 1800’s selling sandwiches, pies, and coffee business employees in the city. Later versions of the food truck were mobile canteens, which were created in the late 1950s. These mobile canteens operated on stateside army bases.

Finally, mobile food trucks, nicknamed "roach coaches" have been around for years, serving construction sites, factories, and other blue-collar locations. 

 

The Gourmet Food Truck movement started in big cities like New York and Los Angeles. It spread throughout the United States, and now can be found in the suburbs and small towns. Characteristic of food trucks is a small, specialized menu, gourmet food items (often a twist on old favorites), and a tiny crew that cooks and serves in various locales.

In our area, you will find food trucks more often than not in the parking lot of local brew pubs, such as Tomoka Brewery Co. Going to a food truck rally is all kinds of fun! You can pick from a variety of very reasonably priced food items from different trucks. There is usually music and a lot of people. A happy atmosphere accompanies these events!

The next food truck rally will be in Ormond Beach on July 21 – check it out here. The best way to be informed about various food truck appearances and rallies is to “like” their Facebook Pages. Here are a few:

The Good Food Truck 

The Big Hot Box 

Cousin’s Maine Lobster 

 Creative Florida Living

Janet Sells 

Port Orange Has It All!

Most everyone has heard of the famous Daytona Beach. A destination for bikers, spring breakers, race fans, and beach lovers. But if you say you live in Port Orange, you are most often met with blank stares.
  

Port Orange is, of course, part of the greater Daytona Beach Area, and is a nice-sized city in its own right. Moreover, Port Orange has some claims to fame – so read on to find out more!

Port Orange is considered to be a principal city in the Fun Coast region of the state of Florida. The city's estimated population in 2013 was 57,203.

Port Orange was settled by John Milton Hawks who brought freed blacks to work at his sawmill after the U.S. Civil War. Esther Hawks established an integrated school in the area. The colony struggled soon after its creation and most colonists left. The area that became known as Freemanville is a legacy of the settlers that held on in the area.

Over the last 30 years, Port Orange has grown in leaps and bounds. It now features a broad spectrum of retail and entertainment establishments, fine restaurants, YMCA, library, and parks. Notably, Palmer Chiropractic college, which draws a younger-than-Florida-average population to Port Orange, is located in Port Orange.

Spruce Creek High School regularly makes the top 100 high schools in the US, and it boasts an International Baccalaureate program as well as an international award winning Jazz Band.

Among the top 10 things to do in Port Orange are the beautiful Sugar Mill Gardens and Cracker Creek . Trip Advisor has a comprehensive list. 

Port Orange is the 7^th safest city in Florida and the second safest city of its size (over 45,000 population). The police have a big presence, and it is generally known that you better not drink and drive – ever – but especially not in Port Orange! City council is very active in planning and expansion. If you want to get involved – and involvement is welcomed – the City of Port Orange makes it easy.The city has a Facebook page and so does the Port Orange Police! 

Whether you already live on the Fun Coast, or are considering a relocation to this area, Port Orange is worth your consideration! In addition to being a small city that has everything, it in perfect proximity to all other cities along the fun coast – Daytona Beach, Daytona Beach Shores, Ormond Beach, Ormond by the Sea, Flagler Beach to the north; Ponce Inlet, New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater to the south. And of course it's a hop, skip, and a jump to Orlando!

Housing options include the gated golf communities, as well as many neighborhoods with moss draped oaks and water views along creeks, bays, and the beautiful Halifax River (Intracoastal Waterway).

Come to Port Orange 

and see what you’ve been missing!

  Referrals are how we build our business, and it is an honor to help your friends and family with their real estate needs.

Creative Florida Living 

Janet Sells 

Art for Children

Where to Make Art with Kids in the

 Greater Daytona Beach Area

Children’s art making has been shown time and again to result in tremendous benefits for them. Needless to say, making art fosters creativity and imagination, which in turn enhances problem solving abilities, academic performance, and focus. When a child makes visual art, they are able to express themselves freely. Often children will pour their (difficult) emotions into their pieces – one of the reasons art is used as a therapy tool for troubled kids. 

Of course your child can make art on her own, or with others, but sometimes it is fun to create with other kids in a different environment. In our Central Florida Coastal Area, there are quite a few art outlets for children.

 ArtHaus is a nonprofit organization showcases student art in their gallery on Ridgewood Avenue, Port Orange, and in outreach exhibit venues. ArtHaus offers art classes for young artists of all ages in their facility. They also teach outreach art classes to provide cultural enrichment and art education to underserved youth in the Boys & Girls Clubs and the Pace Center for teen girls.

WhimWham Art Studio  is located in Ormond Beach and offers all sorts of fun classes for children (and adults), including painting, pottery, glass fusion, and wet clay. WhimWham accommodates groups such as birthday parties, field trips, and they offer camps in the during spring and summer breaks. 

Charles and Linda Williams Children’s Museum  is located in the Museum of Arts and Sciences (MOAS) on Nova Road, Daytona Beach. The museum is a hands-on science center for children. Granted – not all art – but still valuable in inspiring children to think, expand, and express! The award-winning exhibit stations allow children to make music, pizza, explore scientific principles, and more. The Children’s Museum offers summer camps, group tours, and it accommodates birthday parties.

Ormond Beach Memorial Art Museum and Gardens (OMAM)  in Ormond Beach, as the name reveals, offers a variety of art programs for kids, designed to nurture their creative potential! On the first Friday of every month is Free Family Art Night. Families are invited to drop by with their children for an hour of fun art making! A summer camp and monthly classes are also part of the program.

The Hub on Canal  - a fabulous art center in the heart of New Smyrna Beach is well known in the community. The Hub offers all manner of classes, exhibitions, music lessons, concerts and so much more! For the sake of this blog post, it is important to mention that The Hub also caters to children with their monthly art classes. Art history, painting, experimentation with different art media, and many other subjects are explored at The Hub!

 Creative Florida Living

Janet Sells