Pioneer Days

 There is a county park about ½ mile down the road from the campground and this week they are hosting an event called Pioneer Days. We purchased all week tickets and have ridden our bikes to the park twice so far this week. 

Millie browsing in the quilt booth

 Pioneer Days is mostly a gathering of antique farm equipment and stationary engine enthusiasts. There is also a large number of vendors selling all kinds of crafts and products, but with a larger than normal number selling hardware and used tools.

Better than new restoration of a large stationary engine

We’ve spent 6-7 hours there so far and haven’t seen it all yet, we plan on returning on Saturday to visit the park museum and anything else we’ve missed. Tomorrow we will drive to Plant City for the Strawberry Festival. We plan on touring the fairgrounds and purchasing tickets for a concert we will return to see next week. That will be two opportunities for strawberry shortcake.

A 1904 vertical engine (4 hp) operating a 10 gallon ice cream churn

Plant City strawberry shortcake is nothing like store bought cake. It is served in a bowl and consists of a square of cake covered with sliced berries. Both cake and berries are submerged in strawberry slurry and topped with ice cream and/or whipped cream.

Plant City strawberry shortcake