Pictured here is a passion flower that is actually growing in our yard in Palm Bay Florida. We first spotted this incredible flower in St Augustine growing on a fence along one of the many walkways winding through the city. And once we did some research we bought a passion flower and planted in in our yard.

After several years of enjoying the beauty of this flower the plant died, but because it sends out so many seeds we have never really been able to get rid of the plants. I usually mow over several vines coming up in the yard when the grass gets high and we do pull some of them up, but there are still a few growing in the yard as you see from the two pictures here.

Believe it or not there are over 500 species of the passion flower and I think we have the most common one which is known as the Passiflora incarnata, but the ones in our yard are much more colorful than the one pictured on the Wikipedia page.

These are some of the most beautiful flowers we have ever seen and we do enjoy them. However, the blossoms only last 48 hours and then they are pretty much wilted away. No, they aren’t like roses, when a passion flower wilts, it’s gone. So here are a couple of pictures that won’t wilt to enjoy these flowers growing in our Palm Bay yard.

Melbourne Beach FL is Brevard County’s vacation destination. Located south of US 192, also known as 5th Avenue in Indialantic, it was incorporated about 1923. Rich with history, Melbourne Beach is a small seaside town on the East coast of central Florida known as the Space Coast. The main street that runs through the town is called Ocean Ave. Ocean Ave runs between the Atlantic Ocean and A1A on the East to the Indian River Lagoon and Riverside Drive on the West, approximately 1 mile between the 2 bodies of water. Along Ocean Ave, between the ocean and the river, tourists and locals alike will find shops, cafes, parks and historical sites to enjoy.

Some believe that the famous Spanish explorer and Governor of Puerto Rico, Juan Ponce De Leon originally came ashore in Florida in Melb. Bch in 1513 not Ponce Inlet which is further north and not St. Augustine which is even further north. Suffice it to say that the Town of Melb. Bch believes it to be so and is planning a grand 500 year anniversary celebration of Ponce De Leon’s alleged Melbourne Beach landing for April 2013.

But don’t wait until 2013 to plan your visit to the town of MB because its a picture pretty little town that you wont want to miss. Here are some of the fun things to do in Melbourne Beach Florida:

• Volleyball at Ocean Park
• Bocce Ball at historic Ryckman Park
• Fishing off the Melbourne Beach Pier or on the beach

While visiting the pier make sure you read all about the Melbourne Atlantic Railroad that ran up and down Ocean Ave. transporting tourists, winter visitors and residents.

Enjoy the historical buildings around Ryckman Park and Ocean Avenue like:

• The Old Town Hall
• The Fraser Estate
• The Captain Beau Jeans house and original post office
• The Community house built by money raised by the Ramblers
• The community Chapel

If you are looking for a day at the beach, there are several beautiful beaches in the  area:

• Spessard Holland Parks -  3 miles south of US 192 on A1A
• Bonsteel Park – 14-15  miles south of US 192
• Coconut Point Park – 5-6 miles south of US 192
• Juan Ponce De Leon Landing – 6+ miles south of US 192

Those looking for a Bed and Breakfast in Melbourne Beach FL there is Port Hiver. There are also several small hotels on the beach side such as Surfcaster, Ocean Pines, Sea View and Sandy Shoes.

Being out in the fresh Florida salt air all day will work up an appetite, but no worries, there are great places to eat around the town. For seafood and steak and a generous pocketbook there is Dijon’s, for smaller budgets but large appetites we enjoy Robburitos, which offers large burritos made with fresh ingredients and homemade sauces. Then there is always Boscos Beach Market for take out, open from 8am-8pm most days.

Melbourne Beach Florida a great place to live or visit year around, don’t miss it.

We have frequented most of the furniture stores in Melbourne FL over the past 15 years. And we have purchased furniture from several of those stores: Havertys, Bassett, Kane’s, Ashley, Wood You and Westside Used Furniture.

It began when we redecorated our living room replacing all the carpet with tile. Because we were trying to cut down on allergens we decided to nix the cloth furniture and replace it with leather. Then we also had to find just the right entertainment center to go with that, so our saga with furniture stores in Melbourne FL began.

We purchased a leather sofa and loveseat set from Bassett and unfortunately had problems with it. Some of the stitching was not right on one of the seat cushions and the skirt on the couch was not even. Bassett made it all right. It took some time, but they saw it through to our satisfaction.

We also had problems with the entertainment center we purchased from Havertys. It took several visits from the repair man, ordering new doors and then finally ordering an entirely new entertainment center for us, until the situation was resolved. Though it took some time, we have to give Havertys kudos for making it right for us.

So here’s a furniture buying tip: If something is not right when the men deliver your new furniture, report it immediately. It is the sales person’s job to make things right for the customer. We have the entertainment center and leather furniture in our home for over years and they still look great. The leather has begun to wear a little and the cushions are a little soft but all is still very handsome looking furniture. If we had to do it again, we would have done a little more price comparison on the leather before we made the purchase.

A few years a go we needed a new dining room table, chairs and 3 occasional chairs for a new addition we added to our home. After perusing nearly all the furniture stores in Melbourne FL we finally found the dining room table we were looking for at Kane’s. We had no problems with this item and we are pretty happy with the quality. We get many compliments on our table and it was reasonably priced.

Finding the right occasional chairs was a whole other ordeal. We must have looked at and sat in 100 chairs, maybe more. I had no idea what a difficult job that would be. We knew what we were looking for. The function of the chairs would serve primarily as comfortable chairs for reading. Both my husband and I do a lot of reading and so we tested chairs by sitting in them, shifting in them, hanging legs over the chair arms etc. An all around testing for comfort was required before we could make our decision. We ended up with 2 micro-suede, medium sized, over stuffed chairs from Ashley’s.

Ashley’s quite frankly was about the last place I went because from what I had read they were not the quality of furniture we were looking for. However after looking at 100′s of chairs, I walked into Ashley’s and immediately saw the chairs that fit the bill sitting in the front of the store. They were attractive, comfortable and very reasonably priced. The sales lady bent over backwards to get us into those 2 chairs. Although we did have to return one, they were able to get another one for us relatively quickly. We use the chairs daily and they are now showing some minor wear, but that is to be expected. We had a good experience.

The third chair we purchased came from Havertys. It is a gorgeous, antique style rocker – slider, that cost a small fortune. However, I consider it a good investment since I use this chair everyday and love it. I read, relax, knit and crochet in this chair so in the end it was worth the money.

Other furniture stores we have frequented and purchased items from more than once are two stores that many people do not even consider when shopping at furniture stores in Melbourne FL but they are 2 of my favorite places to find quality furniture:

• Wood You unfinished furniture on the corner 192 and Wickham Rd.
• Westside Used Furniture at 2140 Meadowlane (ML runs parallel to Minton)

We have purchased 2 beds from Wood You as well as a night stand. The guys did a fine job finishing the furniture as well. With Wood You, you know what you are getting and it is solid wood. As with all the furniture stores in Melbourne FL, including Wood You, they have catalogs that their customers can pursue, if they don’t see the item they are looking for on the floor. Don’t hesitate to ask to look at a catalog.

Sometimes what you want can only be found at used furniture stores in Melbourne like Westside Used Furniture. They survey estate sales and select quality pieces, clean them up and resell them. Their prices and service has always been excellent.

Most of the furniture stores in Melbourne Florida can be found on what we call furniture row – that’s SR 192 also know as New Haven Avenue in West Melbourne and extending west to I-95.

Shore Lanes is located at 4851 Dairy Rd Melbourne, FL 32904. Yes, it is another one of those businesses that is really located in Melbourne, but most of the people that frequent this bowling alley live in Palm Bay. In fact, it is the only bowling alley in that is visited by Palm Bay residents. Years ago there used to be a bowling alley off of Port Malabar Blvd, but that closed quite some time ago.

The main thing that makes Shore Lanes Palm Bay attractive is their cheap rates if you go at the right times. While their regular rates are $1.75 per game Monday – Sunday 9:00am – 1:00pm and up to $4.25 per game on the same days from 1:00 PM till Midnight and shoes are $4.00 per person, you don’t have to pay those rates if you take advantage of their special time discount. If you must go at that time, you may end up spending a lot on an evening of bowling, unless you are paying the league rate that is worked out by each league with the bowling alley.

However, if you know when their super special rate is, you can bowl unlimited games and get your shoes included for only $5. Ready for the special? If you visit on any weekday Monday thru Friday from 3:oo pm to 5:00 pm you can bowl till your heart is content and pay only $5 per person. That seems like a crazy low rate because it is only a dollar more than the cost of shoes, but that is the deal. So if you can get to Shore Lanes during those times of the week, you can have an afternoon of fun for less that it would cost you to go to a movie.

Shore Lanes is a world class bowling center that is also a PBA practice facility and they even have a PBA professional that is on staff in the pro shop. The pro shop also offers custom drilling, equipment, supplies, clothing and coaching to help you bring your game to the next level. The facility also offers a game room for the kids (and grown up kids), the City Limits Lounge, and a small snack bar where you can get drinks and munchies.

You can also join a league if you are a serious bowler that needs more that just an occasional night out at the alley. Leagues are available for all ages and all organizations including company, church, civic organization, youth, seniors, families and more. Check out the Shore Lanes Palm Bay website for more information.

The first adventure is a zipline roller coaster (yes, I said roller coaster) known as The Rattlesnake that is the first of its kind in the entire USA. When you launch off of the 65 foot high platform, you will accelerate up to speeds of 20 miles per hour as you soar 1,000 feet through dips, jumps and something new around every treetop. Some call it a roller coaster, some say it’s a zipline, but you will definitely say it is fun.

Then there’s the Zipline Safari which is a 2.5 hour adventure through the many different ecosystems of Forever Florida. If you are afraid of heights, you may be cured by the time you step off of 10 observation platforms up to 68 feet high to either zipline through the trees or walk footbridges to another platform while you check out the wildlife and plants below. The Zipline Safari is normally $85 if you just want to do that adventure, but it is included in your price of admission to the EcoPark.

Were on to the Peregrine Plunge extreme zipline which is the longest single straightaway zipline adventure in Florida. When you step off the 71 foot high platform you will soar one quarter mile (as long as an NHRA dragstrip), above and through the treetops at up to 30 mph. This one might even make the guys scream.

The Panther Pounce is next at EcoPark and you have to muster up some courage for this one. When you are good and ready, step off of the 68 foot high platform and you will experience a safely controlled free fall to the ground.

Next up is the Cypress Canopy Cycle, another adventure that is also the first of its kind in the United States. As you can see from the picture to the right, you are actually riding in a cycle in the air powered by your legs. This little jaunt is ideal if you want to get a better look at some of the Florida wildlife, unusual and unique foliage and the dense wetlands that are native to Forever Florida. Get ready for 45 minutes of air cycling fun.

Finally we have the Swooping Crane that is somewhat the opposite of the Panther Pounce in that it starts from the ground and hoists you up 55 feet. You then decide when to pull the rip cord and go into freefall which transitions into a nice, relaxing swinging through the trees and above the brush.

Take the family or get a group of friends together and visit the newly expanded Florida EcoSafaris EcoPark when the 4 new adventures open on April 16th. Of course you can also visit Forever Florida any time you want and check out all their other great adventures as well.

All the great attractions listed above are included in EcoPark admission. There is one price fits all for everyone ages 10 years old and up. The cost is $135 for all 6 adventures that you will not find anywhere else in Florida and maybe the whole US. There are zipines around Florida but nothing like you will find at EcoSafaris EcoPark.

Visit their website here or call 1-866-854-3837 (easy to remember 1-866-85-4EVER) to make reservations or get more information.

All photos taken from Forever Florida website.

The BCC Angel is the online support system for the Brevard Community College distance learning system also known as eBrevard. Brevard Community College has been serving the educational needs of Brevard County life long learners since 1960. But now, they have extended their reach across the entire globe through online learning opportunities. Their motto – World Wide – World Class says it all.

Through the BCC Angel instructors and students are able to give and obtain support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That’s what you call service. These kinds of online systems have forever changed accessibility to receiving a college education. The Angel system is one accessed and utilized by both instructors and students.

The system has an extensive knowledge base for instructors taking them step by step through the process of enabling a course, posting important messages to students, taking attendance, posting grades, creating lesson plans and assessments and even blogging.

The BCC Angel also provides exceptional support for all students enrolled at Brevard Community College. They refer to the system as the learning management system for eBrevard or the online courses that the community college offers. In order to use the Angel system there are a few requirements for students:

• Students must be registered which can be done online
• Students must go through a 4-5 hour online orientation
• Students must have access to a computer with the proper operating system, browser and plug-ins which are all outlined on the website

Surprisingly coursework done through the eBrevard online system costs $10 more per credit hour, but for the convenience its probably worth the extra fees. The courses offered through the learning management system include courses in a variety of disciplines such as: finance, history, the sciences, technology, social sciences, communication, webdesign, education, foreign languages, medical technology, math, criminal justice and more.

In order to help students self assess whether distance learning is a good option for them, they can take the “Is Distance Learning for Me” 13 question assessment. Also the BCC Angel provides access to a vast knowledge base of information, much of which is stored in PDF documents. But through Angel, students and instructors, also have access to chat, phone numbers and a ticketing system that allows them to submit questions for which they can’t find an answer in the knowledge base.

Here are a few tips for successful online learning:

• Be responsible for checking course syllabus, class work requirements etc.
• Have a back-up plan in case technology fails
• Stay in touch with the instructor by email
• Manage their time well
• Avoid procrastination
• Make use of available resources

Visit BCC Angel for more information about the Brevard Community College learning management system.

Downtown Produce Melbourne FL

What do I mean by that? Downtown Produce Melbourne FL is about real food. The majority of their large warehouse style store is filled with fresh fruits and vegetables and that’s what we love about it. Best of all their prices can’t be beat. The prices are always very reasonable on all their produce and other goods. Perhaps their prices are so reasonable because they are a large supplier for the local restaurants. Actually they have been supplying restaurants in Central Florida for over 25 years. So even if you have not been to Downtown Produce if you eat in any upscale local restaurants chances are you have eaten produce DTP supplied.

In addition to the wide assortment of fresh produce they also have a meat, fish and seafood counter where the shopper can find some of the best prices around. In fact we were recently there and saw fresh Cobia for less than $12/pound. We ended up with the wild Scottish salmon that was less than $13/pound, it was fresh and delicious.

To go with your meats and produce they offer an array of domestic and imported cheeses, olives and other condiments as well as many specialty items. They generally have a Sommelier (wine steward) serving a few of the over 800 varieties of wine they keep in stock. We can testify that they carry an amazing assortment of hard to get wines. They are the only place in Melbourne where we have ever been able to find Tokaji Aszu from Hungary actually on the shelf (a specialty dessert wine we love).

Each week they offer specials that are out of this world. They list them on their website so you can just plan on taking a look on Sunday or Monday, see what they have on special and build your weekly meals around the sale items. Check it out- the week I wrote this post their specials were:

• Skinned boneless chicken breast for $1.79/pound
• Plant city strawberries for $1.49/pound
• On the vine tomatoes for $1 per bag.
• Top sirloin steak for $3.98/pound

Besides being the best stocked, one stop whole food store in the area Downtown Produce Melbourne FL also serves lunch from 11am – 2pm on their patio. The patio is popular with the local workers and business people in the area and is wired for wi-fi. The cafe offers lunch specials like:

• Pot roast and 2 sides – $7.99
• Eggplant Parmesan and 2 sides – $7.99
• Chicken Francese and 2 sides – $7.99

If you don’t want so much food then try their weekly sandwich or their daily soup. Today it was a chicken fajita wrap and Italian Wedding Soup. If you need something quicker then try their grab and go meals made fresh daily by their on-site chefs.

There are so many reasons to drop by Downtown Produce: fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, fish and seafood, beer and wine, assorted cheeses, lunch and so much more. You’ll find Downtown Produce Melbourne FL at 7856 Ellis Road just East of Wickham Rd. and West of John Rodes Blvd. Don’t delay, stop in today.

Would you like to know where to get Palm Bay dollar movies? Well, a lot of people would, but in reality there aren’t any. What? Don’t get too excited because you can go to the movies in Palm Bay for only $2 per person and on Tuesday movies are only 50 cents all day long. So I guess it kind of evens out on there little marketing gimmick here.

The theater that offers these huge movie discounts is the Palm Bay Dollar Movies 10 located in the Palm Bay West Shopping Center at the corner of Malabar Road and Minton Road (it’s the shopping center we call the Winn Dixie Plaza for obvious reasons). What used to be a first run movie theater built several years ago and then closed for quite some time now offers second run before they go to video movies. They aren’t the first run block busters that audiences are waiting to see with bated breath, but they do offer pretty decent movies for only $2 and don’t forget they’re only 50 cents on Tuesdays. I would mention some of the movies showing right now, but by the time some of you read this post 6 months after it goes up, most of the titles will be irrelevant and you may not even remember them.

The Palm Bay Dollar Movies 10 is supposed to have 10 movies showing, but right now (as of the time of this post) there are only 9 movies showing. However, I bet you can still find one you like even though there is one less than there’s supposed to be. I honestly don’t know how a theater can show movies this cheaply and still stay in business because Blockbuster can hardly stay in business charging these prices and they don’t have anywhere near the overhead that a theater does. But as of right now you can check out movies in Palm Bay for only 2 bucks.

So if you are looking for cheap entertainment, pack up the family some evening and head down to the Palm Bay Dollar Theater and treat yourselves to a movie for only $2 per person. And if you want to do it for even less, head to the theater on a Tuesday evening and get in for only 50 cents. And if you are a real cheapskate like me, sneak your own snacks in. But don’t tell anyone I told you to.

Brevard Community College Melbourne FL is one of 4 campuses of this State of Florida community college that has been serving the local community since 1960. Historically this post secondary educational institution began as two separate state supported colleges in 1960: Brevard Junior College and Carver Junior College. In 1963 they merged and became Brevard Community College. Carver Junior College was originally developed to serve the post secondary educational needs of the African American population in Brevard County.

A book titled African American Sites in Florida by Kevin McCarthy sheds a little more light on the circumstances that resulted in the colleges merging. The author notes that the merging of the 2 colleges occurred after complaints were filed with the US Commission on Civil Rights by an NAACP official  that Carver Junior College was not providing a proper standard of educational opportunity to Carver college students. In 1990 Brevard Community College named a new administration building, the George Washington Carver Administration Center, in honor of the black junior college they merged with several decades ago.

The Brevard Community College Melbourne FL campus is located at 3865 N. Wickham Road on a 120 acre semi wooded campus. Also on the site of the Melbourne Campus is the county’s premier performing arts center the Maxwell King Center. The center hosts top performers from around the world in music, dance and theater throughout their performance season.

Brevard Community College Melbourne FL is well know in the community for being a life long learning center for students of all ages. It’s not at all uncommon for parents and children to be attending BCC at the same time or even graduating together with their 2 year associates degrees.

BCC offers undergraduate classes for those going on to pursue 4 year degrees, they offer associate degrees and certificates for those pursuing technical and vocational interests. Some of the programs that BCC is well known for are their Nursing Program, Dental Hygiene Program, Culinary, Veterinary Technology, Hospitality and Tourism to name a few. Additionally on the Brevard Community College Melbourne FL campus students will find the Institute of Public Safety. The Institute of Public Safety has 2 tracks: Fire Science Technology and Criminal Justice. So students interested in entering law enforcement or fire fighting, becoming a correctional officer or even a security guard should check out the BCC Institute of Public Safety programs.

BCC has tons of educational and vocational opportunities for students young and old. On their website you will find schedules for classes, descriptions of various programs, entrance applications, student loan information, as well as the multitude of accoutrements the college offers. Need a job, more training or want to begin your associates degree? Make sure you check out all that Brevard Community College has to offer.

Probably the first home improvement store I ever shopped at to do any of my own home improvement projects was the Home Depot Melbourne FL location that’s just about a half mile east of the intersection of New Haven (192) and Minton/Wickham Road on New Haven. Nearly as far back as I can remember that Home Depot has been right there. For probably 30 years it has been in the same location and for many of those years it was really the only full service large home improvement building store of its kind anywhere in the area.

Over the years we have purchased everything from lawn mowers, to grills, to paint, to all kinds of gardening equipment and supplies and more from this store. When we tiled our kitchen, living area and master bedroom and bathroom we purchased a pallet load of tile from the Home Depot Melbourne FL on 192 and also hired them to install it. The process of getting that large of a project done was quite a task and the schedulers and other department experts at Home Depot were exceptionally helpful. They helped us pick out our tile and get all the supplies we needed to complete the job. They also made sure that the tile we got was all from the lot so there wouldn’t be any issues with slight color or pattern differences between lots. Make sure you do that same thing when picking out your tile because subtle differences can happen and you wouldn’t want to get half way through your project and notice a problem.

We also love the garden shop at the West Melbourne Home Depot because it usually has everything we need to get our gardening and vegetable planting projects off to a good start.

Of course technology these days makes shopping at your favorite home store a breeze because you can look to see if they have whatever it is you need in stock via their website. This way you don’t have to waste your Saturday morning going to the store looking for something that isn’t there. You can then use HD’s website to either order it to be picked up in your local store or you can have it sent directly to you.

There are 3 local Home Depot Melbourne FL stores in this area. They are located at:

Palm Bay Location
1140 Malabar Road SE
Palm Bay, FL 32907
Phone: 321-956-6805

West Melbourne Location
2829 W New Haven Ave
West Melbourne, FL 32904
Phone: 321-728-1900

North Melbourne Location
5100 N Wickham Road
Melbourne, FL 32940
Phone: 321-242-4607