Between Attractions, Pause for a Little Orange Aid
Need a gator-foot necklace? Orange blossom perfume? Fruitree is the place.
(Detour Sign From Istockphoto; Photo Above By Susan Harb)
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Hit the brakes when you see cypress knees spilling out into the parking lot of Fruitree (28037 Hwy. 27, 863-439-1396) in Dundee. This is the place to buy real souvenirs, not those rubber alligators and puka-shell necklaces -- both made in China -- that fill many Florida gift shops.
Real gator heads -- from reptiles farm-raised for meat -- sell here for $14 to $99. Gator-foot necklaces, less than $5. Cypress knees to make into retro lamps, $8 to $20. Cross-sections for tabletops, $25. A special permit is required to harvest cypress, the clerk told me, just as permits are required and limits imposed to hunt gators.
Orange blossom perfume, $3.55. Live fruit trees in a box, $4.50 ($2 less than at the airport). Little plastic gizmos to stick in oranges so you can sip the juice, 50 cents. Some of the merchandise might have been there when the shop opened 26 years ago. The prices, too. A glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice, free. The second glass, 15 cents.
Shops like Fruitree can still be found along the state's older routes, such as Highway 441, which runs up central Florida's backbone. They once sold baby turtles -- I was the owner of at least half a dozen from half a dozen trips -- and "baby alligators" that were really caiman, which I was not allowed to have.
Half a mile north is another historic treasure: Davidson of Dundee (28421 Hwy. 27, 800-654-0647, http:/
During my visit, I smelled the grapefruit marmalade cooking before I got in the door. Alice O'Neill, 78, wearing a purple dress with harmonizing jewelry and lipstick, has greeted customers for 40 years. At our side instantly, she steered us in the direction of free samples -- more than 21 candies and a dozen jars of jellies and marmalades.
Then she scooted me to the glass viewing windows for the kitchen show.
Copper kettles, wooden paddles, natural juices and no pectin make the citrus jelly candies exceptionally good, she said.
"Try the honeybell marmalade. You can just taste the sunshine."
I did what Alice said. She was right.
-- Susan Harb
