I’m always surprised at how quickly things can change with just one turn. For me it was a right-hand turn off busy Highway 17/92 in Orange City near DeLand.
That turn put me onto French Avenue. The frantic traffic, carried like an outgoing tide on 17/92, went its own way and I dropped into the past. Old homes shaded by equally old trees gave off a feeling well-earned and quiet dignity. The message was clear:
“Slow Down”.
Bed & Breakfasts restore historic homes with charm and comfort
I got it. With a huge sigh of relief I turned into the driveway for the Alling House, a bed and breakfast with three rooms and five cottages, owned and operated by Gerald and Nan Hill.
Alling House B&B on French Avenue in Orange City, Florida
Mine was the Green Room, top of the stairs to the right. It came as a surprise to learn all three bedrooms had their own bath. Gerald acknowledged making that happen wasn’t easy but certainly appreciated by guests.
The Hills arrived in 2004. They restored the three-story home named for E.B. Alling a major of Orange City who lived there for 40 years and also built four cottages on the property.
This was my first time here but over the years of travel writing I’ve learned a few things about B&Bs in Florida, especially the ones in historic houses:
- You will find your room tastefully even exuberantly decorated in a time period, probably Victorian.
- Breakfast will be home made and may include muffins fresh from the oven.
- Meals are family style, and meeting the other guests is always interesting.
- There will be a porch, a garden, a pond, a shaded area or some form of all of the above. These are dedicated places for your own R&R.
- You may or may not have a TV or a wireless connection in your room. Trust me, it doesn’t matter. The ambiance and the “slow down” attitude take over your time and attention.
- There is history in the house, often in pictures on the walls, books on the coffee table or a tour of the house itself.
- By a piece of serendipity, B&Bs are located near really cool things like state parks, old towns, fishing, boating, museums and beaches.
The Alling House, for example, is three miles from the St. John’s River and Blue Spring State Park.
Stay at Bed & Breakfasts then visit nearby attractions
Manatees at Blue Spring State Park
In winter months manatees come into the park in great numbers. (And now, a moment for a shameless plug – my upcoming children’s book Mary Margaret Manatee, to be published Sept. 23, 2013, see the promo book video here at http://www.MaryMargaretManatee.com)
In the morning I enjoyed a full breakfast that Nan made. She joined me and told the story of their life transition to being innkeepers.
The Alling House is full of little flourishes, like this napkin at the breakfast table
They live on property and I have to say, for single woman travelers like myself, this is a big plus to stay at a B&B and be definitely assured that someone cares about your well-being
While visiting Gainesville a few months back I had another one of those surprising turns – from busy University Avenue into the Sweetwater Branch Inn Bed & Breakfast with 20 guest rooms and cottages. It is its own complex close to downtown Gainesville and University of Florida.
My room was up on the third floor of the McKenzie House, Luisa’s Room, with a lovely stained glass window and Victorian furnishings.
Staircase inside the McKinzie House, Sweetwater Branch Inn B&B, Gaiinesville, Florida
In the evenings they serve complimentary wine and cheese. Morning breakfast was a full meal, lots of choices. I wanted to stay much longer.
That’s what happens when you make a turn. Everything changes.
FLORIDA FAVORITES
In my Florida travels I meet fantastic people who are travel writers, residents, newcomers, guides and entrepreneurs, historians and artists, all are digging into the Florida places they love and finding treasures worth keeping.
Herb Hiller, a DeLand resident and fellow member of the Society of American Travel Writers, knows Florida B&Bs well, very well indeed. Here in his own words, are Herb’s thoughts:
Curious Juxtapositions
by
Herb Hiller
Count among curious juxtapositions how those who favor and those who oppose the conversion of historic buildings as bed-and-breakfasts generally alike stand on the side of preservation and of adaptive re-use.
I learned this over some 30 years of paying close attention to the bed-and-breakfast trade while writing three editions of the Guide to the Small & Historic Lodgings of Florida.
Why does it matter? Because something humane and democratic – civic and ethical – corresponds to people’s urge to continue inhabiting old forms. Time may march on but it also settles in.
I remember the compound of today’s Miami River Inn, where I lived for a time. The compound dates from about 105 years ago as perhaps the first buildings that jumped the river from the city’s early urban confines. I first took t’ai chi classes there as termite dust accumulated. Miami made preservationist Sallye Jude jump high hurdles to save the four handsome buildings from demolition. She helped re-establish its East Little Havana neighborhood.
Elise Sechrist in Naples faced determined neighborhood opposition that was sure that the site she chose for a B&B would emanate noise and undue traffic. Elise worked and re-worked her plans until finally she prevailed and opened her Inn by the Sea, in the big picture ensuring that her opposing neighbors prevailed as well.
In West Palm Beach, Raleigh Hill would say that his Hibiscus House did more than only resurrect the entire Old Northwood district. Guests by their stays at the inn subsequently bought dozens of neighborhood houses they rehabbed (same as Raleigh had first daringly done with his place), whereupon Old Northwood inspired the redemption of just about every historic neighborhood surrounding downtown.
Floridians lack an understanding of how a project as small as rehabbing one old house can inspire domino-effect change.
Of course, the grandmother of such beneficial impact occurred some 42 years ago after Disney World opened and stole the family trade from Miami Beach. Owners of the grand beach hotels twice tried to re-establish their trade by foisting casino gambling on Florida. Twice voters said no. What turned the Beach around was a visiting art historian who observed that the Beach had Art Deco hotels.Architectural preservation not only made Miami Beach the world’s darling again. It greatly influenced the New Urbanism that has since beneficially affected every city in Florida – and who knows how many beyond.
Herb can be reached at mailto:[email protected]
©2013 Herbert L. Hiller, Inc.
Saturday Morning Magazine has one-time rights to use his essay.
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