Traveling Friendship Bag

(Photo courtsey Cindy Brewer)

My friend Cindy over at Rick-Rack and Gingham is such a sweet lady.  Sadly, one of Cindy's friends tragically lost her husband and home during the terrible tornados in Alabama.  Ever one to lend a helping hand, Cindy put a call out on her blog to help put a smile on her friend's face...

Enter the Traveling Friendship Bag!  Cindy's named the bag Sadie Mae.  Several of us signed up to take Sadie Mae for a few days, snap a few pictures and send her on to her next destination.  We've been encouraged to tuck a recipe card, a post card from our town, and a message of hope or prayer for Cindy's friend into one of Sadie Mae's pockets.  After traveling throughout the States for a couple of months, Sadie Mae will end up back in Texas at Cindy's home so she can organize all of the messages, pictures and recipes and present them to her friend.  Here's a quick recap of my adventures with Sadie Mae:

Since we live in a teeny, tiny town with nothing but a post office, we traveled to the nearby town of Clermont which has several Americana-at-its-best sites!  I happen to LOVE retro Americana and immediately thought this would be the perfect opportunity to share with you some classic kitsch near our home.

Our first stop was a produce stand that has a couple of tourist-y props perfect for posing with Sadie Mae!

Sadie Mae was not harmed in this photo:

Headed in search of more kitsch, we found the House of Presidents, a little museum chock full of American presidential trivia and reproduction artifacts:

(That's Captain Project's reflection in the glass door.  Oops, I had my hands behind my back so you can barely see Sadie Mae!)

In the parking lot of the House of Presidents sits Mount Rushmore ~ ha!

And finally, we made our way to Clermont's most famous landmark, the Citrus Tower:

One of Florida’s first “attractions,” and long before Disney World, the Citrus Tower was built in 1956 on one of the highest hills in Florida’s ridge section.  Up until about 10 years ago, visitors would ride the elevator to the top of the tower to look out and marvel at the miles and miles of orange groves that once surrounded it.  Now, and sadly, most of the orange groves have been plowed under to make way for shopping and housing.

Welp, that's my travel odyssey with Sadie Mae.  I hope in some small way I'll have helped put a smile on Cindy's friend's face.  Thank you for this opportunity, Cindy!  Here's a link list of Sadie Mae's other "travel guides," so that you can continue following her adventures on their blogs:

Kelly at Chick n' Charge

Monica at the Chicken Wrangler

Renee at My Vintage Mending

Michaele at Sproutin Wings Farm

Elaine at Honeysuckle Hollow

Debby at Cozy Blanket

Elizabeth at Creative Breathing

Janelle at Sweet Bee Cottage

Terra at Terra Garden

Becky at Sweet Cottage Dreams

Connie at Shady Creek Lane 

Amber at Plowman

and Ali at the Wandering Workentins

Hope you'll take a moment to visit these blogs ~ make their day and become followers too!

And don't forget to enter this month's giveaway!

Click HERE to read the rules and enter.  Drawing is 6/30.  Good luck!