I should’ve been suspicious that my trip to a place called Showcase of Citrus wasn’t going to turn out well when I pulled up to spy rows of tiny trees (maybe 6-7 feet tall?) with nary a fruit to be seen. I was more than a little surprised since their website touted “50+ varieties” of oranges, lemons and limes. These trees didn’t seem mature enough to produce anything any time soon. Although the website said the “pick your own” season started in November, it was already September. I didn’t see how those itty bitty trees were going to have luscious citrus fruits by November. I had to hope the “real” grove was nearby and this wasn’t it.
What I did see was a monster truck sitting prominently at the entrance loading a few tourists. Since I figured the best part of the trip was going to be the monster truck to see the wild animals, I looked forward to signing up but I was too late for this one. I decided to meander the grounds, maybe grab a bag of food to feed the farm animals near the entrance, browse the country store and then catch the noon tour.
Their website says they run the monster truck tours at 10, 11, 12, 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6. What it doesn’t say is they won’t run the truck if they don’t have enough people. Although I hadn’t called ahead to make a reservation, what if I had? What if I’d booked for the noon tour, driven an hour and a half to get there (which I did), and because they didn’t have 8 or 10 or 12 people booked, they cancelled my reservation? Or would that have been my guarantee for a tour for one? I’ll never know. I just had to hope more people showed up.
I ventured up the sidewalk past the farm animals and arrived at a mammoth open barn. It sported dilapidated furniture and kitschy decor hanging from the ceiling and randomly placed throughout the space (lots of trucks as you can imagine).
So now what? There didn’t seem to be much to do for an hour. I walked a ways down a dirt road behind the barn but all I saw was a lake in the distance and an area for children to play. In fact, the whole place seemed to be geared toward children.
I headed for the country store. It had some rather nice coffee mugs (I bought one) and shelves filled with jam, honey and sauces. I splurged on a jar of pumpkin butter which, as it turns out, may be the best thing from the day.
Since the store took about ten minutes, I looked around for something else to do. I eyed the gem mining skeptically and asked how it worked. I was told that I could purchase a bag of dirt, put it in a tray and allow the running water to reveal any gems. I asked what gems I might find and they produced a laminated card with about a dozen or so. I don’t think of Florida as a huge gem-mining state so I wondered where they were from. It turns out, they purchase dirt from mines in another state. The bag may, or may not, contain gems, in which case you’ve paid a minimum of $10 for your dirt.
I decided this was another activity better suited to children. I spent my remaining time petting one of their four cats, a sweet little calico.
A bit before noon, I checked back. I was informed there would not be a noon tour since no one else had turned up. I gave up. It was a wasted trip.
So is this place a good destination for single seniors? Not the time I spent. But if you can take the tour and/or pick your own fruit, maybe.
The bottom line on this experience is that you need to make your monster truck reservation before you go and make sure the “pick-your-own” experience is happening. For me, it wasn’t worth it.
- 15051 Frank Jarrell Rd., Clermont, Florida
- 352-394-4377
- Open daily 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Lisa Browder 
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