Mixon Fruit Farms is truly a unique location in the Bradenton Area to experience the taste of Florida!

Like us, you will probably be surprised when you visit. It is so much more than the citrus grove that we were expecting to see.

They share a portion of their citrus grove with Wildlife Inc. for a Florida Wildlife Care and Education Center providing land and shelter for orphaned and injured animals, birds and reptiles. Cages are built next to the orange trees where you can meet the animals up close. As part of their wildlife rescue project, we enjoyed the interactive show about rescued Florida birds, reptiles and animals.

We took a tour of the orange groves on their very own MIXON Orange Blossom Express. We enjoyed this one-hour tram ride with commentary that provided us with some interesting facts and fun trivia.

The best part was the stop where the animals are recovering from rescue. White skunk, gray raccoon, turtles, birds and we even got to hold a small alligator.

They have a really nice koi pond where you can feed the fish and a shady gazebo for those wanting a break from the sunny rays. We wandered around their tropical garden, another beautiful spot.

If you’re hungry they have an excellent Groveside Café. You can also bring your own picnic to eat outside and enjoy the surroundings.

Our visit wasn’t complete until we stopped at their gift store. We couldn’t buy a box of their citrus fruit without a couple of fruit themed bowls for home that nicely hold our fresh fruit.

Their 14,000 square foot gift shop displayed lots of nice souvenirs, many unique one of a kind gifts, as well as salad dressings, preserves, fruit teas and lots of Florida themed gifts.

The store is full of free samples from orange juice, lemonade, grapefruit juice, wine and more. You can also order and ship home their wonderful tasty fruit.
We were there in December and learned the best time to visit is from November to April which is the citrus season. But, MIXON Fruit Farms is open to visitors year round.

We spent about 3 hours there ending with their amazing must have orange swirl soft serve ice cream. I really think what made this such a great outing was that the staff were so friendly and energetic. This family owned and operated location is truly a Florida treasure!

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While Hurricane Irma took many last-minute shifts and turns many areas in Florida were spared catastrophic damages, the historic Anna Maria City Pier didn’t fare so well..

It was obvious after the passing blow on September 10th and 11th that Irma had badly damaged the 678 foot pier that was built in 1911. The tin roof was torn off the bait shop and there was significant damage on the northwest side to the wooden planking. The days after Irma swept through Anna Maria Island it was unclear when the City Pier and its restaurant would re-open to the public.

Originally, officials were hopeful it would only be closed for a short time, possibly taking a few months to a year to repair. The initial engineering assessment found the pier to be in poor condition and found shifted beams and missing pilings causing portions of the walkway to sag not providing adequate support. The report recommended an immediate closure with a timeline of 12+ months to complete necessary repairs.

It appears now the damage far more extensive than what was anticipated, and in October the city commission voted for the City Pier to be torn down and rebuilt from scratch.

The estimated date to re-open is 2019. While the material will be different, officials say the new pier will look the same as the original. That is a small consolation for those where the pier was their favourite place to look out at the Gulf with Egmont Key to the left and straight ahead the Sunshine Skyway bridge.

It’s not easy now for the dozens of fisherman who sat daily atop their buckets, in the afternoon casting for snapper and shark in the evening.

What will happen to the wooden planks of the pier carved with names and remembrances? I’m sure they will be sold, people lining up to buy a piece of what remains of their pier.

The pier is sentimental to so many, their favourite place to go and for them 2019 can’t come soon enough.

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