Pulse of Central Florida

Beam me up?

(Location: Corner of Edgewater and Lee Road.)

We here at “Pulse” hope you have a safe & wonderful Thanksgiving holiday today. Be sure to eat and drink lots and lots, share good times with family and Peeps, and for goodness sake turn off your silly computer for once in your life!

If you have any fun, crazy or silly photos (think AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com) you’d like to share from this holiday we’d love to feature them on the site.  Simply drop us an e-mail with the photo attached to pulseofcentralflorida.com, and we’ll also give [photo] you credit and a link back.

Where are your nearest tennis courts?

klynn and I both love tennis, and have actually been playing together quite a bit over the past few months. It might even be safe to say we’ve both developed a mild obsession for the sport. Now that we’re entering the cooler months it’s becoming quite pleasant to play, and certainly something to look to in the evening after a stressful day at work.

Given that, we’re always looking for a great place to knock around a few balls. One thing that’s funny is it’s amazing how many courts you don’t know exist in the Central Florida area until you start looking for them! Believe-it-or-not there are actually courts all over the place, and some valuable tools to help you locate them.

One specific tool is TennisMaps.com, which is exactly what you’d think it is. The map displays all existing courts in the market:

…and even features a useful legend that shows which courts are public, lighted, have backboards (for practice), are clay and/or hard court, and more:

One of our favorite places to play (mainly because it’s convenient to where we live, and there’s almost always an open court) is the sportsplex located in downtown Orlando, just next to the TD Waterhouse. (Yes, there’s one there – you’ve probably never noticed if you haven’t been looking for it!) One thing we’ve quickly learned about this location, however, is to be cautious of going on evenings when there’s an Orlando Magic game being hosted at the arena – you might want to consider finding another court location.

Courts owned & operated by the city are typically $4-$5 for an hour-of-play, but you can also look into membership packages. It really just depends on how frequently you play…and if you want to play at the same place all the time.

So next time you’re looking to play tennis somewhere in the Central Florida area be sure to use TennisMaps.com to help you along the way. Trust me – you’ll be glad you did.
klynn: Did I miss anything? Have anything you’d like to add?

Artichoke Red Vegan Market Opens on Ivanhoe Antique Row

If you’re a Vegan or prefer to be eco-conscious when you shop then you’ll definitely want to pop-in to Artichoke Red, a new market that just opened on Ivanhoe Antique Row, north of downtown Orlando.

If you visit the store you must pick-up a bottle of the Ginger Soda for about $1.50. It’s totally free of artificial flavoring and is pure deliciousness. While you’re enjoying your soda you can continue shopping for soaps, household cleaners, soy candles, chips and other snacks, and even vegan dog food!

Initially when I’d learned about Artichoke Red from the owner of Deja Vu, I’d hoped the market would be more of a grocery store versus a little convenience store, but all-in-all I love the concept and truly hope the local community brings the support needed to sustain business. If you decide to visit in the near future please keep in mind the store’s grand opening was merely two days ago – they will continue getting additional merchandise over the next few weeks.

Store hours of operation fluctuate right now, just to let you know.

Artichoke Red is located:

1813 North Orange Avenue
Orlando, FL 32804

I spent some time hanging out at Ivanhoe Antique Row yesterday afternoon with a few friends of mine, and we visited some shops I’ve never been to…despite having lived in the Central Florida area for 11 years (seven of which have been in the downtown area). If you’ve never been to this area or have never even heard of some of these stores you’re truly missing out – plus you should be aware because it’s important to support our local businesses.

We’ll be posting about several of these businesses over the coming days, the first of which is about a fantastic little vintage store on North Orange Avenue called Deja Vu. A mish-mosh of used clothing, shoes, jewelry, accessories and household decorations–coupled with an eccentric owner–make for an exciting experience.

Don’t believe me yet? Check-out these photos I took:

(The Owner.)

(The Store.)

(The Pantyhose.)

While Deja Vu offers vintage purchase rentals are also available, during open hours of 12:00pm-6:00pm Tuesday through Saturday. And if you have any vintage clothing you’d like to get rid of stop-in with your items or give the store a call (number listed below). You just might make some extra cash!

Here are the vitals on Deja Vu Vintage Clothing:

1825 North Orange Ave
Orlando, FL 32804
407.898.3609‎

Unfortunately there’s no official website for the store but you can find out what other local folks have said about their experience at Deja Vu over on Yelp!

It’s expensive to maintain a vagina.”

(Location: White Wolf Cafe in Antique Row in Orlando.)

I was walking into my office earlier this afternoon and noticed this in the parking lot outside:

I thought, “Someone done lost their weave!”  HILARIOUS! Later, I find out it’s the car of one of my co-workers!

(Location: Downtown Orlando.)

Get into the Holiday Spirit at the University of Central Florida

Light Up UCF is an annual holiday tradition here in Central Florida, one I’ve not been able to experience yet. I’m hoping to make a trip to East Orlando sometime next month to take part. Why? Hello:

• Outdoor ice skating? Check!
• Outdoor movies? You bet!
• Rides? Would it be a holiday celebration without them?
• And food? Fill ‘er up.

The celebration begins this Friday, November 20th and goes through January 8th.

Now there are no details mentioned in the flier (above) or on the site about parking so you might wanna call ahead to find out. For all the information you need about this event–including pricing, a calendar, coupons and an event map–visit www.lightupUCF.com or call 407.823.6062. You can also keep-up with the event and UCF on Facebook, Flickr, MySpace, and YouTube.

If you’ve been to Light up UCF in the past and have any insight or suggestions we’d love to hear them.

Earlier today I saw a Tweet published by @WinterParkNow, and it really got me curious:

This live webcam of Park Avenue is hosted by LDG Life located, obviously, in Winter Park. Sort of fascinating, don’t you think? Now you can keep an eye on all the goings-on at the corner of Park Avenue and New England (I believe it looks directly at Luma on Park).

Here’s a screenshot (below). To view the live stream click here.

You can follow these guys on Twitter by visiting Twitter.com/WinterParkNow.

Orlando Magic‘s own #31, Adonal Foyle, is hosting a happy hour tomorrow night, November 17, at The Black Olive in downtown Orlando to benefit the Kerosene Lamp Foundation.

When: November 17, 2009
Time: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Where: The Black Olive, 22 E Pine Street, Orlando
Why: To raise funds for disadvantaged youth in the Eastern Caribbean (Foyle’s a native of St. Vincents & the Grenadines)

$15 will get you a glass of wine, hors d’oevres and a raffle ticket.

For more info, e-mail: info@kerosenelampfoundation.org.