You’ve probably seen this sign a bunch of times, and if you’re like me, you probably wondered what it was all about.  Well, Saturday afternoon, I finally found out!

That sign leads to the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey on the border of Maitland and Downtown Eatonville.  Amazingly, the Center has been around since 1979 and has treated more than 12,000 injured or orphaned birds of prey.

The Center is set amid lush landscape and provides an intriguing look at birds of prey that you’d likely never see in the wild.  From bald eagles to barn owls to red-shouldered hawks, it’s a really cool place to just wander around.

Admission is donation-based.  The Center also offers a number of educational opportunities and tours, which can be arranged by calling their education department directly.

The Center is located at 1101 Audubon Way in Maitland and is open Tuesday – Sunday from 10 to 4 p.m.  Closed Mondays and holidays.

Check it out for a chance to see these guys, and more, in real life!

Our beautiful Central Florida has so much to offer, so much to see and do! We try to cover as much as we can here on our little site, but we’re only two folks with full-time jobs. So we want to hear from you guys–our awesome audience–about some of your favorite gems in Central Florida. Maybe some place we haven’t been or blogged about, something we haven’t yet experienced.

A couple of my personal faves are Harry P. Leu Gardens when the weather’s nice (which we haven’t yet covered) and Wekiva Island (which Kim wrote about several years ago)!

Leu Gardens

Give us some tips by leaving a comment or emailing us, and we’ll try to feature it here on the site! It could be a place to go or see. A person we should know about. An exciting event we just haven’t caught. Some nightlife, or even something touristy. Let us hear!

Get There and Get This Amazing Body! Do It!

What better time than now to drop everything and get started with a new fitness routine? Get There Boot Camp, hosted by friend of Pulse, Dena Davis, is sure to help you burn those extra holiday pounds in no time.

Held most weeknights and Saturday mornings at Lake Eola, this upbeat group boot camp is not only fun, but an awesome workout. Ash & I tried it ourselves a few weeks ago and Ash has already been back for seconds.

Bring $10, a towel and some water and be prepared to work hard for the full hour that follows … no wussies allowed! Boot Camp attendees meet at Lake Eola across the street from the downtown Publix on Central Avenue … to confirm, make sure to ‘like’ the Get There Boot Camp Facebook page. An added benefit of liking the page: daily inspirational messages and reminders to stay fit.

What are you waiting for? Get There!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from us here at PulseofCentralFlorida.com. We hope you have the most wonderful of holiday seasons.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support of our site, and we look forward to an amazing 2012 and exciting things in Central Florida!

I won’t necessarily say I’m the most fit person on the planet – I go through phases as I’m sure many folks do – but I plan on making 2012 one of the fittest years of my life! Gonna make it happen!

What better way to kick it off by participating in this Season’s 52 Park Avenue 5.2k presented by Florida Hospital? Seems like a good start, right? (I think I might’ve even talked Kim into doing it with me….) And what’s even more special about this particular race is proceeds benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida and the Track Shack Foundation. Getting fit and healthy for a good cause sounds like the perfect combination to me!

Here are deets on time, date, and location:

Saturday, January 21, 2012
7:30 am: 5.2k (3.2 miles)
8:45 am: Healthy 100 Kids’ Run
9:00 am: Awards Presentation

Full details about the event and registration can be found on Track Shack’s website.

See you there?

Okay, so I think the name of this place is a lil’ weird, it sorta sounds like it should be the name of a Halloween Horror Nights haunted house, but alas, it’s a new butcher/market in Winter Park.

When I stopped in today, I was immediately in love. First, I should mention that someone opened the door for me as I was walking up. (Maybe they knew it was my birthday!?) The service only got better from there. As I was gazing at the premium cuts of meat and fresh seafood, I was asked if it was my first time in (how could they tell??). Next thing you know, I’m ordering up a variety of items including specially seasoned chicken breasts and what looked like the perfect filet mignon.

If that’s not enough, The Meat House also has a Boar’s Head counter with sliced deli meat and a number of sandwiches to choose from, along with a build-your-own option. And, while you’re waiting there’s still more to choose from … fresh veggies (I picked up some Zellwood Corn), wine, beer, cheese and a number of gourmet-type food items.

Something else cool? They handed me a complimentary package of their steak tips because it was my first time in. Sorry, Publix, but I think I found my new butcher.

Wanna check it out for yourself? Head over to The Meat House on North Orange Ave in Winter Park.

Welcome to the neighborhood, er, Meat House.

The flyer below pretty much speaks for itself, but if you’re an artist in the Orlando/Central Florida area and are dying to get some of your work noticed, Sam Flax’s Market Sundays seems like the perfect opportunity for ya. The next event is this coming Sunday, August 14th from 12:00pm – 4:00pm.

Market Days will take place at the new location here in Orlando, which we talked about a few months ago.

All the deets can be found here:

If you’re an artist and you participate in any of the Market Days, we’d love to hear about it!

Feels like 100! Yowzers!!

With “feels like” temperatures of 100 Degrees, we know you must be anxious for ways to beat the heat, so how about 5 ways to stay cool?

1. Head over to one of Central Florida’s beaches (New Smyrna Beach, Cocoa Beach or Daytona Beach).

2. Don’t wanna drive? How about jumping into one of the city’s community pools?

3. If you can swim and you’re not afraid of what might be swimming in there with you, how about joining the ever-famous Lucky’s Lake Swim?

4. Hate the water? Why not soak up some of the finest air conditioning in Central Florida with a stroll through the beautiful Mall at Millenia?

5. Slather yourself in FroYo at one of Orlando’s bazillion frozen yogurt shops … and maybe eat some, too.

Savage Race | August 27, 2011

You saw the headline and now you’re curious … What’s a Savage Race?

Quite simply: It’s the race built to kick your ass!

What happens when you combine challenging and creative obstacles (can you say fire, mud and barbed wire?!?!) with a 5K run and top it off with BBQ, music and beer? You get Orlando’s first Savage Race!

This race is not for the faint of heart and if you’re afraid of a few bumps and bruises maybe you better hang by the sidelines. But, if you think those “other races” are too wimpy, Savage Race promises to top them all.

Still wanna learn more? Check out a preview of the race location below:

Ready to prove you’re a Savage? Register here, check them out on Facebook or follow them on Twitter!

We’ll see you at the Race on August 27!

PulseofCentralFlorida.com is happy to help support and promote WineQuest, Central Florida’s premier series of fine wine tastings, dinners and auctions. The event benefits Quest, Inc., a local nonprofit organization serving more than 1,100 children and adults with disabilities each day.

Here’s a little info on what to expect from this year’s event:

This year’s 15th annual WineQuest series will have four events – a grand tasting with 200 wines from around the world, a farm-to-table five-course wine dinner, a garden brunch at Primo Orlando, and a golf tournament – taking place June 10-12, 2011, at Grande Lakes Orlando resort. We really are relying on WineQuest to bring in the kind of funding we need to keep our programs serving people with disabilities operating. It’s Quest’s largest fundraiser, and our expectations for this year’s event are especially high as the needs for our services continue to grow while our resources become more limited. As such, we are looking at influential outlets than can help us spread the word about WineQuest.”

Here are some photos from last year’s event(s):

WineQuest Golf Classic

WineQuest Grand Tasting & Auction

WineQuest Premier Dining Experience

For complete details and information on this year’s WineQuest event, you can visit their website. Tickets may be purchased here (not an affiliate link).