The Alligator Inn is a place in time – a time that doesn’t really exist anymore...
Come on in, make yourself comfortable and stay awhile. Immerse yourself in the life my family lived in a very different Florida, long before the world took notice.
I invite you to get lost in the Florida stories, images and history that shaped Myrtle Seaver into my beloved grandmother.
A prolific writer, my granny captured the details of her everyday life for decades. Born in 1934, her journals document most of the days of her life.
Sometimes mundane (a daily report of the Florida weather), often entertaining (frustration with cows repeatedly eating her prized hibiscus), and frequently fraught with worry (constant accounting of the family’s financial situation and their quest to make ends meet) her early entries are a fascinating look at a way of living that has been almost completely left behind. Today we often dream of simpler times and romanticize the past, but we must also acknowledge the myriad challenges and hardships that had to be overcome in order to thrive.
On the beach of the lake
On the beach of the lake
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On the beach of the lake •
My presence shall go with thee
Grandmothers and granddaughters can have incredibly special bonds and ours was set up to be extraordinary from the very beginning. When I was born in Orlando, Florida in 1977, my parents brought me home from the hospital—to their house right next door to my granny and papa’s house in rural St. Cloud, Florida.
I had a front row seat for my granny’s story for 43 years. She was an integral part of my everyday life and played an important role in shaping the woman I am today. But only through her journals have I been able to fully see the significance of the life she created. With determination and faith, she took the life she had been given and turned it into exactly what she dreamed it could be.
Always a traveler, her journals are also guides to the more than 30 countries she visited during her lifetime. I personally traveled with her in the United States, Canada, France, England, Scotland, Japan and China.
We already know the end of Myrtle’s story. She went home to Jesus on April 5, 2020 at age 85. She spent her last days in Sanford, Florida surrounded by loved ones who celebrated her legacy. But this knowledge doesn’t make her story any less interesting or powerful. The true impact of her legacy will be seen well into the future.
My presence shall go with thee
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My presence shall go with thee •
In the pages of her journals, we see Myrtle become a wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. We also watch Florida change from rural agriculture and swamp to developed global destination.
Disney opened The Magic Kingdom in 1971. Between 1970 and 2021, the population of Florida grew 217% while the population in the rest of the country grew 63%. Florida has amusement parks galore, endless beaches and sunshine—major enticements for tourists and new residents alike. As the state grows, the natural beauty shrinks. The wild Florida I grew up in—and the especially wild Florida my ancestors knew—is completely unknown to most current-day visitors and residents.
The historical fiction novel A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith is set mostly in pioneer—or cracker—Florida. While there’s no official location given for the MacIvey’s homestead in the book, it is almost certainly set in the area of Osceola County. This is the land my family has inhabited for generations.
Tip: If you love listening to books, George Guidall does an incredible job narrating this one!
I invite you to wander through the stories, images and history of Florida when it was truly wild—and celebrate the natural havens that still exist today.
A land remembered
A land remembered
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A land remembered •
A seedy establishment for sophisticated folks…
My present-day home in Sanford, Florida, is on the National Register of Historic Places. A pre-1900 Queen Anne style, I’ve lived here since the early 2000s with my husband Chris. Our daughter joined us in 2015.
A traveler just like my granny, I spent the first 10 years of my adult life living in other states and countries. I was certain that there was more to life than small-town Florida—and boy was there ever!
When it was time, I returned to Florida, settling north of Orlando in Seminole County. I still travel the country and the world, but I’m always happy to return home.
I was recently asked by a cashier at a local biscuit shop, “If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?”
The asker had no way of knowing that I’d already lived in far flung locations, that I actually could live anywhere in the world. I answered with confidence, “Here. Right here in Florida.”
A seedy establishment for sophisticated folks
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A seedy establishment for sophisticated folks •
Read the Blogs
There’s more to Florida than sweet tea and sunshine. Come on in and explore stories from Florida at The Alligator Inn.
Explore the captivating stories, images and history of Florida through the eyes of my beloved grandmother, Myrtle Seaver. A prolific writer, her journals document decades of her everyday life, offering a glimpse into a bygone era of both simplicity and struggle. Her early entries provide a fascinating look at the challenges and hardships of life in the past.
On the beach of the lake
Explore the charming beauty of small-town Florida living today. Our pre-1900 Queen Anne-style home in Sanford, Florida is on the National Register of Historic Places and it’s the jumping off point for our modern-day adventures.