Hidden Gems of Gainesville

This past Wednesday, Jan. 23, I reported on the Point-In-Time survey in Alachua County. This survey counts all homeless people in the county. Volunteers who help with the survey are either homeless themselves or were recently homeless. For each homeless person they find, they will ask them questions including: Where did they sleep last night? Do they have any family embers who are homeless? Length of time they have been homeless? Do they deal with physical or mental abuse, drug addictions or alcohol? And many more. The purpose is to see how many people are without homes and living on the streets. According to GRACE Marketplace Director Jon DeCarmine, these surveys help them figure out how to better suit their needs. I followed Shachia Alexander and Betty Hollar, two homeless women who were volunteering that day, and handing out goody bags filled with toiletries and food to every person who took the survey. They were taking surveys at St. Francis House in Gainesville; they spo...

Hi Everyone, I hope you all enjoyed your holiday season! Over the break, I went back to my home town of Miami. So most of December I was not in Gainesville. I wanted to share something really cool I did over the break. I rode the polar express; just like in the movie. My family wanted to go, so we all bought tickets and I brought a friend of mine, as well. The night started at the Gold Coast RailRoad Museum on Dec. 27. When we boarded the train, and it was decorated with lights, presents and it even smelled like Christmas. When everyone boarded, the crew started to sing about hot chocolate and then actually gave us hot chocolate and cookies. My family, friends and I saw Santa and the elfs at their factory from on the train. Santa then came aboard the train and gave everyone a bell and a candy cane. We also sang Christmas songs. Overall, it was a lot of fun. In Gainesville, you can't ride the Polar Express but they do have a Christmas train at the Kirby Family Farm. Ne...