Bookshop hopping on a hot and humid summer day in Florida?
Yes, please.
We spent a day in Historic Downtown Sanford doing exactly that (and a little more) and would recommend doing the same to a friend. Its brick-paved streets and red brick buildings charm. So do its shops, cafés, and restaurants.
Unseen is its literary history. Sanford is where Zora Neale Hurston wrote her first novel, Jonah’s Gourd Vine. She wrote it in a now anonymous boarding house over a nine-week stretch in 1933. You won’t find a plaque, but you might find a copy of one of her novels in a nearby bookshop.
Her connection to nearby Eatonville is stronger. There, you can see her literary legacy preserved.
The we who spent the day in Historic Downtown Sanford included: Chris, me, my daughter (his stepdaughter), and our granddaughter.
First Stop: Palate Coffee Roasters
We started our day well by drinking coffee and tea, enjoying pastries and one another’s company, while fighting human trafficking. Try the guava and cheese turnover. It’s sublime!
Second Stop: Maya Books and Music
At the door, we noticed Maya Books and Music wasn’t yet open for the day, but the woman running the store let us in anyway.
Used books line shelves, repose in stacks. Cases are adorned with quotes and pictures. My two favorites:
“C’est Le Bart Man” above Bart Simpson, signaling the foreign language section.
“…I can create the kind of world that I want, and I can make this world as happy as I want it,” paired with an image of Bob Ross.
Our granddaughter fell for the hand-shaped chair among the shelves and stacks of books. She preferred imagining the crafts she might do while sitting in it to perusing the shelves. Crafts imagined, she shifted her thoughts to the sort of film she might direct in the space. A mystery. Maybe.
On the second, loft-like level, there are vinyl albums, magazines, and more. Among the crates, I spotted a Once Upon a Christmas by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton CD. The best Christmas album of all time.
Chris and Audi started a joking duel to see who could come up with the best originals, while Elizabeth, my daughter, and I shopped.
She gasped when she saw The Tale of Despereaux by Minnesota-based author Kate DiCamillo, who grew up in Florida. Elizabeth grew up in Minnesota and is now Florida-based. She left with it and one of the Harry Potter books.
I bought On the Road by Jack Kerouac. He finished the final edits for the book twenty-four miles away in the College Park neighborhood of Orlando. Even with someone else’s underlines in the old copy, I had to have it. I also stumbled across and purchased Oscar Wilde Discovers America by Louis Edwards. On the back of the book jacket, Kirkus Reviews declared it, “One of the best road tours in American history…” It was tempting to keep hunting, but there were more bookstores to visit, and I’d need room in my luggage for the flight home.
Third Stop: Gallery on First
Wander in and explore a vibrant, eclectic variety of art, free of charge. Unless, like us, you buy something. 🙂 It’s a gift, so it can’t be shared here. Also, I did not take photos of any of the artwork within since that tends to be an art gallery faux pas.
Fourth Stop: Spellbound Bookstore
Spellbound Indie Bookstore is Historic Downtown Sanford’s newest bookstore on the block. It first opened in November 2022. They sell a mix of new and used books, but most of the ones I noticed on the shelves were new.
They display diverse options on their front table, from Crazy Plant Lady and The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America to K-Pop Demon Hunters. The latter Audi noticed right away. Romances and Sci-Fi books held their center-stage places on the table as well.
While at a bookstore in steamy central Florida, I learned from a sign among the gift items that Hockey Romance is its own genre. I’d heard of Heated Rivalry, but thought it was an anomaly.
Suitable for a bookstore named Spellbound, there’s a sizable Body, Mind & Spirit section. Books on modern witchcraft, spells, and astrology line its shelves. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz and Everyday OSHO: 365 Meditations for the Here and Now held space in the section, along with tarot cards.
As we browsed, Elizabeth asked me for recs on mystery/thrillers, a genre I rarely read. I didn’t have any answers for her. Then she decided that she wanted this one book, the name of which she couldn’t recall.
We turned to the bookseller. Elizabeth couldn’t recall the title or the author’s name, but could pull up a couple of details that sounded scattered and random to me.
“The Housemaid?” the bookseller asked.
“Yes!”
She helped Elizabeth find Freida McFadden’s bestselling book on the shelf and suggested Guess Again by Charlie Donlea as well. My daughter bought both.
Audi found a coloring book and stickers she wanted. There were some rom-com stickers we had to say no to, though. They looked cute, and the adult meaning was subtle, but there.
I picked up a “Fight Evil Read Books” tote, World Travel by Anthony Bourdain, and a signed copy of Paris, Pumpkins, & Puns by Marion de Ré. Spellbound Books hosted an author signing with her. I regret not buying “The Creative Ramblings of a Restless Mind” journal.
In addition to entertaining our granddaughter and doing a bit of his own browsing, Chris was there to remind me that if I bought too many books, we’d need to pay an overweight fee on our luggage at the Delta counter.
You can shop and support Spellbound on bookshop.org.
Fifth Stop: Lunch at Hollerbach’s German Restaurant
Sanford has great restaurants, and Hollerbach’s German Restaurant might be its best known. They’ve been serving authentic German dishes here for a quarter century. When we arrived, we were warmly greeted, promptly seated, and given newspapers with Das Menu mastheads.
We adults each had Chicken Schnitzel Sandwiches, while Audi opted for the children’s Mac and Cheese. They had Tabasco available for her to spice it up, like she loves to. As she pointed out on a previous visit, their children’s meals are well-balanced, thanks to the sides: fruit and a mix of Goldfish and gummy bears. For dessert, Chris enjoyed every bite of the Apfel Strudel with Vanilla Sauce, except for the bites others stole.
In the past, we’ve gone for their more traditional meal options like bratwurst and sauerkraut (I LOVE sauerkraut). They have specialties like Sauerbraten (a roasted beef dish) and Vegetarian Spätzle Toss. I want to go back and try both.
Thankfully, Elizabeth and Audi live in the area, along with Elizabeth’s fiancé. We visit Sanford at least once a year and when we do, we stop at Hollerbach’s.
Is Bookshop Hopping in Historic Downtown Sanford Worth It?
Historic Downtown Sanford is a great location for those looking for a Central Florida getaway. It’s close to tourist destinations, yet far enough away for more reasonable hotel prices and a more relaxed pace. It’s twenty-five miles northeast of downtown Orlando and thirty-five miles from Walt Disney World, on the southern shore of Lake Monroe. New Smyrna Beach and Daytona Beach are each less than an hour away.
After our day spent bookshop hopping on a hot and humid day in Florida, we can solidly say: it was a day well spent.
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