We had a fun reason to get out of bed (earlier than yesterday!) today, and Joe was actually up before me for a change!
After a quick breakfast, we set out on our 'road trip' to Mt. Dora. Mt. Dora is about a 90 minute drive from Lakeland. We got there by taking I-4 and the Florida Turnpike. Not a fun drive at all, but it got us there. Here is a website about Mt. Dora: What To Do In Mt. Dora, FL
We had such a good time, that we ended up not going another hour up Rt. 19, to the springs in the Ocala National Forest. We enjoyed coffee and amaretto coffee cake in a cute little cafe, called Cody's. The cake had just come out of the oven, and was delicious!
From there, we started walking around the historic downtown area, visiting shops along the way. We made a few purchases here and there. Mt. Dora is on Lake Dora, with views of the lake from most of the side streets. One shop owner had some flyers about the Mt. Dora Farmer's Market, celebrating their one-year anniversary today, and told us how to get there. We made the decision then, to visit the market and forget about going further north to the springs. We'll just have to do that another time. This was too much fun, and the weather (though HOT) was great.
The market was great fun! The people selling their wares were entertaining and great fun to talk with. We made some purchases there, including a loaf of organic, fresh bread, a roll-on concoction guaranteed to get rid of headaches and muscle aches, and a mix for a dip that was very good. I tasted some white truffle sea salt, that I didn't buy, but wish I had. It was delicious (but $13.50 for just a little bit!). They also had musicians, so the whole atmosphere was very festive. Several artists were painting en plein air What that means.
We left Mt. Dora, and decided to travel home by the "back roads" and not on the interstates. Lovely weather, a beautiful fluffy-cloud filled sky and some good music on the radio. We decided to stop for a late lunch/early dinner at one of our favorite Cuban restaurants here in Lakeland. We treated ourselves to sangria with dinner, followed by Flan and Cuban coffee. Feeling very satisfied.
Thanks for stopping by my page!! I need to catch up with everyone on Blogger and Facebook now! Peace, love & hugs!! Happy Labor Day!
