Thursday, March 20, 2008

Florida--Day Three

On day three of our Florida trip, we slept in and again enjoyed coffee on the patio as we debated between visiting another beach or going to a nearby town called Mt. Dora. Dan and Kerry had never visited Mt. Dora, but had heard of its quaintness and friendly atmosphere. Instead of getting more sun exposure, we decided to explore Mt. Dora.

We started at a local winery, Ridgeback Winery, where we were able to sample some of their wines. It was a cute little building with very friendly owners. Their winery business started from a post-retirement hobby. The owners are definite dog lovers, and each wine label has a dog on it, with clever names such as "Smelly Sneakers".

After wine tasting, we strolled through town and ducked in and out of various antiques shops, boutiques, and locally owned businesses. It was time for a light lunch so we stopped at One Flight Up Cafe. As you can guess by the name, it was on the second floor of a downtown building. We sat out on the patio and enjoyed watching the locals and other tourists. It was a beautiful place to sit and rest awhile before we continued shopping.

This is the view from where we were sitting, enjoying our casual lunch.

A view from the street of One Flight Up Cafe.

After grabbing cupcakes from "Cupcake Delights" around the corner, and had a hearty discussion about the entrepreneurial opportunities...After all, who would think that a cupcake shop would be a great business? We headed back towards Orlando.

After sitting back with our feet up for awhile, it was dinner time (don't all vacations revolve around good food?) My request was to try a local place for dinner. Dan and Kerry had wanted to try Lazy Moon Pizza near where they live. Their home is located near the University of Central Florida, so we weren't surprised that it was very much a college hangout. We pretended we were in college and went on in...the advantage of it being a college hit? It was CHEAP! Where can you get a slice of pizza and a drink for $3.60? Trust me "a slice" was more like 4 slices! We concluded day three reflecting back on our college days, the silly, stupid, and funny memories.

1 comment:

Kelly Spezzano said...

Liz, You know, I was born and raised in FL and I STILL have not been to Mt. Dora. I am ashamed to say. There is a local news channel that does a segment called "Florida on a tankful" and Mt. Dora is one of there fav places to recommend. I am going to have to go soon!