My dad’s been in town for a few days, and this past weekend I played tourist with him in Mount Dora. It’s fun to be a tourist in your own town, and discover places and things you might not otherwise.
When he asked what I wanted to do this weekend, I said “Well, I’m getting a haircut at PureAveda on Saturday at 11:00. You can go with me if you want a manicure or something…”
Next time we're getting pedicures!
I never expected him to say “That sounds good, I’ll do that!” I think he may be taking this father/daughter bonding thing a little too far.
We then had chicken salad sandwiches at One Flight Up, which always, always hits the spot for me. (Not pictured: chicken salad sandwich, because I was too busy eating it.) I think it’s the craisins they put in the chicken salad that make it so yummy. It was just a little too hot to sit on the balcony and people-watch, which is really what One Flight Up was made for.
Then we took a boat tour! This is more of a triumph than you might think, but I have had bad luck with boat tours around here. I don’t want to disparage anyone, but let’s just say there’s a certain Inn on the Side of the Lake that has a boat tour going out from it that I have yet to take. Not for lack of trying. Once we made reservations, but when it came time to go out they were overbooked. Another time they were apparently underbooked, and cancelled our trip. Argh. But Lake Dora and the Dora Canal are so gorgeous, I really wanted to take my dad out on the water.
Thank God for social networking. A few days ago, the folks at the Mount Dora Historic Inn tweeted about sending their guests on an eco-boat tour. I followed their link and discovered Lake County Waterways. How had I never seen this outfit before?? I called them Saturday morning and booked us on an afternoon cruise. They are docked down by the Yacht Club, near Pisces Rising. The two-hour (well, closer to three but who cares??) cruise took us across Lake Dora, through the Dora Canal/Elfin River, out briefly into Lake Eustis and back again.
A shy ibis
We checked out a mama alligator watching over her nest, another 8+ foot alligator chowing down on a fish among the cypress knees, and plenty of herons, ibis and anhingas.
It was a perfect afternoon to be out on the water. I’m always amazed at the beauty of the Dora Canal.
What century is this again?
It’s just stunning to see land that looks so primitive so close to the fancy houses on Lakeshore Drive.
That night’s dinner was steak and a beer tower at Mount Dora Sushi. Of course.
Sunday was more low-key, but we did end up back at One Flight Up in the afternoon for ice cream – Dad wanted to take his little girl out for ice cream… I let him pretend I was still seven. Plus I think he’s gotten addicted to their smoothies.
Dad left this morning, but the way things are he’ll be back down soon. All in all it was a really good weekend. I think he had been hoping for something a little more “festival-like” – I’m fond of saying that Mount Dora’s motto is “Any Excuse For A Festival!” To our surprise, there wasn’t really anything going on around town. But we still managed to have a pretty full weekend anyway.
Seriously, go on this boat tour.
