Mt. Dora Getaway

June 8 - retired 4 days, although today was the official beginning of this new chapter in my life.

Tomorrow is Be's birthday along with a get together with friends & future parents of a daughter from China, Alyson & Ford.

This could be one of the last times Be & I can get away before Joanna arrives, so ......

we ventured to Mt Dora, a beautiful town about 1 hour away -

citrus trees, turn of the century architecture, beautiful Lake Dora, old town ambiance and several good restaurants.

We decided to stay at the Lakeside Inn, a Mt Dora landmark since 1883. Our room was definately a 'one night room' as it overlooked a maintenance area, but if you looked out the window, closed one eye and pressed your face against the glass, it became a 'lake view room'.

Didn't matter (although we were now 170 bucks poorer) - we were out on the town after a swim.

Be (looking so fine) on the porch of the Lakeside Inn

Street scenes in Mt Dora (with the help of PhotoShop)

A sightseeing train runs through Mt Dora.

Lunch at the Goblin Market Restaurant

Dinner at The Frosty Mug - we enjoyed having a streetside table where we benefited from the air conditioning inside while feeling like we were dining on the sidewalk.

The space shuttle took to the skies from Kennedy Space Center, 40 or so miles away.

About 75 minutes later, the winds aloft had carried the vapor trails west to Mt Dora

leaving eerie designs in the evening sky.

Too bad we didn't have the camera for the launch.

As the sun went down, we sat in rocking chairs on the porch of the Lakeside Inn

with a glass of wine while listening to a live jazz trio.

Although it was quite hot, the porch was cool with the help of fans and a good breeze from the lake.

6 AM Saturday, June 9 (Be's Birthday) - we left our hotel for a brisk walk to Palm Island Park about 1/2 mile away to find the gate locked and sign posted indicating that the park opened at 9 AM. Bummer - maybe not - breakfast seemed like a reasonable 2nd choice. We soon discovered that the laid back town of Mt Dora had a sort of 'manana' attitude on the weekends. All of the eateries opened for lunch at about 11 AM - except for one which posted a 7:30 AM opening time. OK - a speed walk was the 3rd choice, so for the next hour, we zigzagged around the streets of this quaint town, taking many of the above pics along the way. When our breakfast eatery opened, the owner was both the cook and waiter - the wait staff showed up about 7:55 to find the place already bustling with diners - manana.

Speed walk back to the hotel, a quick run to the drug store and it was 9 AM - time for the walk to Palm Island. By 9:15, the place was still locked up - we found a not-quite-official entrance around the front gate and disappeared along the walkway into the park. The pictures below reflect our morning walk - a beautiful place!

At 9:45, as we left the park, the park personnel still had not arroved to open the gate - manana.

A boardwalk leads you over the water for access to Palm Island Park.
Alligators, egrets, herons, racoons & turtles inhabit the island & surrounding waters.

Another view of the walkway through Palm Island Park @ Mt Dora

Bald Cypress mostly inhabit the zone between the land and the deeper lake water.

Palm Island Park is an urban park that provides benefits for both the urban population and the environment. A stroll down the board walk is a relaxing and healthy way to explore this forest ecosystem. Many of the trees are identified and interpertive information is available, so it's an educational experience as well. This park provides homes and food for a diverse range of animals - birds, mamals & reptiles.

Don, Be, Alyson & Ford

We 're from Central Florida, Alyson & Ford from NE Florida.

Mt Dora was a great meeting place.

After a quick morning swim (no pictures - you'll think you're on the Greenpeace site) it was off to visit with Alyson & Ford. We had pre-arranged Mt. Dora as our meeting place a few weeks back. Take a look at our post from several months ago when we met this great couple for the first time ........

http://donandbe1.blogspot.com/2007/03/bloggers-in-paradise-or-is-there-aarp.html

By 11:00 AM, it was hotter than fish grease, so we searched out a cyber cafe with air conditioning - we had our own private room where we were able to talk about the adoption highway we've been on for what seems like forever. For a quick recap: Ford and I met through the blogging process about 2 years ago and discovered that we were the same age and both would retire and be stay at home dads. And our wives are the same age and would continue to work to boot. Our LIDs are 2 months apart, so considering our unique circumstances in the adoption arena, it was only right that we should get together and discuss our journeys in person. We did it in March and this was our second meet up. Some points: when both families began the adoption process, the CCAA was at 6-9 months between LID and referral. Neither of our families have reached that point yet - Ford & Alyson are now at 16+ months and Be & myself are at 14+. All of our fingerprints & INS applications have expired so that process is on the horizon for both families as well.

We discussed some of the correct terminology and gentle ways to steer people in the right direction when speaking of our adoptions, especially in the presence of our daughters. Considering our unique life timelines, we also talked of the reactions of friends with the whole process and getting around the inevitable question "So, what's the latest with the adoption?" Our common Christian faith came up often as well.

Lunch followed and the conversation continued. We were lifted up by our 4 1/2 hours together with this wonderful couple. We knew that they were brought into our lives as traveling partners on the adoption highway not by chance, and that our daughters will become fast friends like their parents.

Support in the adoption process is an essential and we wish all on the journey a

Ford & Alyson in their lives.

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Alyson & Ford's Blog "Imagine Alyzabeth An"

http://alyzabethan.blogspot.com

The Lakeside Inn

www.lakeside-inn.com

Wikipedia "Mount Dora" Information

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Dora,_Florida