Florida Day Seven: De Leon Springs State Park

Saturday morning I did some SNAP stuff and posted the latest blog while the others slept in. When all was sorted out, Rod and I went for a walk. It was Rod's birthday and we went for a special birthday late breakfast at The Old Spanish Sugar Mill Grill and Griddle House next to the springs at De Leon Springs State Park. The folks at the grill bring you two pitchers of pancake batter and whatever accompaniments you choose; subsequently, you cook your own breakfast. Vic surreptitiously brought her own blueberries (why pay when the ones in your fridge will just have to be thrown away?). It was super-fun and extremely tasty. 

Locals believe that the spring could be The Fountain of Youth discovered by Ponce de Leon (hence the name). Since nobody really knows where the fountain was, this will certainly do. It pumps an impressive amount of water from the earth at this very beautiful spot. The pronunciation of the place is amusing. We asked the servers how to pronounce De Leon and they struggled to make some awkward  attempts at Spanish pronunciation. We asked again but expanded our question to include the local pronunciation. They were relieved and reminded us that they are not Spanish (obviously) but Americans (also obvious) and they pronounce it something like "DILL ee un."

On the way back to the apartment, Rod drove us through some wonderful old neighborhoods in De Land and Orange City. Then, sadly, we headed to the airport for our trip home. The sadness of finishing a wonderful vacation is comparable to empty-house syndrome when visitors leave. 

Walkies?

 I do love flower spotting on my walks

 Happy little things

Entrance to the Rod and Vic's complex

 The forest on the right Rod calls Jurassic Park;
it is filled with beasties including some massive spiders

 Integra Landings

Their apartment is on the second floor rear

 The Old Spanish Sugar Mill Grill and Griddle House 

 Here is one of the griddles in question

 They bring you the eggs and you cook them the way you like

Happy birthday, Rod

Rod explaining something to Kris

 The springs are the source of the river

 Spring Garden Creek looks more like a river to me; it reminded me
of our time in the Amazon

 Our wonderful hosts

The park is full of these incredibly huge oaks festooned
with Spanish moss

All good things must come to an end

These impressive clouds over the airport broke loose and
delayed our boarding for a few minutes

 They seem quite harmless from above

 The last leg of the flight from PHX to SLC

The P&M Taylors, headed to NY, drove and parked our car;
we picked it up and drove home -- this photo was part of the
instructions on where to find it

This was a wonderful trip. It was so fun to spend time with Rod and Vic and everything we did was a treat. Thanks to our great hosts for their excellent management. We loved every minute of it. Sadly, this is the end. There will certainly be more, but nothing this exciting; just life. So this is all for now.

OXO

D.