Mount Dora to Lake Louisa

 1.21.2024

Mileage: 1058

Campground: Lake Louisa State Park

The little town of Mt. Dora is a gem in Central Florida.  Several of the YouTubers we watch have visited, so with a day with no specific plans, we decided to give it a try.  We left the RV in the Walmart parking lot and drove the truck into the town. We ate at Pisces Rising.  The food and service were excellent and we had a view of the water.  Had it been a tad warmer we would have enjoyed sitting outside listening to the live music, but we settled for a table inside.

Cuban Eggrolls

Nashville Hot Chicken and Waffles

Crispy Chicken Cashew Salad

 There was a Farmer's Market happening and there were lots of people walking the quaint streets.  I especially enjoyed these wood carvings filled with resin.  Now I just need to find me a wood carver!

These Great Pyrenees puppies were adorable and already bit at 8 weeks! 

After a little shopping we walked to the Lakeside Inn where we caught our boat tour across Lake Dora and through the Dora Canal to Lake Eustis.

Buddy Epson aka Jed Clampet used to visit this house often.

We saw many beautiful birds as we went through the canal.

We learned that aging Cyprus trees lose the lighter part you see here in the center of this fallen tree.  Old trees are naturally hollow.  While I couldn't get a good picture many of the oldest trees we saw you could see light through.

We stopped to watch this anhinga eat this large fish.  We watched as it beat the scaled off before turning it to eat head first.

Mt. Dora, so named because it is a "high point" in Florida at 184 feet above sea level, is definitely a place we would like to return to.  After the tour we made our way to Lake Louisa which is just outside the Disney bubble.  Early tomorrow we will be inside the bubble.  Tonight we are listening to the fireworks (Comet is NOT happy about this!).