So, to continue our stay in the place far, far away, @swimmerjoe and I ventured out the next morning into the charming Mount Dora. The nice thing about the Mount Dora Historic Inn is its location. It is quite literally one short block (does a half of block even count?) from the quaint downtown, which is where you want to be. This is where all the cute shops and fabulous restaurants are located.
Top 5 editor Bess Auer with Ana and Jim Tuttle.
So park your car at the Inn, and then enjoy the stroll down the old-fashioned street scape. Where else can you find an old house like this?
The old Donnelly House, now a Masonic Lodge.
Mount Dora has an assortment of great day spas, and since this was @swimmerjoe’s birthday weekend, I planned a special couples massage at Essential Therapies Garden Day Spa, which is converted from an old house. Don’t let this fool you, as inside is as professional-looking as any uptown spa in Central Florida! And after a soak in the garden jacuzzi, where they had tea and star fruit set out for our nourishment, we were treated to a royal rub down. Both massage therapists knew their stuff, mine specializing in neuromuscular massages (for my aching back!), and @swimmerjoe’s in sports massages, to match his athletic tendencies. Fabulous!
Essentials Therapies Garden Day Spa
Inside the spa
Then we headed to the Mount Dora Annual Plant Sale, which was quite a sight to behold, especially for lovers of all things green things. Here’s a quick video to give you an idea of the sale, which is held in November annually:
