Slow morning for us… We did not start going out until around 10 am.
After spending time at McDonald’s (no, we did not order anything there) to use its wifi we went to Venetian Gardens. It is located on the shores of Lake Harris (the largest lake in the county) and has 100 acres, boat ramps and a lot of amenities. There are bridges to walk across to 7 shore islands. The landscaping is very beautiful. Because of the recent rain some areas were too wet to walk on. There were lots of birds and ducks and turtles. Egrets and herons were on stalking mission. There was a lady who was feeding ibises and birds and whenever she walked they followed her as if she was the Pied Piper.
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| Anhinga |
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| Juvenile Ibis |
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| Ibis |
When we were there the city crew was setting up white tents on one island and we were curious if there is going to be a festival this weekend. Erwin walked over to inquire and was told there is Craft Beer, Wine & Food Festival tonight. $35 per person and one can sample over 25 different Craft beers, wines from around the world and a variety of foods from the best restaurants.
It started to get little too hot to continue walking at the Gardens. On our way back to the Jeep more people were coming in to feed ibises, ducks, etc.
Erwin saw a sign for Bourlay Natural Historic Park and asked Edith if she would be interested in checking it out. “Oh sure”, Edith signed. As we entered into a parking area we suddenly realized that we had been here before, so we decided not to get out and go for a hike.
We went back to the campground to fix lunch before heading out for the afternoon. We had grilled ham and cheese sandwiches.
We visited The Villages shopping district and walked around for a bit. It was so interesting to see customized golf carts, some so fancy and others just the usual. We know of some friends living in The Villages, FL but did not have time to contact them for get-together. Another time...
It was around 4:30 pm when we left The Villages and were on way to Leesburg, FL to have birthday dinner at Osaka Steak House. Our friends, Bon and Marilyn suggested us to dine there as they have specials every Friday.
It was not crowded when we walked in. We were seated around the grill table along with two other couples. After placing our order the chef came with a cartful of ingredients, checked order with each guest.
As usual the chef will put on a show by flipping an egg with the spatula while cooking fried rice, onions and veggies. He flipped the egg shells into the top of his chef’s hat, created fire ball, sizzling, smoking pile of fried rice, steaks, scallops,shrimp and chicken all fried different ways. Cooked mixed veggies, noodles and our portions were huge! We had plenty of leftovers to take home.
As we were leaving the restaurant the lounge was already filled up with people waiting for seats and all the tables were already full. We will eat there again when we come visit Leesburg another time.
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| Our leftovers Enough to feed 6 hungry mouths |
We had an enjoyable day and we were so grateful for the lovely day/evening. This is our last night staying at Lake Griffin State Park.
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