Take it from me — when your husband says:
I’m planning a secret Saturday fun day. We need to leave at 7:30am. Wear sneakers and jeans and eat some breakfast before we go.
Just nod your head and agree. I know, I know…fellow A Type personalities, it’s against my nature, too! But if you don’t let go and just have faith every once in a while, you miss some of the most amazing adventures.
We hit the road this morning, coffees in hand, and only one of us knew where we were headed.
Stop #1: Blue Springs State Park in Volusia County, Florida, which has been on my “must see” list for years.
Blue Springs is where manatees come during the winter months — and you can get THISCLOSE to them!
Don’t believe me? Watch this (if for nothing else than to see Lucas‘s interpretation of manatee noises):
I took 172 pictures and three videos today, so feel lucky that I am showing restraint.
We spent about 90 minutes at the park, looking at the manatees and embracing our inner children:
One of our favorite things to do is meander…so instead of taking the highway home, we pointed our car in a random direction and decided to stop at whatever struck our fancy.
Stop #2: Random Flea Market.
Goodies galore.
We got
- fresh chick peas (in their pods)
- hot peppers (lots and lots and lots, for hot sauce and salsa)
- prickly pear
- limes (local)
- sweet potatoes
- garlic
- dried hot peppers
- chayote squash (in its prickly skin)
and were tempted by (but did not buy) sugar cane, tomatillos, tamarind, cactus, coconut candy, pineapple, dried fruits and much, much more.
Lucas is a sucker for street food of any kind, so when we saw this sign:
We knew he needed to stop for a snack. A homemade, fresh and amazing snack. I’ll let him tell you. Keep watching for more details on this random market.
The rambling trip home continued, and with nothing more than an iPhone and a healthy sense of adventure, we stumbled upon
Stop #3: Downtown DeLand, Florida
Where I spent a ridiculous amount of time poking in and out of shops. I think I spent an hour in an antique shop that had these amazing old magazine and newspaper ads — I bought a few…merry Christmas to me! Again!
But, the tacos didn’t hold Lucas and I was STARVING, so it was time for
Stop #4: Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Cafe
Beer, sausage, sauerkraut, more beer and two happy people.
Don’t be fooled by that massive plate of food. We couldn’t decide between all the authentic and homemade German food, so we got a sampler plate, and I took a bite of everything, Lucas ate a huge plate and has enough in a doggie bag to eat for dinner tonight! It was good, but not great. I think it would be more fun during one of their sing-along nights, so we will be going back!
We walked down the street for
Stop #5: Farmers’ Market
We didn’t buy anything, but I did meet a couple of horses dogs:
Gentle giants.
And as we headed home, we decided to make one more stop. For years, I’ve been saying that we need to visit the world’s largest Cypress tree. It’s in a state park near our house, and we’ve never taken the time to visit.
Until Stop #6:
I love you, Senator.
And all that before 3pm! Now we’re settled on the couch with some Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea and a mind full of memories.
Big props to Lucas for planning an amazing day.
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
That is sooo sweet of him to plan a suprise day for you guys!! Soo much fun!
That looks like an absolutely fabulous day. Yay for a surprise morning and good for you for having the restraint to not ask too many questions and to just go with it. I've certainly failed on that count in the past… many times.
It's always so great to have adventures and discover great things close to your house as well – sometimes we forget that you don't have to “go away” to have a vacation – that you can have an incredible day right close to you. Looks great
Wow! What a day you had, I am so glad it turned out to be a great one. I sure wish I was in sunny FL right now…it is freezing here!
Thank you sooo much for sharing your great day! It's great to see you two. I love the videos. Miss you!
You two are too cute together. What an fun day. I love random stops and adventures.
What an amazing day…thank you so much for sharing, I felt like I was back in FL with you!
Shhhh…don't tell Lucas, but I think he is absolutely adorable and the best sport…you guys need a show on the Food Network!
Omg I totally need to go there when I come back to Florida in January! How exciting!
Absolutely awesome! I love the Florida springs and the manatees. You can actually swim with them if you want to. I think it's at Rainbow River, kind of near Tampa. It's incredible – you don't really realize how big they are until you're floating over them. They are gentle giants – just like those great danes. What a great day. It made me miss Florida even more.
It was awesome hanging out with you tonight! I'll definitely be emailing you soon so we can get together with the dogs
I love this secret Saturday! I'll have to do it with David sometime!
looks like a lot of fun!! What a great day
:D
What an awesome day!! You guys are such a gorgeous couple!!
I LOVE the Willow Tree restaurant! Did you know that you can bring your dogs there and sit outside? I brough Sam once and the waitress was all over him…bringing him food from the kitchen and everything
Good seeing you yesterday!!
Sarah
That's so cute!! My boyfriend and I love to go on random adventures!!
Wow, what a fun day! I am not one for surprises but I think I could deal with that one
Wow, what a fun day! I am not one for surprises but I think I could deal with that one
That's quite the adventure, Katy! Glad you had a fantabulous time!
Oh, and that produce is RAWkin'!
What a fun day! I need to take a trip to the Blue Springs, it looks so beautiful. By the way, I like your new blog layout. I usually view your blog through google reader, but today I clicked over to comment and saw it. Very cute!