Exploring Florida Once Again

A couple of weeks ago I went to visit some family in central Florida and discovered some lovely towns: Micanopy, Ocala and Tavares. And I mean old-americana kind of lovely. On Saturday we visited Coon Hollo in Micanopy which is about 30 minutes north of Ocala. Coon Hollo this adorable outdoor fall festival. They had a corn maze, fair games, a hay ride where you get to feed cows and an assortment of other games and play areas for kids. It was very cute and like nothing I had ever seen before. In Miami we may have a few pumpkin patches (tents set up on an empty lot with a lot of pumpkins lined out for you to choose from) and festivals of different kinds but I had never seen anything like this. I won't claim to have seen everything there is to see in Miami, but I've been here for over twenty years so generally, if it's in Miami, I would hope that I've probably heard of it. I'm not unfamiliar with farm animals though as we do have cow and horse pastures in more rural areas and I have been to quite a few zoos and the like.

A happy Micanopy cow

The next day, we traveled to Tavares which is about 20 minutes east of Ocala. I'm referencing Ocala because it's the largest town in the area where we were staying. The morning mission was to ride the Orange Blossom Cannonball, a 100+ year old train that's been featured in many movies, new and old. They told a Halloween story, gave a magic show and all the children got treats. The actual train ride was about 40 minutes long and we didn't get off, but I heard that during past Christmas rides, patrons got off the train and visited a magical Christmas village. Sounds too cute.  

The Orange Blossom Cannonball

After the ride, a few folks stayed behind so the kids could play in the most elaborate treehouse-looking play park. Wished I was 6 again just to get in on that action. It looked very cool. We drove back through the scenic rural roads and once we got back, I helped set up for a Halloween party. We made mummy dogs and taco salad. Once those were done, I left to get ready for mine and my boyfriend's debut as a dapper cat and mouse pair. He decided I should be the cat. I'm still figuring that one out. 

Hope you had a great Halloween holiday!