2003 Weekend at Mt Dora
by Chris Canning, pictures Patsy Canning
 WHAT ONCE WAS,
STILL IS..
Imagine a quiet
New England village laden with antique shops, art galleries, boutiques and
bookstores highlighted by rolling hillsides, Victorian architecture, spectacular
sunsets and a historic lakeside lodge. Mount Dora and the Lakeside Inn have served for
over a century as one of Central Florida's most charming couples. Steeped in tradition and
laced with romance, this vintage inn on the shores of Lake Dora has long been a
favorite winter haven for travelers, writers, romantics, politicians and educators.
Built
in 1883, The Lakeside Inn opened as a ten room hotel known as the
"Alexander House." Surrounded by a tropical oasis of lush scenery and exotic
wildlife, the inn became a natural retreat fro travelers who enjoyed birdwatching during
the 1920's. 1920s. The Gatsby era was in full swing and the Lakeside Inn was
in its heyday. When evening fell upon the picturesque inn, the sultry summer
air would ring with the sound of music, singers and other performers of the time.
The inn continued to expand in the 1930's. The Gables and Terrace wings
were completed in time to be dedicated by the Inn' most famous guest, Calvin
Coolidge. Having just finished his term in the White House and in need of relaxation, the
president and his wife found the inn to be the perfect respite and decided to stay for the
winter.
In
October 1992, James Barggren and Richard Dempsey purchased the inn. Specializing
in historic properties, the new owners have made a firm commitment to complete and
complement the restoration of this 113 -year old landmark by bringing back the
traditions and hospitality of the 20's and 30's.
Listed
on the National Register of Historic Places, The Lakeside Inn offers 88
rooms and suites and is an ideal location for vacations, meetings, banquets, weddings and
corporate retreats. The main lobby and Tremain's Lounge are great for fireside
gatherings and the Beauclaire is well known for its innovative American cuisine.
The inns' signature restaurant is staffed by an award winning chef and culinary team, and
has also received the mystery diner Five Forks commendation, Central Florida
Magazine Readers Choice Award, and was recently named "The most pleasant dining
experience of the year by Orlando Sentinel's, Florida magazine.
Ideally
situated in a classic setting reflecting the history and ambience of vintage Florida,
The Lakeside Inn is still the perfect place to stay.
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Mount
Dora Florida is beautiful little town, just a bit northwest of Orlando. It is known for
its antique shops and its Lakeside Inn. While the word Mount may cause South Floridians to
laugh, the town's 180' elevation does make it a Mount by Florida standards. Mount
Dora is a wonderful old town and is great for finding antiques. It has true Central
Florida charm.
Ed and Jenny Cirella organized an SFJC weekend trip there on July 18th - 20th and
did we ever have fun. A number of our members drove up on Friday and Saturday and got
there early enough to enjoy cocktail hour on the wonderful front porch. (see
photo)
The Lakeside Inn (see sidebar) was built in the late 1800s and has been expanded and
modernized while keeping its unique character. Jenny got our club $99 rates for rooms that
go well over $250 in season. Patsy and I got there on late Saturday morning….the
X-Type did its normal purrrrrr all the way up the Turnpike. We hoped to see Pascal and his
Silver bullet and maybe give him a run for his money but he was on his big boat enjoying
the life of leisure.
The trip is 214 miles from Glades Road and the Turnpike and it really is hard to stay
under 85-90 even in the right lane. There is a new 10 mile toll road off the turnpike that
cuts out Apopka and a lot of stop light driving. We are talking not much more than 3 hours
including a coffee stop.
We knew the Jag folks were there as we pulled up to the Lakeside Inn when we saw the
Jaguar flag next to the Union Jack and Aussie flag. The hotel also set up a white
picket fence around our cars on the Croquet lawn between the hotel and the swimming pool.
Jenny had our club flag and her huge pewter jaguar cat set up in the lobby. We quickly
added some recent editions of the Cats Meow to show off the club and who knows..maybe get
a new member or two.
One is
greeted by Schatzie the black and white kitten as they arrive at Lakeside. This cat
feasts on salmon, shrimp, Dover sole, chicken, you name it, on a daily basis.
Thank you Ed and Jenny for getting us a gorgeous Lakeside view from our room…again we
are talking $99. Jenny worked with Georgette George, director of marketing, at the
hotel and they really took superb care of our entire club.
After putting the Platinum X in its place next to Bill Smail’s white beauty, we were
off to see the town.
It really is fun and a great place to look for those hard-to-find holiday gifts.
Interestingly enough –it was “Christmas in July in Mt. Dora”. And they were
featuring some fun holiday decorations and gifts.
There are some excellent places for lunch –we chose Ali-Gators…and had a
wonderful soup and salad combo with a couple of frosty brews… We wished Rick Hartwell
were with us as they had Becks on tap. Then on to the antique capital of the
Sunshine state. This town is a Mecca for antiques..there are probably more varied dealers
in this town than any other place in Florida.
Lots to do in Mt Dora…there is a children's park right in the center of town,
bicycling, golf, carriage rides, trolley rides and even hot air ballooning. On the water
you can rent jet skis, Powerboats, paddleboats, canoes, fishing boats and all are
delivered to the Inn’s dock.
The Lakeside Pool, elevated above the lake, is wonderful. It must be 150 feet long
and 80 feet wide…and it has a well stocked pool bar. You can literally swim, have a
pina colada and watch Ospreys fish in the lake -- all at the same time.
Our superb group of SFJC’ers included Jenny and Ed, Linda Reid, Peter and Shirley
Johnson, Bill Smail and his navigatress, Elaine. Bob Tallgren from Mt Dora and Harold
Kelly from the Jacksonville Jaguar club brought their Jags by as well.
The super CAT sighting of the weekend was a Lakeside Inn drive by of a very rare Burgundy
XJ220 from the JCOF club and a red D-Type from the Suncoast Club. Ed and Jenny were going
to buy drinks all around for the drivers when the JCOF and Suncoast Jag owners spotted a
very nasty thunderstorm coming right across the lake and they scattered quickly. Good
thing they vamoosed as the storm had a good amount of hail inside it. Peter and Shirley
Johnson were motoring about and ran smack into it… Dime sized hail did some damage in
Orlando, according to news reports, but no damaged to Peter’s car. Hail is not
something you really want to run into when driving a Jag D-type.
Ken Hubbel, badgemaster for the JCOF, was kind enough to bring his 1954 white XK-120 to
join the other cars for a photo op. What a fine gentleman and what great
stories he has.
We had a great Saturday evening. A number of the adventuresome folks went out for a two
hour Champagne cruise on the lake. They had a superb time and saw a variety of
wildlife that one rarely sees in South Florida. The captain was very entertaining and kept
them laughing throughout the cruise. Patsy and I decided to wait for the arrival of
Dr’s Peter and Shirley Johnson and enjoy the Jazz Combo at Tremain's Lounge. Peter
was kind enough to provide us an thoroughly entertaining description of the only two
occasions that the merry Olde England has been invaded in the last 2000 years.
Julius Caesar in 52 BC and the Normans in 1066. Bet you did not know that the Queen
of England is also the Duchess of Normandy. We understand that the French really dislike
this little piece of historical trivia. We then adjourned to Beauclaire, the
Lakeside’s award winning restaurant for dinner. More great English history – and
who better to tell it than a man from Sandwich who really knows the UK like the back of
his hand.
Sunday we got up early and had a fantastic swim at the pool and the gang all met for a
Champagne brunch at Beauclaire. We loved the food and the service was excellent. Time to
head back to South Florida but the trip as easy and the Turnpike was just a relatively few
miles south. We had such a great time we want to make this an annual getaway event and we
can see why so may people really like Mount Dora.
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