Sat - 1 Mar/14

Foggy start to the day. The sun broke through about noon. The rest of the day was mostly sunny with temps in the mid-70's.

The park is busy with it's open house and craft fair. Umatilla was also having a city wide carport sale today.

I saw a  horse drawn wagon in the park pass by our street. It appears to be giving an introduction of the park to visitors. Later I saw the wagon being pulled behind a truck ??? Maybe it was just one run?

A local dealer had set up a large display of RV's in the "Buffer Zone" beside the park entrance.

Again, we were off to Mt. Dora, FL for lunch at the Goblin Market. This is considered the "Premier" restaurant in the area winning "Best of..." awards in several categories continuously for years. Charlotte went in to get a reservation while I parked the car.

I would have been back sooner except finding a parking spot on Saturday afternoon in Mt. Dora can be a task.

Rant Time: A motorcyclist parked  alone in a spot instead of following the unwritten protocol of sharing a spot with another bike. Now 2 spots were "Hogged" (pardon the pun) by Harleys. This irritates me; much like the self-righteous (expletive deleted - I learned that from Nixon & Watergate) idiots who park their vehicle in the middle of 2 spots - lest someone come close to their precious possession. Across the road 3 "Hogs" shared 1 spot - Way to go Guys!

Kimberley, our wait person at the restaurant, not only provided excellent service - she took our picture.

There is a reason Goblin Market is a perennial favourite in Mt. Dora - the food! We did the "Canuck Treat" thing (shared 50/50).

Charlotte ordered the Cashew Crusted Chicken Montagu (Tender breast of chicken, crusted in sweet buttery cashew. topped with melted brie & a fresh cranberry-apple relish.)

I chose the Warm Tenderloin Salad (Filet of beef tips, sauteed medium rare, with mushroom and onion in balsamic vinaigrette. tossed in spring mix with tomato, red onion, cucumber, sprouts and toasted almond. sprinkled with shaved parmesan).

They were both beyond description (...Mmmm good) other than saying I am so glad we shared.

After lunch we did a little "Window Shopping".

Disclaimer: no windows were purchased during this event (grin).

The Mt. Dora Olive Oil company has a neat "Tasting Room" with dozens of flavours and types of Balsamic Vinegars, Premium Olive Oils, varieties of Salts and various Spices.

We did a dozen or so stores and made a few purchases. With an hour to "Kill" we enjoyed the lovely weather by sitting on a downtown park bench and "People Watching". We then went over to Gilbert Park and enjoyed the waterfront scenery and the many dogs walking their people before heading for "An Evening with Micky Dolenz".

The Mount Dora Library Association is presenting this event as a fundraiser at the MDCH Field House at 7 p.m. We have general seating tickets which meant arriving early to get a good seat. There was a short wait until the doors opened at 6 p.m.

Again, as we did at the Chad and Jeremy Concert last Saturday, we managed to get good seats on the aisle a few rows from the front.

Micky, former lead singer for the Monkees, backed by a 6 man (actually 4 men - 2 women) band, put on a great, high-energy performance. At various times the crowd clapped in rhythm, sang along, cheered and gave standing "O's" (Ovations - not Oh's - grin).

We heard all the expected songs:

     -  (Theme from) The Monkees
     -  Last Train to Clarksville
     -  Daydream Believer
     -  A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You
     -  I'm a Believer
     -  Pleasant Valley Sunday
     -  (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone

and a few we didn't know were coming.

A little know fact is that Jimi Hendrix was the opening act during the Monkees tour. As a tribute Micky treated us to a great rendition of "Purple Haze". "Oh Darling!", in memory of Micky attending an Abbey Road recording session and hearing the original take by The Beatles was excellent. Several other songs from a variety of genres, including a few duets with his sister Coco, showed his wide range of talent. Coco also did a great rendition of "Different Drum" which was written by Michael Nesmith of the Monkees for Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Ponies. The entire concert was sprinkled with humour and interesting anecdotes.

Urban Legend Alert: Michael Nesmith's mother did really invent Liquid Paper (originally called "Mistake Out").

Micky graciously attended a "Meet and Greet" at the table right at the end of our row after the show and signed personal memorabilia and gave autographs.

Micky's protocol is to only sign 1 autograph per person - which is fair - as the line was half way around the Gym!

This was a really enjoyable "Evening with Micky Dolenz!"

We took the "Eustis Bypass" from Mt. Dora back to the RV which made it a quick and easy trip.

We wrapped up the evening watching the final 2 periods of NHL's Stadium (Outdoor Hockey) Series: being played at Soldier Field in Chicago (Pittsburgh Penguins vs Chicago Black Hawks). It was 20 F and snowing (Ah! Memories of my youth in the Great White North.)