I recently celebrated my birthday here in Winter Garden, Florida, where we have spent the winter. What a nice day I had, with perfect weather to boot! It was a bit chilly for central Florida, as a cold front had just passed through, but the low humidity and breezes were refreshing after hot and humid weather just a couple of days earlier. I'm not quite ready for the 90s just yet! Barry made me some of his delicious whole-grain waffles to start off my day. What a treat! I didn't get a photo, but they were topped with butter, mango sauce, real maple syrup, walnuts, and cinnamon, and I indulged until I was stuffed. Next up was a bike ride on the West Orange Trail. Although it was windier than I'd prefer, the day was too pretty not to ride, and I needed to burn some calories! Because of the chilly morning, I started out in leg warmers and a wind vest in addition to a long-sleeve jersey, quite a change of apparel from a few days earlier. Barry took these photos late in the ride when I'd peeled off the vest and leg warmers. Later in the day, we walked into charming downtown Winter Garden for my birthday dinner. I can't believe this is the first time we've been to this well-loved pizza place. We even got there early enough to nab one of the few outdoor tables for two. Inside, the restaurant was hot, noisy, and got very, very busy during the time we were there, since it was a Friday night. The pizza was packed with flavor, with a chewy crust -- perfect. I tried the Chicken Alfredo pie, and Barry got the Primavera. And the local beers on tap were great too. Barry tried Orlando Brewing Co's Blonde Ale, and I chose Winter Garden's own Crooked Can Brewery's Cloud Chaser, a hefeweizen-style wheat beer. Both were very good! After stuffing our faces, we enjoyed walking back down Plant Street, the main street through downtown, taking in the early evening sunlight and sights. Finally, back in Pearl, Barry had bought me a delicious Salted Caramel Heath Bar birthday cake (YUM!) We topped that with some Southern Pecan Talenti gelato. Even though we were full to the brim with pizza and beer, the scrumptious combination slid right down! It was really a perfect birthday!
2 Comments
4/10/2017 09:51:06 am
Pizza, beer AND a Heath cake after a bike ride?! Sounds perfect!
Reply
Emily
4/12/2017 11:32:48 am
And it was!!! Lucky me!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Emily & BarryWe're a long-married, early-retired couple who are currently traveling as nomads with no fixed home base. After years of living in North Carolina (Emily's home state), we spent 18 months living oceanfront on Ambergris Caye, Belize, a year road-tripping the US in a Honda CR-V, a year in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and are now roaming North America in our 32' motorhome, Pearl, following warm weather whenever possible. Archives
July 2019
Favorite Travel Blogs |