Recently we decided to spend a Saturday morning going to some estate and yard sales in The Villages and in Ocala. We have a store on ebay and are always looking for new cool stuff and estate sales are a great way to do that! I was especially excited about going to some in The Villages. I did end up finding some great things for the shop (that mostly are already sold!) but the real gem of the day was a park we came across in Inverness on our way back home.
If you have read any of my other blogs, you know that we love to take our miniature poodle, Leia, with us to as many places as we can. She had been along for the ride all day like the little champion that she is, so when we ordered some Checkers and saw there was a park nearby, we couldn’t help but stop. We were all ready for a chance to stretch our legs at that point.
Wallace Brooks Park in Inverness, Florida was really a nice little area that included CLEAN restrooms! Always a huge plus at a park. Sometimes just having a restroom at all is a plus, but we always appreciate cleanliness.
When we got there, we noticed there were several teenagers swimming in the lake right in the same area that there was a HUGE sign warning people not to swim in that park because of the alligators. They must be fairly lax about the rule though, because there was a park ranger there and all he did was tell them that they were swimming at their own risk. Later we struck up a conversation with the ranger because we wanted to know if anybody had ever seen any alligators in the lake by the park area and he told us he had seen 3 since January. He also volunteered the information about what he said to the swimming teenagers and said that lots of people swim there and all they can really do is warn them that it is at their own risk. Being from Missouri, I have swam in creeks and rivers and ponds and lakes my whole life. I won’t be doing that here though! It shocks me every time I see people swimming in things like that here because I am just not that brave!
There were a couple of boat docks there which is where the park ranger told us he has seen the alligators. We walked out on one but alas…no gator! That might not be a bad thing though to be honest. I keep telling myself I really want to see one in the wild but when/if it ever actually happens I will probably be scared to death.
Next time we go to Angelo’s Pizza we will have to bring it to Wallace Brooks instead of waiting until we get home to eat it. We love to frequent anywhere that is dog friendly and since not all parks are ( I know crazy right?) we love finding the ones that allow our 4 legged family members too.
I know I’ve mentioned Angelo’s a couple of times so you will have to keep reading because we recently found another place we like even more! I won’t cover that in the next blog though. That one will cover a meal we had in The Villages with another couple and *spoiler alert!* it isn’t going to make it on our list of places to return to. You’ll have to read the next one to know why! (and where)
Have someplace in Florida you want to see me write about? Just let me know!