Located just 17 miles away from Lake Nona, you will find the city of Winter Park, which just so happened to be the locale of our most recent date! I love Winter Park. Seriously, the city won me over from the first time I saw it – the day we toured Rollins College for my son. It has the feel of an old European village with its sidewalk cafes, bistros, museums, boutiques, restaurants, and wine bars. It is a city with its own unique yet pleasant vibe, which I totally enjoy!
When I told Hubby that our date would have us cruising around Winter Park, he thought I meant hopping on Segway Scooters. Now, I am not saying that wouldn’t be fun, and I certainly didn’t mean to “take the wind out of his sail.” It just wasn’t quite what I had in mind. Nope, I meant CRUISING, as in “Anchors Aweigh,” you know, a boat tour of Winter Park! Lucky for me, he was “still on board” with my idea. But I also had a few other things in mind before “boarding” said boat. Our first “port of call” was the Farmers’ Market.
The Farmers’ Market in Winter Park takes place every Saturday from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. in Central Park West Meadow, located at the corner of New York Avenue and W Morse Boulevard. It is a popular community gathering place filled with booths that offer plants, baked goods, produce, and so much more. We genuinely enjoyed walking around all the vendors’ tables and trying their free samples. We ended up buying a frozen fresh (yes, you read correctly) pot pie to cook at home, some baked goods for our kids, and an empanada, which Hubby ate while waiting for his pocketknife to be sharpened. I told you the place had much more than veggies and fruit! We could have bought more, but it was time to “disembark” and head to our next destination … the park.
Central Park is the crown jewel of all the parks in Winter Park. This 11-acre park hosts numerous events and activities throughout the year, including the annual Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival and the Olde Fashioned 4th of July Celebration. But we didn’t need a fancy event to enjoy the gorgeous Rose Garden located on the southern border of the park (across from our favorite chocolate store Peterbrooke – another must-go-to if you are visiting Winter Park). In the middle of the garden sits a beautiful peacock fountain. (Fun fact: The peacock is the symbol for Winter Park, and you will see them all around.) It was the perfect spot to just sit for a minute and enjoy the view and each other. Literally just a minute because “the sea was calling” and we didn’t want to miss our boat!
A short five-minute walk to the east end of Morse Boulevard on Lake Osceola was where our Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour would begin. The boat tour offers hour-long, guided cruises on a fleet of pontoon boats through three of the seven lakes and two narrow, man-made canals on the tranquil Winter Park chain. Admission including tax is $14 for adults and $7 for children (ages 2-11, under 2 are free). The tour leaves every hour on the hour from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. every day (except Christmas). The boats can hold up to 18 passengers, but they are practicing social distancing so they board fewer people, meaning tours fill up quickly. (They also require face masks and are disinfecting each boat after every tour.) We got lucky, and they were able to accommodate us without a reservation. (If you are a party of 10 or more, you can reserve your boat and time way in advance, but otherwise, they recommend that you call the day of to reserve a spot and make sure they have space.)
It was a gorgeous day, so we sat in the sun and just enjoyed the lake view while we waited for our noon tour. But somehow at noon, the boats came, were boarded, and left, and our names were never called. We understand that “ship happens.” We really didn’t want to “rock the boat,” but we did politely let the owner know we were forgotten. He was super apologetic and offered us a full refund, gave us some drinks, and guaranteed we would board first on the next tour. It was excellent customer service, and because of that, we will most definitely go back again sometime, especially if we have visiting family or friends.
As for the actual boat tour … it was wonderful. Skipper Fred was funny and truly knowledgeable about the history of the land and homes we saw along the way. He laughed at Hubby’s jokes and even added on to them, which made for a lively trip, at least for us. (Sorry, shipmates, if you weren’t as amused.) It almost felt like we were on vacation, even though we were just half an hour from home.
If you were ever thinking of doing a boat tour and Winter Park date, let me leave you with this advice from Skipper Fred: “Do it schooner, rather than later!”
