Christmas Eve in Lake County

On the advice of our apartment manager, we went to Mount Dora to spend part of the day on the day after Christmas. What else was there to do with no family to visit, no meals to make, and no presents to wrap?

First we drove to Sorrento.....

... but it took us a while to get out of Lake Mary.

We followed Highway 44...

...to Eustis where we found our church building, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

...which is surrounded by Florida citrus groves!!!!!!

We enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere created by the numerous horse ranches and training centers in the area.

After visiting Sorrento we went back toward the west to Mount Dora to it's quaint historic downtown area.

We discovered historic homes like the Donnelly House built in 1893 and now being used as a Masonic Temple....

...and this colorful bungalow reminiscent of a Southern California beach house.

Again Central Florida said to us, "Welcome and Merry Christmas!" When it's warm enough to decorate, that's what people do, and it's warm enough to decorate down here. We thought the light shows in Iowa were amazing, but nothing like what we found down here. It kind of makes up for the lack of a white Christmas. We didn't lack for the Christmas Spirit, even though it was 80 degrees.