Monday, December 18, 2017

2017 Florida RV Trip, Days 16-17, Crystal River & Front Porch

I awoke to a little head cold, but we got the day off to a great start anyway with a trip to the Front Porch Restaurant and Pie Shop in Dunnellen, FL.  It is a family business now starting its third generation and obviously the place where the locals go.



Their prices were a little higher than I would expect for a purely local place but I think that’s due to the amount of tourist and snowbirds that come through the area.

While the others had basic breakfast food, I ordered the Breakfast Bowl for $9.49 which was potatoes, onions, peppers, cheese, sausage, and ham, topped with two over easy eggs and sausage gravy and served with a real biscuit - the potatoes were down in there somewhere.


Everyone enjoyed their meals and I thought mine was delicious.  We topped off the meal by sharing a large slice of their famous pie - Apple Pie With Walnuts and Caramel.



After breakfast and some meds, they convinced me to drive about an hour down to Crystal River for a little Manatee viewing and just as last time there were plenty.  The girls viewed them from a bridge but I couldn’t park there so here are a couple of shots from our previous trip – they saw about 15 in just a few minutes.



Then we drove over to Hunter Springs Park and by looking hard we saw a couple more in the choppy water but it was interesting watching the snorkelers watch them – the park has a nice swimming area.






I was still feeling puny on Wed so I just piled up in the coach while the girls went off to explore shopping opportunities in Dunnellen.  I was surprised that they stayed gone for several hours, then for supper, they brought home a pretty good Cuban sandwich from Penn Station Deli & Grill.  We all enjoy sitting around a camp fire so Cindy bought a little firewood from the office and we sat around and visited until it got pretty chilly and the fire was dying down.



Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

12/12-12/13/17 Event Dates

12 comments:

  1. Always fun to visit the manatees and wind up with a nice campfire in a warm night.

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  2. I love reading your posts and seeing your great pictures...but the food scares me!

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  3. Sorry you weren't feeling well - hope you're on the mend now. That breakfast bowl has me drooling...YUM!!!!

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  4. I found that these local places are priced higher in the winter than the summer, because of the snow birds, as you said. That apple pie looks like just the thing to help cure a cold.

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  5. Hope you feel better. Maybe more pie will help. I love the manatees.

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  6. Larry, Sorry you're not feeling too well... Thanks for the tip re: the Front Porch Restaurant and Pie Shop. We used US 98 on our last trip to FL instead of US 41 so maybe next time! Your breakfast was a delicious looking heart stopper. I'd leave off the peppers and onions and add Tabasco. I also noted that you had a couple of sausage links on the side. Nice! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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  7. Gawd, that breakfast bowl looks good. You find the best places to eat.

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  8. Sorry about your cold. It's not at all fun to be sick, especially while traveling. Have a wonderful Christmas!

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  9. That restaurant sounds great to me, nothing beats a good breakfast like you had and those pies! Love the manatees, pretty awesome creatures!

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  10. I like pie and especially the Breakfast bowl covered with a bucket of gravy.

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  11. Yum! That Apple pie with walnuts and caramel seems so mouth-watering. Hope you get better soon!

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  12. Sitting by a campfire is my idea of fun and relaxation... In fact, my youngest son has a fire pit in his backyard --so the family and I enjoyed sitting around the fire just chatting and sharing stories... SUCH FUN.

    Sorry about your cold. It's hard to be sick when you are not at home...Hope that ole' cold went away quickly. AND--I hope you didn't share it with your women!

    GEE---that apple pie made my mouth water.... YUM....

    I remember seeing the manatees when I lived in Jacksonville.....

    Merry Christmas.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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