A couple of weeks had passed since I had been to a state park so I was getting pretty antsy. My calendar had been filling up with so many other obligations. Finding time to go was proving to be impossible, I had to MAKE it happen! I put a post on Facebook asking anyone if they wanted to go make some pancakes with me at the Old Spanish Sugar Mill Restaurant in De Leon Springs State Park and Deb said she would be happy to accompany me. We had to go early because I needed to attend a bridal shower at noon so I scooped Deb up and we headed to breakfast. We also needed to be there pretty early because I heard the place fills up really fast and I just didn’t have a lot of time to wait.
The weather was gorgeous. The entrance to the De Leon Springs was full of cars when we arrived so we parked and took some pictures with the sign until everyone went in. We made our way straight back to the restaurant and arrived at exactly the right time. We were seated right away, at the last table available. Let the pancake making begin!
You are served all you can eat pancakes, two different types and then you can add toppings if you like. Deb got pumpkin and I thought some chocolate chips would be a wonderful addition. Deb gave me some pointers on how to make the perfect pancake and breakfast was produced.
Halfway through our meal a man sat down at the table, his name was James. James goes there every Saturday morning and sits in the same spot, he was as sweet as can be. He told us a few stories of his life. He has lived all over and now he is retired in DeLand. Please do not get me wrong when I say this but I am pretty sure James is the real Forest Gump! For real. I am not joking. I am positive he is who the movie is based off of. Just a wonderful, pleasant man that all of the servers loved. In fact, he was late for breakfast that morning and everyone that worked there was worried sick until he arrived.
After breakfast Deb and I wandered around De Leon Springs, going through the museum and a couple of trails. We wanted to see the giant cypress and strolled through the butterfly garden. We looked at the sign for monkey island but decided it was just too risky. Maybe next time with a bigger group. The mission for the day was fulfilled and I was happy to have breakfast at the famous sugar mill!
Before you visit, make sure you check out the parks website for all of the up-to-date park information: https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/de-leon-springs-state-park