We headed to the Florida Panhandle for a quick weekend trip, specifically Tallahassee. Eric had a meeting there on a Monday so we took an extra day to explore and enjoy another part of Florida.
Before actually going into the city, our first stop was Bradley’s Country Store. A bit of history about the store and family…………… Mrs. Bradley began selling sausage out of her kitchen in 1910 and the store was built in 1927.
Through the years various buildings were added to expand their offerings: cane press, syrup furnace, grist mill and smokehouse. In 1984 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Inside is pretty much how its been since the beginning, showcasing local products they produce and a few other similar ‘country’ items.
Naturally, Eric needed to purchase some smoked meat products (sausage, bacon and pork chops) to take home with us.
Being around so many goodies, we had to taste one of their sausages immediately and shared a spicy sausage dog.
Getting there is half of the fun. Tallahassee has several scenic ‘canopy roads’ and traveling to Bradley’s Country store gave us the opportunity to see them in the Spring.
Limbs of huge Moss-draped live oaks, sweet gums, hickory trees and pines provide a towering canopy over roads that were once paths traveled by native tribes. Tallahassee has nine official canopy roads offering more than 78 miles of shaded drives.
Being in the spring, we ran into some flowering trees not commonly seen in Central Florida. The ‘fringe’ tree, named for obvious reasons……….
………….and dogwoods. I grew up with them, but they need some chill hours to bloom and we don’t get that.
We stayed at the Governor’s Inn in downtown Tallahassee.
It is a small boutique hotel, with an interesting concept of ‘naming’ their rooms with one of Florida’s governors. We stayed in the ‘Fleming’ room.
The rooms themselves are decorated with numerous antiques and dark wood abounds throughout their common areas.
Since we had been in the truck so long, we searched for a walk-able restaurant for dinner on Sunday. Eventually we settled on Backwoods Bistro.
They subscribe to the popular food scene by growing some of the food on-site along with sourcing local products whenever possible. We settled into the bar and ordered a series of appetizers. After drinks were ordered, our food began to arrive. Each one seemed better than the previous one. The seared tuna with apples & balsamic vinegar was good, the deviled eggs really good and the shrimp platter even better.
Walking back from the restaurant, we came across a few interesting local sites. One of those was this plaque and tree stump, all that remains from the Tallahassee May Oak.
Tallahassee is Florida’s state capital. The original building has been kept as a museum, while the current, more modern state capital is in the background.
Afterwards we were hanging out at our hotel and saw a family of four. Eric heard them speaking and realized they were German. While his German is rusty, we were able to communicate. Their English was much better than Eric’s German. We ended up spending the next several hours with them at a nearby bar & grill. I always want to take selfie photos, but this time it was a mistake. I didn’t check the quality of my photo before our new friends left (so, so sorry).
Keeping with the theme that started yesterday, driving on one of the canopy roads, breakfast was where else but Canopy Road Cafe!
It was a great, filling breakfast. My French toast was topped with bananas and pecans while Eric ordered a skillet breakfast.
One of the things we noticed on the menu was their coffee – proudly serving locally roasted coffee beans from the Lucky Goat. Thus began our next quest, finding a source for the coffee and bringing some home.
We eventually located one of their cafes and stocked up on beans and a cup for the road.
The Lucky Goat began roasting coffee in 2010 with the intent to provide top-quality wholesale beans for other cafes, but eventually they needed to expand with a bigger warehouse and storefront.
They have four locations in Tallahassee and multiple partnerships. If you want to know more and find out the origins of their name, check out their website luckygoatcoffee.com. They have a pretty good menu of their coffees, brewed teas and breakfast goodies to nosh. This board helps explain the differences in their coffee options.
We finally came to the reason for the trip – Eric’s board meeting, the Florida’s Wildflower Foundation. A primary source of funding comes from the sale of the license plate.
I brought a book and magazines to read and kept myself occupied while they met.
For a quick, weekend trip, we made the most of our time sight-seeing and enjoying another corner of Florida.
Naturally I had to order pizza, but we started with cheesy bread – which was probably the weakest part of the meal. The mariana dipping sauce was great, but the bread didn’t match its excellent taste. What goes great with pizza – beer! Pepsi for the designated driver (me). Eric had to break from the norm and ordered penne pasta with a vodka sauce. He said it was the best he had ordered in a long, long time.
Located in the historic Bowery district, the owners wanted an eclectic little beer and wine bar that brings to life a little piece of old Apalach! It welcomes locals and tourists alike to this fun casual location.
And the store is amazing! Combination gas station, eatery, truck stop, fishing supplies, convenience store, deer stands, animal feed, crab & pinfish traps, scalloping supplies and the list continues. We needed gas.
Music was part of the event as the judging was occurring.
These are to symbolize wealth. They are green like money and will ensure you a financially prosperous new year.
Between all of us we have a variety of appetizers and entres, sticking with the seafood theme.
We snacked on oysters, prior to unwrapping presents, adding some (home-grown) jalapeno for an extra kick.
Once in a while, I would catch a few of these:
