Does Florida have mountains? I didn’t think so, apparently it’s only 40 minutes north of Orlando. My wife and I may be heading down there to see a house…from what I hear it’s a quaint little town, not Floridian at all, sort of rolling hills and lots of trees with spanish moss etc…etc… Anyone ever heard of it? How big is it? What’s it like?
The area about 20 miles west and northwest of downtown Orlando is actually hilly. Not West Virginia hilly, but more like small foothills without the mountains; maybe 150 to 200 feet above the base elevation at the highest. Clermont, about 20 miles west directly of Orlando, is probably Florida’s most “mountainous” city; there’s a lot of roads where a driver will have to floor the accelerator to climb a grade.
Could be that Mount Dora is not two nouns, but is instead a verb and a noun.
266 feet above sea level – that’s not quite as high as K2, but who’s counting.
http://ci.mount-dora.fl.us/services/general.htm
Florida doesn’t have mountains in the typical, literal sense, but I think “Mount” Dora sounds better than “Hill” Dora. It really is a cute, quaint little town, with several antique and art shops, restaurants, as well as bed & breakfasts, and even a few bars. It’s on the small side; you can walk from one end to the other in no time at all.
I’d certainly recommend the visit, but I have an emotional attachment to the town as well. 
Do you live near there? I hear Eustis (sp?) is around there and is equally as nice, and is still in lake county. So the area is nice huh? How about hurricane damage, is it a little lessoned being so far inland?
I nearly spit water on my monitor reading this. 
A damsel with a dulcimer
in a vision once I saw
It was an Abyssinian Maid
and on her dulcimer she played
singing of Mount Dora
Mount Dora and the surrounds are some of the prettiest parts of Florida, not counting the beaches (which I personally love most). Small town, quiet, really nice.
I wouldn’t count on hurricane damage being totally absent; my aunt lives not far from there (Mascotte) and had a picture window and part of a wall in her house taken out by one of the hurricanes. Not nearly as bad as coastal damage, thought.
It is a pretty little section of Florida; not nearly as covered in tourist crap as Orlando. A lot of the “lakes” have shrunk or disappeared due to the shrinking water table; the lake in back of my aunts house is about half the size of what it was when I was a kid, our sand “beach” never sees water now. I think the gator has moved.
Since all of my mom’s relatives live in that area we’ll have to plan a Dopefest next time I go visit!
Been to Mount Dora? Just the once, and her husband came back before I got the chance…
Mount Dora has a lovely downtown. If you’re in the mood for a real English High Tea, visit the Windsor Rose Tea Room. It’s run by an English family, so they know what they’re doing.
Don’t go to the other one, Garden Gate. It’s more for ladies lunching in between shopping. Very frou frou.
My grandfather lived in Eustis/Leesburg (he actually lived… between them, not in either) which was right near Mount Dora. Cute town, but really nothing my Northeasterner eyes would call a mount.
Hey, it’s Florida! We take our Mounts where we can get them!
I give you Sugarloaf Mountain.