Appleton's Cafe - Lake Mary FL The Next Best Thing to Mom's Cooking!

Appleton's Cafe - Lake Mary FL The Next Best Thing to Mom's Cooking!
A few weeks ago I was traveling to Orlando and I took a slight detour East on Interstate 4.

Recently I was able to reconnect with an old friend of mine from high school.... who I hadn't seen in 30 years. We found each other on-line through a social network that I use to promote my business and it's also ggenerally a place where you can connect with old friends. It was interesting to see how we both look now and how we both ended up in FL after living in NY and being within a few minutes from each other.

Now after all these years we now live a few hundred miles from each other.



I found out through our recent conversations that my friend Tricia Rodriguez owns and operates a very successful restaurant called Appleton's Cafe located in Lake Mary -Orlando FL.







When we started to correspond with each other I had told her that I was planning on being in the Orlando area and wanted to know how far her restaurant was from my hotel. It turns out that it was only about 20-30 minutes East of where I was staying.
She was kind enough to invite me to stop by. I thought that this would be a great idea.... to kill two birds with one stone. First ....to see someone I went to high school with and the other..... to get a bite to eat and boy was I hungry. I thought it was amazing to see what we were both doing after not seeing each other for 30 years.





Please note that when I made my visit...the restaurant still had all of the Halloween Decorations up. They usually decorate for all major holidays.
Something that I didn't know was that Appleton's has actually been around for a long time. I believe Tricia told me that she first started out by working there under the last ownership and now it's 8 yrs later and she's still standing.....would you say that the cafe is a considered a success? I would.


I usually write about local eateries in my area but I thought that I would take this opportunity to help out an old friend by promoting her restaurant.
So I arrived at about 3 pm when they usually get ready to close and I'm usually not a very big eater for lunch but Tricia was kind enough to invite me and so I decided that I would try their fish and chips. The portion was tremendous and it was delicious. They make it from a special beer batter recipe and the fish was so light and flaky that it was hard to keep it on my fork.

Appleton's Cafe has a very large menu with all different types of dishes. From their Home Style Pot Roast...so tender and slow cooked in it's own juices with vegetables and chunks of potatoes.... to their wide variety of breakfast.... such as their famous Appleton's County Bowl...an open faced omelette with home fries,sausage or bacon...smothered with homemade sausage gravy and topped with cheddar cheese...served with toast. Now that's a meal fit for a king and queen!
So if you're ever in Lake Mary FL and you want to stop by....I'm sure the whole staff at Appleton's Cafe will welcome you with open arms....just make sure you're hungry!
Appleton's Cafe
"The Next Best Thing To Mom's Cooking!"
3575 W. Lake Mary Blvd.
Lake Mary FL 32746
(407) 323-7663
Open Tuesday - Sunday 7 am-3 pm
Catering Available -(386) 804 -0196
For more information please contact Neal The Real Deal Bloom-Realtor® /RE/MAX Premier Associates


2500 Weston Road ,Suite 103
Weston FL 33331
(954)608-5556
Nealb63@myacc.net
The Real Deal tells it Like it is in Real Estate-copyright © 2008-All rights reserved

Humane Society of Broward County-Adopt a Pet Today

Humane Society of Broward County-Adopt a Pet Today
A little over a month ago I had to sadly had to put my dog to sleep. We had a wonderful 17yrs together and I'll always cherish the times we had. A few weeks after his passing.....I decided to take the food we had left over and donate it to the Humane Society of Broward County.


While I was there for my visit..... I decided to go look at what dogs they had available to adopt.
Adopting a rescued pet is a great thing for both the pet and the new owner. I looked around and went through all 4 kennels and I'll have to admit that it was hard for me to see so many dogs that were left abandoned.






Right now it's too soon for me to take in another pet at the moment but if you know anyone who would be interested....you should send them down to the Humane Society of Broward County.









If I ever decided to get another dog....you can be sure I'll be looking to adopt it at the Humane Society.







Help give a Pet a New Home-Adopt a Pet Today
For more information please contact Neal The Real Deal Bloom-Realtor® /RE/MAX Premier Associates


2500 Weston Road ,Suite 103
Weston FL 33331
(954)608-5556
Nealb63@myacc.net
The Real Deal tells it Like it is in Real Estate-copyright © 2008-All rights reserved

Library Park in Weston FL...Enjoy Reading....Great Weather and Learning In The Sunshine

The New Library Park in Weston FL...Enjoy Reading....Great Weather....Learning In The Sunshine

Just recently constructed.....The new Library Park opened in Weston FL on Oct. 30 2008.

The park is located at the corner of Bonaventure Blvd. and Vista Park Boulevard, across from the Broward County Weston Branch Public Library. The 5-acre park includes lighted pathways, three gazebos and shaded benches as well as plaque dedications to some famous authors from the past.

Library patrons have convienent use of the park for reading as well as a gathering place for book clubs.... children's story times and school field trips.

Internet, Wi-Fi should be available by spring 2009.

Library Park hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily

Come out and enjoy the parks quiet atmosphere!

Enjoy my slide show tour.

For more information please contact Neal The Real Deal Bloom-Realtor® /RE/MAX Premier Associates

2500 Weston Road ,Suite 103

Weston FL 33331

(954)608-5556

Nealb63@myacc.net

The Real Deal tells it Like it is in Real Estate-copyright © 2008-All rights reserved

Grieving ...then Closure

This past week has been one of the longest weeks that I've ever had.

I haven't been around much.

You see....it goes like this...I've been grieving. A few days ago I posted a small little memorial. I didn't allow anyone to comment because I didn't think it was the right thing to do and my only intentions were to have good memories of my best friend and thought it would help with the loss and sadness I'm experiencing right now.

Last Monday October 6th 2008 I had to make one of the most difficult decisions I've ever made. I had to put my dog Roscoe to sleep.

Roscoe was 17 yrs old and up until about a year and a half ago ....he was virtually healthy his whole life. Except for a few minor ailments he only went under the knife once or twice.
We knew he was having some internal problems but nothing I couldn't handle by making some adjustments in his schedule. Around 8 months ago I took him to the vet and they mentioned that we do a geriatric test since he was up there in years and also to change his diet to senior food. Up until then I didn't even realize it but he was really old. But over the next few months he started to have trouble walking straight and he was getting cataracts so we could no longer let him go out on our patio alone or he might fall into our pool. But I still managed to keep him eating and he was still pretty active so we weren't thinking anything was changing.

By the time June rolled around I noticed that he wasn't barking....normally he would bark so much it made my ear drums explode but he just stopped and I was only able to get him to bark a few more times. Eventually he was sleeping more and I noticed he was losing his muscularity in his hips so I became concerned. He had stomach ache about two weeks earlier and he lost a little weight and I just kept giving him some medicine and feeding him and eventually he recovered and gained his weight back and a little more. But last Saturday he started to have trouble walking on his left leg. The next morning my wife woke up about 6 am and took him out as she always does but I heard her calling me and when I came out to see what was going on she was in tears and she said "I need your help...he can't walk".

By the afternoon I was back at the vets office and I was asking him if he thought Roscoe was suffering at this point...he said " Neal...no I don't think he is suffering in your hands but if you asked me to put him down...I wouldn't argue with you but it's your decision.... I just want you to know that sometimes we have people who only want to put their pets down because they are moving and can't take them or the pet becomes out of hand and the people get angry at me for refusing to do it but in this case...it's a lot different."

We went home...gave him a few doses of a light aspirin to help ease the pain but in the end he started to whimper if we had to take him out. He couldn't stand unless we helped him and I started to cry.

I'm not the type to cry in public but I knew at that moment that he needed.......he wanted us......to....do it.

Monday morning I had an appointment that was impossible to change and my wife said she would take him. Before I left I walked over to our bed and he was laying down. I started to pet him...talk to him and while I was in tears....I started to tell him he was a good boy and that I loved him and was going to miss him terribly. He then kissed my hand and I looked into his eyes and knew that he was telling me it was alright and he was ready. I drove home after my meeting to an empty house and about 30 minutes later my wife came home.....alone.

It was over....Roscoe was gone and we both started to cry. My wife reminded me that we gave him a great life and as much as it sucks and how painful it will be it was better that we didn't wait until it got worse. We both thought he would just get better just like he always did. But he didn't.....he couldn't jump...run...play....bark....growl...cry. His mind wanted to but his body wouldn't allow him to. Even on the day he passed .....he was still eating his food and was as hungry and thirsty as he always was.

I wish I could have done more and I wish I knew how he was really feeling inside. It's very hard for some people to understand the type of bond I had with a pet that's been with me for almost as long as I've been married. We remember how much research we did and how long we traveled to get him.

How do you understand unconditional love? I know it will be hard but I'll be ok.
I guess I took his age a little for granted... and my Father in law said it best..."How old was Roscoe? I thought he was around forever"

The photo above was back in the 1990's...the way we prefer to remember him when he was vibrant and full of life.

I just want to thank those who sent me many kind emails. I'm still having a hard time getting used to not seeing him... but every days gets a little better. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get another pet and I'll never forget Roscoe...my dog...my friend.

Rest in Peace Roscoe 1991-2008
For more information please contact Neal The Real Deal Bloom-CRS-Realtor® /Remax


2500 Weston Road ,Suite 103
Weston FL 33331
(954)608-5556

The Real Deal tells it Like it is in Real Estate copyright © 2008-All rights reserved