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<\/a><\/p>\nThe scenery and warm(ish) waters make it a favorite spot for swimming, hiking, fishing, picnicing, and the like.\u00a0 But there are a few key features that make De Leon Springs stand out amongst Florida State Parks.\u00a0 While it doesn’t boast mermaids like Weeki Wachee Springs<\/a>, it does have DIY pancakes and a water skiing elephant.<\/p>\n De Leon Springs is home to the Old Spanish Sugar Mill,\u00a0 a breakfast spot featuring DIY pancakes housed in a historic replica sugar mill.<\/p>\n Some of you may remember my excitement at the concept of DIY pancakes at Funky Brunch<\/a> in Savannah. This place was equally exciting, though there are some differences.\u00a0 The Old Spanish Sugar Mill is decorated like an old country store or rustic lake house.<\/p>\n They offer two different kinds of pancake batter, a more traditional pancake batter and their signature 5 flour batter and numerous mix-ins.\u00a0 While the batter does not lend itself to artistic interpretation quite as easily as at Funky Brunch, it still taste delicious and they offer molasses as a topping, which I wholeheartedly support as it is the closest thing around here that I can get to Steen’s Cane Syrup.<\/p>\n Another difference between Old Spanish Sugar Mill and Funky Brunch that I support less wholeheartedly is that you can cook your own eggs on the griddle.<\/p>\n The general population shouldn’t be trusted to cook raw eggs, especially while handling community syrup handles.\u00a0 Perhaps that’s just my semi-rational fear of food-borne illness talking, but it seems like a bad idea.<\/p>\n Now the interesting part, the water skiing elephant!<\/p>\n There is a small information center at De Leon Springs State park covering the history of the park and the general area from the time it was inhabited by Seminole Indians, to the Civil War, to present.\u00a0 The most interesting period however was 16 years starting in 1953 that it operated as Ponce De Leon Springs, featuring a jungle cruise (which I was pretty excited about having worked at the Disney version of it’s name sake),<\/p>\n tram tour, and the star of the show, a circus with a water skiing elephant.<\/p>\n It was one of many roadside attractions in Florida<\/a> that fell by the wayside with the advent of bigger amusement and theme-parks and widespread air travel.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n