3/6/2016

Weekly Update 3/6/2016

This was a busy week!

Monday, I got up and hopped in my car for a drive to St Augustine, FL, to visit friends, Marcia and Andy Lloyd who were vacationing there from Rochester. It was about a 3 hour drive for me, and I had no problems. Whew! Since it was a lovely day, temps in the low 70s and sunny, I drove with the top down on the car. That was a big mistake! I got a sunburn on my face and I was really red. I had mistakenly reserved a room at a hotel in St Augustine BEACH, not St Augustine, which is not the same thing. The beach is about a six mile drive away from the city, and I had hoped to be able to walk to the attractions. It wasn't to be, but the B&B where Marcia and Andy were staying graciously allowed me to park my car there when we visited. They had been up since about 4 am to catch their flights, so after we visited, had a light dinner at Ann O'Malley's, and took a ghost tour, that was all we could do the first day. Ann O'Malley's is an Irish pub, and the owners are from Buffalo NY. So, I was expecting a lot of Bills posters or jerseys or something, but the only thing that connected me to the finest 2017 team in the NFL was a small logo on the napkin holders. While we were having our sandwiches, a few men in kilts came in, one with a bagpipes. I'd never seen a camouflage kilt before, but I have now! The ghost tour was fun. I don't really believe in that stuff, but this was interesting. We got off the trolley in a few selected places, and there were live performers that told some of the interesting haunted stories. I enjoyed it. 

at Ann O'Malley's, Marcia laughing at me in the background

our  ghost tour trolley

  Tuesday, I checked out of the Castillo Real and went back to join the Lloyds for more adventures. We took the hop-on-hop-off trolley around the city, and got off at the historic fort, the Castillo. We spend more than an hour there, learning about the history of the fort (which mirrored the history of the city as it changed hands from Spanish to British and back again, and finally to the US). Very interesting. We went past the fountain of Youth, the Ripley's Believe it of Not Museum, Flagler college, the Bridge of Lions, and a lot of other high points, but didn't hop-off. We finished on George Street, the historic roadway that is closed to traffic now and has lots of shoppes, a few historic museums, and several restaurants. Sylvia had told me about a great place to dine, The Columbia, so we went there. My omelet was so-so, but Marcia's salad and Andy's gazpacho and sandwich were very good. Then it was time for me to get back on the road and head home, leaving them to enjoy their vacation. It was so great to see them both! 

Ponce de Leon in the square

the oldest school  in St Augustine

happy tourists at the Castillo

  Wednesday, I was back home, but I didn't have time to rest. I got caught up on Things That Need To Be Done. And, I attended a lecture at TLC on ghost stories in Savannah (again, I'm not sold on these fantasies, but it's interesting to hear them), played bunco with a nice group of ladies at June's, and then went downtown for training for the Savannah Music Fest because I've volunteered to usher at two performances. Thursday, I went to the Mall to get my bagels, then turned right around and went back to the Islands to get a pedicure. I visited with Sylvia and told her all my stories of St Augustine (she and Charles love that city). And in the evening, I went to the MP book club. The book was A Tale of Two Cities, and I didn't finish it, but the talk and exchange of thoughts was interesting.

Ishy arrived Friday evening. She was kind enough to try to arrange her flights around my schedule, so I was able to finish my tours at DH and then go pick her up at the airport. We had something to eat at a Scottish pub near the airport, and then just went back to the condo to talk and get caught up with each other. On Saturday, I had already committed to volunteering at the DH Oyster Roast Fund Raiser, so I left Ishy alone in the condo while I spent the afternoon smiling, pretending that I knew these people and that I was one of them, and emptying garbage cans. Good enough. As soon as I got home, I made Ishy go to Bruesters for an ice cream sundae - I needed one.

getting set up and ready

oysters!

 

Sunday, Ishy and I went for an early morning visit to Krispy Kreme for donuts and a newspaper, and we just hung around (I napped), until Dave and Kerry arrived about 5. It was good to see them. We had a little dinner, and visited, and then settled into watch the finale of Downton Abbey. Dave wasn't that interested, but the three ladies wanted to know how it all turned out for the Crawleys and their staff. It all turned out peachy. Imagine! 

watching Downton Abbey for the last time