Florida: A Big State with Lots to Do

This is the year of exploring the state of Florida. From Miami to Jacksonville, Key West to West Palm and Port St. Lucie (PSL), I've covered some territory over the last couple of months. A few NJ friends met in PSL for a spontaneous sleepover Sunday and round of golf Monday at St. Lucie Trail Golf Club. A nice public course, well maintained and challenging. And then there's the food. We enjoyed fine dining at Tutto Fresco at PGA Village in PSL after much needed showers. It was unseasonably hot and humid on the course. We're not used to that weather in late winter. The girls worked off some calories on a bike tour Tuesday morning. It included a couple of detours: First Data Field, home of the NY Mets spring training, and the beautiful St. Bernadette Church. A sunny lunch followed at the lovely RH Rooftop Restaurant in West Palm. Super fun getaway with the girls.

Jill, Pat, Lauren and Kat

Love your neighbor. No exceptions.

RH Rooftop Restaurant

Kathryn's famed selfie

Anna Maria Oyster Bar Restaurant

Make note of this popular luncheon restaurant at exit 224 off of I-75. It was jumpin' on Ash Wednesday with plenty of folks proudly displaying their smudged foreheads. Please God don't strike me with lightening, but I was wondering, in this day and age of intolerance, what's worse...Catholics in ashes or zealots in MAGA caps? And yes, it really is the start of Lent today.

Pink Concert in J Action Ville

The family is crouching down to accommodate the selfie stick at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena after Pink's Beautiful Trauma World Tour performance. What an amazing show! Pink is a high energy artist, with a high energy band, dancers, visuals, pyrotechnics and aerial acrobatics. I don't really know a lot about her music outside of her big hits, but the kids asked for Christmas tickets and we joined in on the fun. We had to cancel our flight plan because of weather so we drove. Was it worth the 12 hour round trip drive? Yes! It's been a while since a little road trip.

Family Visit in Miami

Home long enough for a special dinner in Marco Thursday, Bill and I took Will to Miami for lunch with Sister the Elder and Hubs on Friday. Joe's Stone Crab in South Beach is still amazing. I will be on a serious diet starting Saturday.

Pre-Dinner Reception

The Perry Hotel has a great restaurant. We enjoyed our second breakfast on the patio before heading out for a power walk around the neighborhood. After showers, we departed for Stock Island Lobster Company at 1pm where we listened to presentations about sea life, fishing and locally grown produce. Delicious hor d'oeuvres and fine wine were passed among the crowd while everyone enjoyed the boatyard scenery. The sponsors, OITH, provided a brief orientation of their work in gathering people around the dinner table and introduced all the folks and chefs that participated in the dinner:

Host Fisherman: Peter Bacle, Stock Island Lobster Company, Stock Island 

Guest Chefs: Martin Liz & Layla Barr, Lost Kitchen Supper Club, Stock Island 

Jose Izquierdo, Hogfish Bar & Grill, Stock Island 

Jose 'Angel' Castro, Roostica, Key West 

Ryan Shapiro, Thirsty Mermaid, Key West

Great City Fix

We woke to a bright, sunny Saturday morning on Biscayne Bay. Café Bastille was a short walk from the hotel and offered a lovely assortment of French breakfast options. After a leisurely meal, we checked out of the JW Marriott and found our way to the Wynwood Walls. What an intriguing and inspiring outdoor art installation in a regentrafied Miami neighborhood. So fun! The crowds afforded some great people watching, too.

Cute little shops and markets entertained us for a few hours before heading back to Marco. Great city fix and quick getaway to celebrate Bill.

Birthday Date Night

We got all dolled up for our celebration dinner at Zuma Japanese Restaurant. A couple of selfies were on order. The restaurant was every bit as good as our first meal at Zuma in NYC.

Upon our return to our room, we were greeted with more birthday wishes: champagne and cake compliments of the JW Marriott on Biscayne Blvd. A good 1/11/19.

January 11, 2019

I've been terribly remiss in keeping current on my travel blog. Even our quick little jaunts are worthy of posting. My long hiatus from the Beechcraft Bonanza is over. We flew to Ponte Vedra on a Santa's flight the week before Christmas and then again on Christmas Day. A beautiful and quick trip to Key West took place in late December with Stephanie and DeWayne.

Today is Bill's birthday. I made a ham and cheese strada for breakfast with a special cake. The butter-pecan Danish kringle with maple glaze would have made Bill's mom proud. Will joined us for the goodies and then we played nine holes before heading to Miami.

A quick ride from Marco and we found ourselves in another world. Friday evening we are celebrating Bill's birthday at Zuma Japanese Restaurant in Miami.

Fun with Kiddies

A fun five days with the Herman's came to an end Saturday morning as we said our good byes and headed in different directions.

South to Pie Society in Pooler GA for a quick lunch with second stop in Jacksonville for Landon's soccer game for us.

A group of 15 had dinner at South Restaurant in Nocatee after the game. Bill and I crashed the sleepover, too.

Ginnie Springs FL

Steph invited us for a camp-out weekend at Ginnie Springs. It was one wild time with kids, grandkids and friends. Loud music and boozers filled the enormous campground on the hot weekend. Alcohol infused rafting, kayaking, snorkeling, paddling, diving and general partying took place down the lazy Sante Fe River and surrounding fresh-water springs.

Large-scale groups of campers and day-trippers enjoyed the festive parade of floats, boats, trucks, trailers, pimped-out golf carts, campfires and all other things FL macho. It was a bizarre, once-and-done, sort of fun weekend.

Back to the Journey of Everyday Life

While driving home on the final leg of this road trip, I came across a good read about happiness. The ages 23 and 69 were cited as the happiest. Both the blogson and husband are presently those ages. I fully subscribe to the 10 points illustrated in this piece:

Revealed: The two surprising ages when we're at our HAPPIEST (and why it's bad news if you're in your middle years)

Researchers from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences have identified 23 and 69 as the happiest ages in adult life, but discovered satisfaction dips in middle age.

Read full story

Paynes Prairie State Park

Ah yes! Back to nature. Nature really does have a way of soothing the soul. What better way to spend Holy Thursday than surrounded by the beautiful blessings found only in nature? The Florida state parks continue to impress us.

My sister, Mary Ann, would fondly refer to her new home in low country SC as Jurassic Park. The lush overgrown flora; the abundant, scary and diverse creatures; crocs and gators that look like dinosaurs; camouflaged snakes galore are all reminders for me of Jurassic Park in FL.

But I love it all! It's a thrill and adventure to explore this amazing sunshine state. Here are some final shots of this trip and scenes from hiking and biking in Paynes Prairie State Park on Thursday. Bringing it home tomorrow.

Thanks for following along. Happy Easter!🐣

Campsite Food Delivery

After our bike ride and hike around lower Sherando Lake, I enjoyed the picture-perfect Tuesday from my screened-in bed. Stomach pains and headaches had me in and out of slumber most of the afternoon and through the night.

We hit the road early Wednesday and had an uneventful journey to SC. We were hoping to meet big sis, Mar, for dinner but had trouble getting a mutually convenient campsite.

The KOAs are a last resort for me. They always seem like parking lots...campers right on top of each other. I particularly dislike campgrounds that allow long-term tenants, too. Kinda creeps me out. We had to settle for South Point KOA in Yemassee SC. The good news is that they have pizza and chicken wings and will deliver to your campsite!

A new road trip adventure and test for my queasy belly.

NJ to VA

Monday morning is a bear when school and work are on the agenda. Luckily, we don't really have that angst anymore. Mondays just remind us of how much we ate and drank all weekend long.

We said our good-byes during the hustle of the morning. With a freezer full of NJ bagels, we started our journey south. The traffic was much lighter than a week ago heading north. We were in VA in no time at all.

We plotted Sherando Lakes Campground on the GPS and made our way through the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests outside of Charlottesville. It is the most beautiful campground we have visited in our camper van. National parks really are the best.

There is limited internet, but I did take advantage of this 4G moment after our hike and bike ride Tuesday morning.

Sunday in the Park

The fun continues in Bergen County with a visit to the Saddle River wild duck park. The boys had their scooters and we had Solo. Everyone enjoyed the spring colors and scents around the lake.

An afternoon nap refreshed the young ones and we made our way to Ally's friends' Shaina and Eric's house for a backyard visit. The kids ran around while we sipped wine and watched the Masters golf.

It was Chinese carry-out and a backyard fire back at Ally's for the last hoorah. The kids were exhausted and so were we!

Family Egg Hunt and Filet with Friends

We rolled into the Crestwood Lake parking lot moments before the scream of the starting whistle. Every kid in the north Jersey suburb was eagerly awaiting the shrill approval for a chaotic dash into a field of Easter candy.

Our little guys were happy to see GramKat, Papa and Solo. They collected some candy and we were happy to get out of the brisk morning air and into the warmth of their sweet home.

Ally and I made a tenderloin filet dinner feast for long-time friends Patty and Mike. A good day of fun and, of course, food, family and friends.

Gyros and Sake

After the teens went to school, the grown ups went out for breakfast at Edie's diner before starting the days' errands. Greek Eats was a inspiration at lunch. Fresh, fast, healthy Greek food could be a great business model for a Florida venture.

We reconvened for Friday dinner at the fabulous, family fave, Yumi Japanese restaurant in Sea Bright on the shore. Chris treated us to a memorable Sake to compliment the terrific food.

Back at home, Alexis got us into West Side Story on the TV before bed.

Bill made the traditional NJ bagel run on Saturday morning before our departure up the Garden State Parkway to Ally's.

Selfie with Teens

Our last night of camping on the way up to NJ was in Pine Grove PA. After bison burgers on the grill, our campsite neighbors joined us for a fireside chat. Gui and Maggie were heading home to Canada in an enormous RV and trailer. We had a lively conversation and shared a love for SWFL. Their seasonal home is right over the bridge from ours. Small world.

It was a tedious three hour hour ride in pouring rain. Finally in NJ, Kristy and Chris and the kids welcomed us with a fabulous dinner feast and wine pairing. We love seeing everyone and the kids are as sweet as can be.

FL Sunshine Every Damn Day is Boring

It takes a road trip to fully appreciate diversity in weather and road conditions. It's 42 degrees, raining and chock full of potholes on our morning drive through PA.

Looking to the bright side, these April showers are going to make for a beautiful return trip. Spring flora! 🌸