Anniversary celebration in St. Augustine

J and I celebrated our six year wedding anniversary by taking a 30 minute drive south to St. Augustine. Even though St. Augustine is one beautiful A1A drive away, we certainly don't enjoy it as much as we should! Truthfully, neither of us have ever spent the night there. Thanks to both our  parents, we were able to enjoy a toddler and dog free evening.

While booking our accommodations, we did not realize that our anniversary fell on Easter weekend. Rooms were scarce. Many of the rooms that were available had a 2 night minimum. We lucked out though and found a room at the Bayfront Marin House. We had not stayed at a B&B since our trip to Amelia Island in 2011.

The Bayfront Marin House was lovely. The room was well appointed. The bed was up so high, I had to use a stool to get in! They had a somewhat random Jacuzzi tub right next to the bed. I suppose for honeymooners, this would be a bonus!

View from the balcony

We did a little shopping before cocktail time. We picked up some spices, teas and saffron rice at The Spice & Tea Exchange. I wanted to bring home some datil pepper sauce as well. J remember The Pepper Palace, which has more hot sauces than any one could ever need. I found my datil pepper sauce and a couple of other items, including pickled okra.

We headed back as we didn't want to miss the cocktail hour. The cocktail hour (typical at most B&Bs) was impressive. They offered red sangria, white sangria, wine and beer. There was lemonade and sweet tea. They also offered an array of appetizers, including warn spinach dip, bruschetta, puff pastry with savory filling (cannot remember what they called them), and a relish tray with the best bread and butter pickles I've had in a while. They had a delicious looking chocolate rum bundt cake. We passed on the cake, as we were heading to dinner.

One of my favorite parts of St. Augustine is that it is very walkable. We headed to dinner, which was a little less than a mile away. With so much to see on the route, it made for a pleasurable and quick walk.

We had dinner at The Floridian, known for their local ingredient sourcing. They don't take reservations, so we gave them our contact info so we could get a text when our table was ready. It was an incredibly busy night, so we weren't seated for over an hour. However, the text messaging notification gave us a lot of freedom to walk around St. Augustine while waiting. Thank goodness, as waiting is not something I'm very good at anymore. Ha!

The Floridian was amazing. We enjoyed fried pickles, posole, and a cornbread stack with blackened mahi mahi. The decor was a hoot. I felt like I had been transported to a house in the late 60's/early 70's. But it really worked, in my opinion.

I was most excited about dessert. We headed over to Cousteau's Waffle & Milkshake Bar. After much deliberation, I settled on an Old Kentucky milkshake, which was made with butter pecan ice cream, candied pecans and bourbon whipped cream. J had a Wonut, waffle on the outside and donut on the inside.

Wonuts!

We ended the evening in a dessert coma. After a refreshing night sleep, we enjoyed breakfast, watched a little Barclays Premier League football, and headed back to pick up Truffle and Jack.

Yay for anniversaries!

Multigeneration Family Vacation in Asheville, NC!

J, Jack and I along with my parents, my sister and her boyfriend traveled to Asheville, NC for a lovely, albeit too brief vacation in a lovely mountain home (found on Homeaway.com - message me if you want the exact listing!). As I wrote here, a multigenerational vacation is a different ballgame than a couples' getaway. There is much more downtime and true relaxation, a big difference from my previous trips. 

The home itself was a perfect location for our needs. We had 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, with each bedroom/bathroom on a different floor. This provided privacy if needed.  The common areas were not large, but were great for playing games and hanging out. The main level deck was simply amazing. Aside from the wonderful western views, the deck was fully screened. For this momma, that was a plus as my fears of Jack jumping off were tempered. 

I mean, look at this view (forgive the screen!)

Here are some of activities:

Asheville Gray Line Trolley Tour - I actually did not plan this one in advanced. My sister brought it to my attention. She thought it would be a good way for my dad to see Asheville without having to walk. She was right. We all had a good time. Jack had a blast riding in the trolley. It allowed J and I to get a good overview on the lay of the land, especially since we were going out to dinner sans Jack that evening.

Driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway - J discovered that if we continued up the mountain where we were staying, we would end up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Even though the faciilties were closed due to the government shutdown, we were able to enjoy the natural beauty of the Parkway. Again, this did not require my dad to walk. He could relax and enjoy the views like we all did!

Grandad's Apples - A trip to Western NC would not be complete without a visit to an apple orchard. I did quite a bit of research to pick where we would go. I wanted a place where there was a good variety of apples (already picked) and a pumpkin patch, fun kids activities, and finally, apple cider donuts. We were all really pleased with Grandad's! They had some fun props to take pics with Jack. There was a little animal section, where we fed a llama and a baby goat. Jack had a blast in the pumpkin patch. My parents' enjoyed the rocking chairs on the porch. And yes, I did get my donuts!

Asheville is a wonderful town! I highly recommend it as a great location for a family vacation!

In my next post, I'll share details on our date night in Asheville!

Planning a Weekend Getaway

Jeff and I have discussed taking a weekend away before I return to work. We are fortunate to live within driving distance of fun weekend destinations. For us, the main focus of any weekend away is great dining options. From hole-in-the-wall joints to James Beard award winning restaurants, if the food is tasty and creative, we are there.

Last year, we went to Charleston, Chicago and Washington D.C. All great food cities!

We think we've selected our next destination: Atlanta! 

Jeff has never been to Atlanta, other than the airport. I went to a Braves game 10 years ago and also traveled for work in 2005. In other words, we are due a trip.

So, friends. I'd love to hear your favorite places to eat, drink and shop in Atlanta!