St. Augustine in 2015

Last year we decided to intentionally spend time visiting and getting to know St. Augustine better. It was so much fun that we decided to do it again this year!

We kicked off the first visit of the year with a trip to an art exhibit at the Visitor's Center. This exhibit was titled The First City Through the Eyes of Masters and is part of the 450th Commemoration of St. Augustine. It featured works from Florida painters of the 19th and early 20th centuries who wintered at Henry Flagler's Ponce de Leon Hotel (now Flagler College). These artists painted landmarks in St. Augustine, from the Castillo de San Marcos, to the city gates, to the slave market, to various buildings around town and would sell them to tourists, much like the galleries around town do today.

In the Visitor's Center

The exhibit had several of Frank Henry Shapleigh's works as well as William Staples Drown, Anthony Thieme and George Seavey and Michael's favorite, Arthur Vidal Deihl. All were part of a single collection belonging to Cici and Hyatt Brown who began collecting Florida artwork in 1997. The neat thing about this exhibit is they had photographs next to some of the paintings that show what the scene looks like presently. Check out this link for a sampling of the artwork.

The artwork was behind those walls. Photography was NOT allowed and being the rule follower that I am, I didn't take any pictures of the artwork. Unlike SOME people! *cough*

The exhibit also offered a walking tour where you could follow that map around town and see the current version of the historical paintings. But alas, the weather was not conducive to walking around town and gawk at buildings. However, despite the dreary weather, we did manage to walk to the Barley Republic, a pub on Spanish Street where we had a beer and a snack. The weather was much more conducive to this kind of activity!

Mine was a Kentucky Bourbon ale. Quite tasty! Michael had a cream ale that I didn't care for.

After that respite, we headed back to the Castillo parking lot to retrieve our car. 

Wet, wet, WET!

But not terribly cold, thankfully!

We decided to drive to the St. Augustine Distillery and check it out. We had been to the Ice Plant before but the Distillery is relatively new. They make small batch whiskey, vodka, gin and rum (but they didn't have whiskey or rum yet. )

We'll be Bahk!

We were too late for the tour so we walked around the static display and the gift shop but will need to come back in the summer when the rum is available. (My husband is secretly a pirate!)

Camping

Does your family enjoy camping? Ours does and our camping history goes way back to when Michael and I were first dating. About a month into our dating relationship we decided to drive up to the north Georgia mountains for a camping trip - totally on a whim! We used a small pup tent he had, grabbed a sleeping bag and some blankets, a small, single burner cookstove and drove his dad's Mazda 626. We parked somewhere along a road, hiked into the dusk and fog, picked a spot at the top of a mountain and set up our tent. It was dark by this point and foggy so we couldn't see where we were, exactly. He heated water on the single burner to make soup but spilled it on my foot. It was really hot at first but quickly turned cold. We hadn't packed for cold weather, really, coming from Florida and it was really cold that night. REALLY cold! Ice had formed on the inside of the tent. He got up in the middle of the night and called to me to poke my head out. The clouds had cleared and the stars were out and the view was AMAZING! I think I knew that night that this was the man I wanted to marry. He told me later that he was impressed that would want to go camping, that I was tough and didn't complain. {Phew! I passed the test!} I loved that he had a spirit of adventure and that he loved the outdoors and was strong, tough and manly. And that he could play the guitar. We sang songs all the way back to Florida; I drove while he strummed the guitar.

After we were married, we camped with friends in St. Petersburg (fondly calling it the DHK camping trip) even while I was pregnant. (It was at that point that I insisted on sleeping on an air mattress rather than the Ridge Rest.) We took Tommy camping when he was 6 weeks old in Michael's parents' RV. Again, it was really cold but this time we had heat! We have taken all of our kids camping, beginning when they were very young. I have a vivid memory of giving Annie a bath in a dishpan perched on a picnic table on one camping trip. She must have been about 6 months old.

Later, when we joined Redeemer, some friends of ours began a kids' camping trip to Fort Clinch. At first it was just dads and kids but since I liked camping I wheedled my way into the group. Oh the memories we made on those weekends! Tours of Ft. Clinch at night, hikes to the BFT (big fat tree), shared meals (we all loved Tracy's smoked brisket and pulled pork), swims at the beach, runs through the park. We've done this pretty regularly in fall and spring.

This past week we went again. The group has changed and evolved over time. This time we had a small group. I got up there late on the second day. I almost didn't go because it was so late. I was tired since I hadn't slept a lot the night before and I had cooked for a women's retreat at Redeemer all.day.long. But Michael and Annie were there and they were expecting me and I wanted to go. So I drove the hour to Amelia Island and I am so glad I did. Sitting around the campfire, talking to friends, sleeping cuddled up in a tent is so relaxing, so rewarding. I can't wait to go again in March! If you want to join in on the fun, shoot me an email or tell me in the comments. I can get you a spot!

The kitchen crew hard at work

Our brand new stove and coffee pot

Hanging by the fire is the BEST!

This is the BFT

The BFT is good for all ages

It really is BIG!

GYPO Fall Challenge is Officially Over

There were a few days left to the challenge since my last post, but I followed my hubby on a business trip.  I did not follow the prescribed OOTD since I didn't know exactly what would be styled and didn't pack EVERY single piece! However, I did mostly pack challenge pieces and had fun wearing scarves and sweaters since the temperatures in Washington D.C. allowed it! In fact it was so cold the first two days that I was wishing I had brought more than just ballerina flats! But I survived! :-)

I really do love our capital city! There is SO much to see and do there! I'm so impressed by the amount of green space, trails and biking paths! In fact, I was looking for a running path and found a website (they have an app too - trails.com) where you can find all sorts of trails/paths. Out of curiosity, I looked up my zip code and was startled to see how few spots there were compared to the greater DC area. 

We were staying in Tysons Corner which is a veritable shopping Mecca and I was hoping for some time to wander the big shops (Neiman Marcus! Lord & Taylor! Macy's! Shoot even L.L.Bean!) but the one time we had some free time was Sunday morning and they weren't open yet. Bummer.

Opened at 10:00; we were there at 8:45

Michael and I enjoyed visiting downtown DC, catching a Sunday baptismal service at the National Cathedral (stunningly beautiful, of the same caliber as any European Gothic church), driving through the Mall, passing by the National Monument and many Smithsonian museums. We lucked out and found a parking spot right across the street from our favorite one, the National Gallery of Art, for a quick peek at some of our favorite works. (Who can name the artists in the pictures below?)

National Cathedral

Washington Monument | Capitol Building

Air and Space Museum

National Gallery of Art | Dome reminiscent of the Pantheon in Rome

New acquisition to the Gallery

This artist loved ballerinas

This artist was famous for Pointillism

This was an American female Impressionist artist

We also were able to connect with several friends who live in the area. Had lunch with a friend we've known since our Tampa days (20 or so years). Then watched the Gator game at another friend's house. (Full disclosure: the guys watched the Gators win. My friend and I talked the whole time!) This friend and I go back to our sophomore years in high school when we dated brothers. (She married her high school sweetheart. Thankfully, I did not.) 

I was so happy to be able to hang out with her all four days. One of the days we rode the silver line to DuPont Circle, ate Chipotle's sister restaurant (same idea but Asian ~ very yummy!) while sitting on a park bench in the circle, visited St. Matthew's Cathedral (where JFK's funeral was held.), then walked up and down Embassy Row (talking the whole time, of course).

Spanish Embassy

Another day we ate at a funky small restaurant in Vienna VA, Maple Street, then drove up to Great Falls park and hiked along the Potomac River. I was stunned at the beauty and wildness of the area yet its proximity to the urban core! 

Potomac River

High water marks for my favorite hydrologist

Potomac River

Regrettably, there were at least four other friends that we were not able to see on this trip! I feel so rich in that aspect - friendships that date back to different eras: high school, college, Tampa and Jacksonville. 

We flew on a direct flight from St. Augustine to DC on Frontier Airlines. The flight was only $164 round trip! Plus the airport in St. Augustine is tiny and closer than JAX. I was sad to hear that the flight will be discontinued in January! 

That was our plane, the building is the terminal and I'm standing in long term parking!

Now we're back and I'm getting really excited for the next Style Challenge with Alison and Cyndi! It's the Build Your Basics Wardrobe Challenge. The list comes out tomorrow! Wanna do it too? You can still join. It's not too late! Go here to sign up. (This link has my affiliate attached to it so be sure to use this link!)

You can check out my fellow Fall Style Me Challenge sisters to see what they wore the last few days and to hear what they learned about in this challenge. Click on the links below. (You can read about what I learned in this post.)

Deena | Christy | Jordan | Carrie C. | Shaunacey | Danielle | Beth | Joy | Sarah | 

Leslie | Katie | Jennifer | Carrie M. | Lisa | Sheila | Lana | Lauren | Anna | Alison

Segway tour of St. Augustine

Months ago I received an email from John H, asking me if I would be interested in a Groupon for a double date. It sounded like fun, the price was reasonable, and I'd never been on a Segway! 

We presented the certificates to our spouses as Christmas (Denise) and birthday (Michael) gifts and finally settled on a date in January. Between John's call schedule and Michael's travel schedule, it was tricky finding a date that would work. We finally picked a Sunday afternoon.

We met up at the bike rental location on King Street. Turns out there was one other couple from Atlanta that was part of the tour. They had Segwayed before so they were considered the old pros. After a brief explanation of how to mount, steer, and dismount, we took turns getting on and practiced starting, turning, stopping and getting off. After a few minutes of wheeling around in the parking lot, we were off!

Sandy was an excellent guide, very friendly and very knowledgeable about both the Segways and the history of St. Augustine.

She took us throughout the city, taking us down little back roads that we didn't even know existed! We learned about Henry Flagler and the buildings he built, about Flagler College, about the Spaniards and the town they built, and about the runaway slaves that joined the Spanish settlement. We rode along the sidewalks and in the streets and up on the sea wall. 

It was growing dark by the time we headed back. We were able to see a little of the "Night of Lights" as we rolled through the square in front of the Lightner Museum. 

Oh, remember The "experienced" couple? He took a fall near the end, and the wife ran into Michael as she turned to see what had happened, so she took a tumble too! They were okay, just a little bruised, hands, knees and ego.

We had a wonderful time, followed by dinner at the A1A Ale House. The dinner was okay, not spectacular. But it was delightful to share what we enjoyed about the experience and to thaw out! It was pretty cold after over an hour riding around!

(No, Michael did not get a gold tooth. That's a great lighting trick though isn't it?)

This is part of our "St. Augustine in 2014" motto for this year! We plan on exploring St. Augustine monthly, learning more about the history and the eateries in "the oldest city."

Disney Half Marathon

One goal completed! Kinda. 

I had set a goal time of 2:17. I missed that by a long shot.

We were supposed to submit a proof of our time by Nov. 1. We thought it was by the end of November. When we realized we had missed the deadline, we also realized that we were going to be placed in the VERY last corral. Behind the walkers. Behind the people who walk a 20 min mile. *sigh*

At the expo

Honestly, I didn't really care. I quickly realized that this was a running EVENT for me and not a running RACE. Michael and his brother, John, ran with me since they had signed up for the Goofy event. The idea was that they would run easy with me on Saturday and then run hard the next day. They weren't counting on all the starting and stopping required by the crowds as well as all the off-road running in order to pass people. So they ended up being quite sore and had trashed legs for the marathon the following day. Oops!

Here we go!

But I digress. Back to the race! Disney just does everything so well. There were Disney characters, cheerleaders, high school bands, huge TV screens blaring music, cast members cheering, volunteers passing out water and Powerade, and spectators ALL along the way. In the half you run through two parks, in the full you run through all four parks plus ESPN zone. But again, I'm getting ahead of myself. 

Did I mention that there were 16 corrals? They started with A and went through P. Yes, we were in corral P. We couldn't even see the start line or hear the announcers where we were. We had to walk quite a ways to even get in position. Disney had trash boxes set out along the way for garbage, recycling and clothes. 

Corral P circa 6:00 am

This is what it looked like standing in Corral P for over an hour. Each corral had their very own start complete with fireworks.

Get ready! Set! Go!!!

The race started at 5:30. Since each corral had their own start, we waited more than an hour before we started. Here is ours. See the stage and large screen? And the fireworks?! Donald Duck gave our "Ready? Set! GO!" 

The first of two highlights of my race was seeing Annie on Main Street. I've gotta brag on her a little bit. She figured out on her own how to come find us, by herself! First, she walked to the front of the campground, then she caught a bus to the back of the campground where she caught a boat to the Magic Kingdom. She texted us her location so we could look for her. 

When she got in position it was dark

It turned light while she waited for us for almost an hour!

So happy to see Annie!

It was an overwhelming feeling to hug her mid race in the midst of that sea of people.

She tried to find us at the castle, but I didn't know to look for her (missed that text).

She then caught the monorail to Epcot so she could see us at the finish line. She wormed her way to the front of the line and again texted us her position so we could spot her as we came out of the park.

The second highlight for me was running into Bob and Prudence along the routes these are friends of ours from church who were also running the Goofy. We happened upon the around mile 9 and ran with them for a few miles. Those miles just flew past! It's so fun to run with friends! 

The best part was finishing. I so enjoyed running and finishing with my husband. That was a first for us! 

All done!

And at the very end Timothy met up with us. Felt great to be done! 

The next day the three of us got up early to cheer for the twins during the marathon but we kept missing them at different points (Magic Kingdom, Grand Floridian and Polynesian). We finally met up with them at mile 18 at ESPN zone.

Timothy handing out high fives!

Feeling good!

Silly boys!

All together now!

At the finish line we were able to connect with old friends. (Love those cell phones!) He was our priest from our church in Tampa and I had worked with his wife as a classroom assistant in her 5th grade class. It was so sweet to see them! They had read our Christmas letter and knew we would be in Orlando for the race. Since their son was doing the Dopey Challenge, we were able to connect!

Hanging out with the Stulls

All in all it was a great time at Disney! Although it's hard to be there and NOT go to the parks, we still enjoyed hanging out in my brother's RV at the Ft. Wilderness campground, riding the monorail and the boats around, shopping at Downtown Disney and eating at Trail's End restaurant.

Downtown Disney Princesses

Enjoying the weather on the water

Saturday night dinner

Now I want to run another half marathon so I can hit that goal time!