Sunny South

We headed South on a Sunday afternoon in a snow event.  The roads were clear South of C-U, so the traveling was good.  We spent the first night in Manchester, Tennessee, then made it to Atlanta right at noon.  We were able to cruise through Atlanta and got to St. Augustine late afternoon Monday.  We checked into the BlueGreen Vacation headquarters first, then checked into our hotel.  Yes, our first three nights were free if we sat through a two hour timeshare meeting!  I had signed up at Bass Pro Shops in East Peoria and also received some gift cards.  We spent most of the first morning in the timeshare meeting.  We were fortunate to get a nice lady who was new to the job and wasn't very high pressure, and her boss (the "closer") seemed busy and distracted.  They accepted our No (after two additional special offers!) and we were able to enjoy the rest of our stay in St. Augustine, touring the oldest continuously occupied city in America.

The old city gates.

We toured the impressive old fort, Castillo De San Marcos.

St. Augustine Lighthouse.

The lobby of the beautiful, ornate, old Ponce De Leon Hotel.

Our seafood meal in St. Augustine was at O.C. White's.  I had Crabby Mahi along with coconut carrot soup.  Both were good!  The three days on the Atlantic coast were cool and drizzly, so we didn't spend much time on the beach other than to just check it out. Thursday morning we headed South along the coast to Ormand Beach, just North of Daytona Beach.  We met one of our Landlords there, and took her out to lunch.  She is the third generation of her family that we have been farming for, but had never met her!  Our business has been taken care of on the phone and through the mail.  We had a really nice time with her and her husband.  I ordered a fish Reuben (very good) which was a first, and I had never even heard of them before.
Unfortunately it was the weekend of the Daytona 500 coming up, so traffic was heavy as we headed West across the state and through the Orlando area.  We stopped at Blue Springs State Park where a lot of Manatees winter, but none were swimming in the springs while we were there. 

 
We arrived at our little condo on the beach at Nokomis Beach in the early evening.  We tried a new seafood restaurant that night called the Left Coast Seafood Company.  I ordered the seafood gumbo, which included grouper cheeks, crawfish, shrimp, scallops, crab meat, and sausage!
We settled into our Florida routine quickly and enjoyed some of the best weather we have ever had down there.  Sunny and in the 80's every day!  Twice daily strolls on the beach, shelling and shark-tooth hunting, dolphin watching, reading, napping, and heading for the next seafood restaurant after watching the sunset!
We tried a couple of new restaurants this year in the Venice/Sarasota area.  At the Saltwater Cafe I ate grilled Triple Tail. I had shrimp, fish and chips at The Old Salty Dog.
And then there were our old favorite spots; grilled Hogfish at Captain Eddie's, Black Codfish topped with lobster sauce and shrimp at Casey Key Fish House, and Alligator at Phillipi Creek Oyster Bar.  I even brought home a pamphlet of recipes for alligator.  Now I just need to find some alligator meat at home.

A view of the beach from the jetty.

A couple of friends we met.

Sunset on the Gulf from our courtyard.

All good things must come to an end, so we left Nokomis Beach on Thursday morning.  We managed to hit Atlanta at 5:00, rush hour!  We stayed in the HOV lane and made it through in about an hour.  The rest of the trip home was uneventful.

The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.
Psalm 50:1