The Next Leg

Well, that week sure went by fast!

Ken and I were talking today about how when we first get here, it’s like the week stretches out in front of us and it feels like forever. Once we hit Wednesday, it just zooms by. Next thing you know, we’re packing up to leave!

It was a fun but very low-key week. Our biggest activity was going to the Speakeasy on Monday and the rest of the time was total vegecation. Even though I don’t work anymore, I told Ken that it was still a true vacation for me because I didn’t have to do laundry or cook meals or take care of any of those little tasks that consume a day. I got to sit out on the balcony and get some serious reading in. Very enjoyable!

Our activities were curtailed a bit by Tropical Storm/Hurricane Hermine. Although it hit on the Gulf Coast (we’re on the Atlantic Coast), we still got the outer edges with some heavy rain and even a tornado warning! The lights in the condo flickered a few times but we never lost power. I was saddened to hear that one person died due to the storm.

We got to hit our very favorite places, including the Sea Shack, Norwood’s, Oceans Seafood, The Breakers (my favorite burger ever!), Toni and Joe’s, Bethune Park to see the manatees, and JB’s Fish Camp. Ken also got to golf one morning and I got to drive the cart, and I had two new bird sightings on the course: a roseate spoonbill and a wood stork! Yay!

It was no surprise that today, the day before we leave, we had the nicest afternoon we had all week. There was actual sunshine and even a beautiful rainbow over the ocean, very close to shore. Hard to believe that just yesterday we were under a tornado warning!

Our next stop will be Newnan, Georgia followed by some activities in Senoia, Georgia on Sunday. Some of you might know the significance of that! I will post more about it soon. I am very excited!

Perfection

After a couple of days of “iffy” weather, we finally got our perfect day!

It was sunny when I got up a little after 9 AM, and I was able to sit outside and read in the morning. It was hot and humid enough that when Ken went for a run, I put on my swimsuit in order to sit outside. I was getting overheated even in a tank top and shorts! I still had to come inside to cool off periodically.

After Ken got back and got cleaned up, we took a walk down the beach to one of our favorite places, Breakers. After sitting at the inside bar for a few minutes, a spot opened up at the outer bar. That’s where you can sit in front of open windows and look out onto the beach and the ocean, so we nabbed those seats quickly! We both had burgers, and these are the best burgers I’ve ever had. I don’t know how they do it, but even with me ordering my burgers well done (it’s an E coli thing, you know?), they’re still tender and juicy. LOVE me a Breakers burger!

Then we headed back—the sun still shining—and hit the beach. The sun felt great! Ken took a picture, and I was very surprised to see how brown I’ve gotten. Since the sun had been shining all day, the water was nicely warmed up, and it felt great to get in and feel some waves. I did my best to keep my footing and stand my ground against them. Haaaa...see what I did there? “Stand my ground?” In Florida? Yeah, those laws SUCK. We have it in Indiana, too, so that also sucks.

Anyway, the ocean felt great. I held onto my suit and had no “flashing” moments...maybe a butt cheek here and there, and a close call with the top, but I managed to hang onto everything. I noticed a woman close by who was also hanging onto her suit and we shared a laugh. We exchanged a couple of remarks, and she had an accent, so I asked her where she was from. She was from Venezuela! They do a lot of traveling, but this was their first time in New Smyrna Beach. I gave her a few tips about places to eat, and she mentioned shopping in boutiques, so I told her about the little Flagler Avenue area with neat shops and galleries. If I recall, her name was Azita (I’m not sure if that’s how it is spelled), and she was very sweet and lovely. I really enjoyed talking to her as we both held onto our suits and got pummeled by the waves! Haha!

She mentioned being at Ocean City, New Jersey. She said the waves are much worse there, and she said she had a few “exposures” due to those waves, so she’s more careful now! She also said that she liked this beach very much, and that it is not nearly as crowded as Ocean City and other beaches she has been. She said that you would never find as many spots open as you find here. I told her that New Smyrna Beach is a small town, maybe 25,000 people, and although it’s open to everyone, it’s just not as crowded as other beaches. Daytona is only about 20 minutes north of here, but its beach is completely different from this one.

We had a really nice chat, and you all can be very proud of this introvert. I chatted up a woman from Venezuela. How about that?!

That's mah butt over there.

After getting worn out by the ocean, Ken and I flopped on our beach towel and dried out a bit. We headed up to the bungalow, and since the perfect weather held, we got to spend a little more time outside reading (although in the shade this time). We enjoyed a pleasant evening, Ken grilled some salmon (it was delicious!), and we watched a Sopranos episode.

I have a feeling it’s not going to be a late night tonight. The ocean and the sun really takes it out of me! Ken is planning on golfing in the morning, but I plan on sleeping in and maybe hitting the pool while he’s out and about.

Here’s hoping for a carbon copy of today, but like I told Ken, if this was the only perfect day this week, it was a week well spent. This is the kind of day we come down here for, every year.

Perfect!

Dammit, Jim, I’m a vacationer, not a blogger!

Shameful. Just shameful. Every night, except for that first travel night, I’ve meant to write a blog entry, but nooooo. I just keep being all vacationy and junk.

To catch up a little bit. Friday night we made it past Chattanooga and stayed just north of Atlanta, in a suburb called Kennesaw. I had been to Kennesaw before with my folks, when we went to the Civil War battlefield there. The warm, damp evening and the sound of the cicadas brought back fond memories of my time in north Georgia, where I spent my summers between college with my parents (they bought a house there). When Ken and I left in the morning, there was that same quiet, wet, slightly overcast ‘hush’ that I remembered so well. Like being surrounded by damp cotton...but a good feeling, not a creepy one. Everything smelled fresh and clean. It never fails to amaze me how a certain quality can trigger such intense memories. I enjoyed my time in college, including my summers in the north Georgia mountains, so it was a very pleasant memory.

Then we were off on the final leg of our trip, and got into New Smyrna Beach around 5:30 and got checked in. Due to some changes in management of the timeshare property, we have a short week this time (we’re leaving Thursday morning), and we didn’t get into the building we are usually in. But it actually worked out better! It’s got a different layout, which is fine, and the walls seem rather thin, which is annoying, but we have a nice long balcony and we look out right onto the ocean. The best part is that it is much quieter, because they don’t play loud, irritating music poolside or play stupid games with the guests or make constant announcements about signing up for the tie-dye t-shirt activity. ::sigh:: The pool is right outside our condo, but it’s a small pool and it’s been very quiet. Beyond that is the walkway to the beach, then the beach, and then hey presto! The Atlantic Ocean! I would be happy to stay in this building again, although next time we might get one of the little bungalows.

As you can see in the above photo, it wasn’t exactly nice weather on Saturday. In fact, it POURED that night. We went to our usual first night restaurant, PJ’s SeaShack, and sat in the bar area with open windows and watched the rain just pour off the roof. We also watched a group of people having their 20th high school reunion. I’m guessing that they probably didn’t remember enough to feel embarrassed the next day...but they should have!

Sunday was also a washout weather-wise, gloomy and grey. But it was still nice enough to sit outside and read, and to watch the Olympics when we’d come inside. In the evening, my Aunt June and Cousin Greg were nice enough to come down from Daytona Beach to visit us, and we had a very yummy dinner at a place called Blackbeard’s. (Yarrrr!) All the years we’ve been coming down here, and we’d never gone to that restaurant! It was good enough that we will add it to the rotation. We had a really nice time talking and laughing, and look forward to seeing Aunt June again when she comes up for an extended stay with my Mom.

Oh, Ken told me to let this go, but I said I wasn’t going to let it go until I blogged about it! On the way out to the car to meet up with Aunt June and Greg, we found that someone had double-parked behind us. Someone else was nearby unloading their vehicle, and she said it was a couple who unloaded a couple of coolers and took them upstairs. So there we were, unable to get out of the parking space. There was absolutely no way to finagle it to get out. Ken walked upstairs to see if he could see anyone that might be them, and I waited by the car and fumed. Finally some dude came down and was standing by the car, and by this time, I was spittin’ fire. I was like “Is this your car?!” He said yeah, she’s getting the keys right now. I said, “What were you thinking just parking here? You can’t do that!” The guy just looked uncomfortable and shrugged and said, “Sorry...she’s getting the keys right now.” But I wasn’t done yet. I said, “You don’t just park behind a car to unload your stuff! I mean, you couldn’t even pull over THERE by the curb so that any of these cars could get out? What were you thinking??” Ken finally had to say, “Beth.” I think I muttered one final, disgusted, “Jesus,” and got in our car. I told Ken that actually, he should be kind of proud of me, because I didn’t cuss the guy out. Not a single F-bomb passed my lips. Oh, I wanted to, believe me...but I think I showed remarkable restraint. [wink] But seriously...who does that?! How unbelievably arrogant and rude!

There. I blogged about it, so now I’ll let it go.

Last night, we stayed up to watch the landing of the Mars rover, Curiosity. I’m really glad I stayed up (even though I was so jazzed up I was awake until after 3 am), because it was nothing less than amazing. Science rocks!

Today turned out to be beautiful and sunny, so Ken went for a run while I read. We had a brief appointment with management at 12:30, which we followed up with more reading (Ken had to do a little work, I’m sorry to say), and then a walk down the beach to one of our yearly stops, Breakers, for a couple of beers and burgers. Their burgers are consistently voted as the best in central Florida, and they really are amazingly good. Even when you get them well done (which I do), they’re still juicy and full of flavor. So I got my Breakers burger fix! Then it was back to the condo for some more reading, which soon resulted in what was a combination of a nap and a food coma. A nafooco.

Now it’s more Olympics, and hoping for another nice day tomorrow.

And now you’re all caught up!

More vegecation pictures

The weather has been beautiful the past few days, and my connection has been slow, so I haven’t been overly concerned about spending much time online. Today is a little overcast, and we’ll be leaving soon to go see a movie, so I have a little time.

While driving through New Smyrna, we came across my new car. Oh yeah!

I’m still keeping my fingers crossed for Friday’s shuttle launch, but right now there is only a 30% chance that it will launch. I’m bummed. But the shuttle launch was going to be a bonus, anyway, so I’ll have to just make do with having a nice week at the beach! I remain hopeful. Apparently, if they can find a window to launch, they’ll do so tomorrow, rather than wait until Sunday.

We met up with Cousin Greg and Aunt June at a good seafood place called Norwood’s. It was great to see them, because it’s been a while! I think I talked my head off, but it had just been quite a while since we’d gotten together. There is the possibility that Greg’s son (and Aunt June’s grandson) will be able to take us up in a small plane Friday afternoon, but that might not happen, either. Russell is attending Embry-Riddle University in Daytona (apparently considered the best aeronautics school in the world), has his pilot’s license, and has a guaranteed slot for his Marine Corps pilot training. All right, Russell! I hope a trip Friday afternoon will work out, but if not, we’ll catch it next time! Update: I just spoke with Greg, and it looks like the weather isn’t going to cooperate tomorrow. I’ll take Russell up on his flight offer next year when we’re down!

One of Monday’s highlights was a walk down the beach to Breakers, a place that is right on the beach. I love sitting out on the balcony to have a drink, looking out at the beach and catching the ocean breeze. I had two Rum Runners, which was a mistake. Note to self: stick with one in the future! Man, those were tasty and went down like freakin’ Kool-Aid, but they pack a wallop!

There was another trip to Breakers for burgers. They have amazing burgers, big and juicy. One of my two favorite burgers I’ve experienced so far. (The other was a recent addition, Port Of Call’s in New Orleans. Thanks George, sweetie! You were right!) I couldn’t resist an IPA from Athens, Gee-Ay (home of the B-52s and REM), Terrapin Hopsecutioner. It was tasty, too! I got a nice picture of a great blue heron at the golf course on Wednesday. I was initially puzzled by this sign at the vehicle entrance to the beach. I thought, “Are people planking or something?” After thinking about it, I guess they mean that where the cars park on the beach, you can’t stake out a place to lie in between them.

After the early movie this afternoon, I’m hoping for some decent enough weather to hit the beach again. (Update: It’s still very overcast, but I’m seeing some clear skies on the horizon.) If I have to, I’ll lay out between the clouds! I’ve got some pretty good tan lines going, especially after I made an executive decision to wear a bikini down here. I said to myself, “Self, have you seen some of the people wearing bikinis down here? Honey, you just feel free to go right ahead.” And I did!

All things considered, I prefer Smucker’s

Wow, I missed an entry yesterday! I feel so ashamed. Okay, not really, but it was weird to not update! I intended to, but our friend Lee came down to visit from Jacksonville, and there just wasn't time.

He got here around noon, and after sitting on the balcony and getting caught up a bit, we headed down the beach to one of our yearly stops, Breakers. They make the best burgers I've ever had, and every year, I love them even more. (Debbie L., we had a basket of onion rings, too!) Q: How do you make a cheeseburger better? A: Add more cheese! Ken and I both got the Three Cheese Burger, with American, Swiss, and Provolone. The extra cheese was delicious, and it was great to sit by the open window and look out at the beach as we ate.

After lunch, we went out to the beach and yes, frolicked. Ken and I tried to get one of his stunt kites up and running with limited success. I decided to hop in the water while Ken and Lee worked with the other kite, and had a pleasant time bobbing in the waves. They were those gentle swells that let you just float along and I was thoroughly enjoying myself, even feeling a little brave and taking on some bigger waves. (I can't swim, so I stay in where it's not over my head, but sometimes the waves are big!) It was beautiful and sunny, and I was as happy as a little girl.

Then, WHAM! I felt a sharp pain on my back and the underside of my arm. I knew right away that it had to be a jellyfish, and when I looked down, I saw a blob of jelly on my board shorts. I tried to rinse it off in the ocean right away, but it slithered down and stung my leg, too. In all the years we've been coming down here, I've never gotten a jellyfish sting before, and wow, that initial impact is intense! I came up and put Benadryl spray on it, and that really seemed to help. The initial sting wore off quickly, and there were no ill side effects, but those babies pack a wallop. I can now say that I know what a jellyfish sting feels like, and I hope they leave me alone for another eight years! I really don't hate the jellyfish...he was bob-bob-bobbing along just like I was, and the waves smashed him into me. After all, I was invading his space, wasn't I? I also suspect that he perished in the impact. I'm still alive. So I don't hate the little gel guy.

In the evening, Ken cooked spaghetti (Lee has braces, so we tried to make something that he could eat easily) and then we played card games. It's always great to see Lee, and we had a fun time!

Today, we made a stop at the cove where the manatees hang out, and Jamie, we took two bottles of water! As you can see, they came right up to Ken and got a nice drink. It was so cool!

After that, we went to JB's Fish Camp and had lunch. More fresh seafood (we had more raw oysters, and I had steamed rock shrimp--Ken had steamed clams), and all delicious. JB's has a very funky decor, with all kinds of fishing regalia, funny signs, and oddly, a lone snow ski. I noticed something up in the rafters and thought of our friend DB. (Check out the book!) On the way to JB's, I enjoyed looking at all the buildings and homes along the way. There are some impressive beach homes, but my favorite thing to see is the older, 50's-style homes, pastel stucco with flat roofs and louvered windows. I don't think I can describe how I feel when I see such buildings. It gives me a feeling of nostalgia that is almost palpable, and I can almost see and smell the interiors of such homes. The heat, the humidity, the still air in the yard, the sound of the cicadas in the trees, and the Spanish moss hanging from the trees. It reminds me so much of our trips down here when I was a kid, going to visit relatives, picking oranges from their trees, riding my bike down the road at Lemon Bluff and seeing the alligators at the side of the road, seeing the cottonmouths by the river, and the incredible lush verdancy of the countryside. The growth is almost frightening, and Stephen King alluded to that in his novel Duma Key. I understood immediately what he was trying to say, because that strange wild and violent growth seems almost sentient at times.

But I digress.

Then it was back "home," and after Lee left, we went back out to the ocean one last time (at least for this year). Happily, no jellyfish encounters, just a pleasant time enjoying the sun, waves, and sand! A storm rolled in this evening, but we've been so fortunate with having nice weather. Hard to believe that the week has gone by so quickly, and I know I'll feel sad when we leave tomorrow morning...but I'll look forward to next year!

Next stop...Asheville, North Carolina!