I thought it might be fun to change it up a little so I'm trying out a new little slide show program.
Here are pictures from our ride in Florida, the town of St. Augustine and the beach at St. Augustine.
Enjoy!
Bike ride
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Walking around St. Augustine
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St. Augustine Beach
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Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
"What we did on our random February vacation" (day 1 & 2)
Day 1 (2/10) Drive 408 miles from our house to Brunswick, GA
It was a beautiful, sunny & slightly warm day. I-95 was a breeze and we arrived in Brunswick just in time for dinner!
So you ask, "why Brunswick and where the heck is it?"
Brunswick is the gateway town for the "Golden Isles" of GA. It's a port city (where lots and lots of European cars are brought in) and really close to St. Simon's and Jekyll Island. It also had a much better selection of hotels and places to eat (we like having choices...)
Map from the Visitors Center website
We ate at several really tasty places around Brunswick and St. Simon's:
Spanky's (seafood - we both had tuna steaks; mine over salad - mmm!)
Jim's Corner Cafe (delicious omelettes & breakfast foods)
Chealsea's - on St. Simon's Island (for the "casual gourmet")
Day 2 (2/11) - exploring St. Simon's Island and biking on Jekyll Island
We started out the day by visiting Ft. Frederica on St. Simon's (after attempting to drive onto Sea Island to check out the big $$$ houses, however it is not open to random gawkers like us). The Fort and town was built by the British in 1736 to protect the Colony of GA from the Spanish. Not much is left today, but it is a beautiful site to visit (only $3 a person!).
After lunch (waiting for the air temp to warm up) we took a nice little bike ride on Jekyll Island (just being there brought back so many memories!)
According to Paul's nifty new Garmin GPS cycling computer doohickey, which he got for Christmas, we rode over 15 miles. It was mostly paved, but we did a little 'off roading.' Thankfully neither of us was sore, but I was fighting an annoying head cold which left me without a voice (I think Paul may have enjoyed the fact that I couldn't talk seeing how long we were in the car with one another...)
...stay tuned for more stories & pictures!....
It was a beautiful, sunny & slightly warm day. I-95 was a breeze and we arrived in Brunswick just in time for dinner!
So you ask, "why Brunswick and where the heck is it?"
Brunswick is the gateway town for the "Golden Isles" of GA. It's a port city (where lots and lots of European cars are brought in) and really close to St. Simon's and Jekyll Island. It also had a much better selection of hotels and places to eat (we like having choices...)
Map from the Visitors Center website
We ate at several really tasty places around Brunswick and St. Simon's:
Day 2 (2/11) - exploring St. Simon's Island and biking on Jekyll Island
We started out the day by visiting Ft. Frederica on St. Simon's (after attempting to drive onto Sea Island to check out the big $$$ houses, however it is not open to random gawkers like us). The Fort and town was built by the British in 1736 to protect the Colony of GA from the Spanish. Not much is left today, but it is a beautiful site to visit (only $3 a person!).
Paul checking out one of the many informative signs
Amazing live oaks with Spanish moss
One of the last structures standing - the garrison
Christ Church on St. Simon's - built in 1820, rebuilt after the Civil War in 1889, still in use today! We heard the church bells from the Fort)
Amazing live oaks with Spanish moss
One of the last structures standing - the garrison
Christ Church on St. Simon's - built in 1820, rebuilt after the Civil War in 1889, still in use today! We heard the church bells from the Fort)
After lunch (waiting for the air temp to warm up) we took a nice little bike ride on Jekyll Island (just being there brought back so many memories!)
Getting Ready!
Yes, we have the same UNCA Cycling Jersey (and the same bike, and shoes, and... well, at least I have a different seat, shades, Camelbak and pedals!)
QUICK FLASHBACK to 2001
Paul and I on Jekyll - my first ride on the Trek roadbike Paul bought me for Valentine's Day
We almost stayed on the island, but there really wasn't a suitable place to stay (the great Holiday Inn, site of 2 Sigma Nu formals was leveled!). We did check out the Jekyll Island Club Hotel and came thisclose to staying there. Rates were only $129 a night - a steal - but alas, we knew we wouldn't spend enough time there to make it worth it.
A quick stop in the historic district to check out a nicely restored Spanish style structure (and fountain). Amazingly there were tons of flowers in bloom - so nice to see in early February!
Paul along the 'drftwood beach'
We paused for a moment at the old bridge crossing and happened to see 2 dolphins swimming under the bridge!
Yes, we have the same UNCA Cycling Jersey (and the same bike, and shoes, and... well, at least I have a different seat, shades, Camelbak and pedals!)
QUICK FLASHBACK to 2001
Paul and I on Jekyll - my first ride on the Trek roadbike Paul bought me for Valentine's Day
We almost stayed on the island, but there really wasn't a suitable place to stay (the great Holiday Inn, site of 2 Sigma Nu formals was leveled!). We did check out the Jekyll Island Club Hotel and came thisclose to staying there. Rates were only $129 a night - a steal - but alas, we knew we wouldn't spend enough time there to make it worth it.
A quick stop in the historic district to check out a nicely restored Spanish style structure (and fountain). Amazingly there were tons of flowers in bloom - so nice to see in early February!
Paul along the 'drftwood beach'
We paused for a moment at the old bridge crossing and happened to see 2 dolphins swimming under the bridge!
According to Paul's nifty new Garmin GPS cycling computer doohickey, which he got for Christmas, we rode over 15 miles. It was mostly paved, but we did a little 'off roading.' Thankfully neither of us was sore, but I was fighting an annoying head cold which left me without a voice (I think Paul may have enjoyed the fact that I couldn't talk seeing how long we were in the car with one another...)
...stay tuned for more stories & pictures!....
Monday, February 19, 2007
Vacation!
We're back! Vacation was great! We covered about 1500 miles and spent well over 30 hours in the truck (and about 25 miles on our bikes), but it was SO WORTH IT! I'm still in the process of downloading pictures and trying to decide how to post and share all our fun with you without boring you to tears...
For now, though, you'll have to settle for this random sighting we had while walking through the Old City St. Augustine (it sums up our attitude for the trip):
Yes, 'yay for pickles' :)
For now, though, you'll have to settle for this random sighting we had while walking through the Old City St. Augustine (it sums up our attitude for the trip):
Yes, 'yay for pickles' :)
Monday, February 12, 2007
On vacation!!!
We're currently on a spontaneous vacation! It's nice and warm here in Florida and we're having a great time! I'm taking lots of pictures and trying not to break anything while on my radical mnt bike (we've ridden more than 25 miles thus far!) through the swamps, marshes and hammock forests (I'm still trying to figure out what a "hammock forest" is).
Stay tuned!
Stay tuned!
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
A non-weather entry (well, maybe)
Our lives have been pretty boring recently and I wanted to post something on the blog and the weather always won out. One little tidbit about our recent weather - it is FREEZING (yes, I know it is winter, but come on!). We didn't beat the lowest for this morning (which was 10 degrees), but as far as I'm concerned, the measly 15 degrees on our weather station felt like a record cold to me! I was impressed to see the Neuse River (at the Falls Lake Dam) frozen along the edges - that's a first in a long, long time. Well, it was a record cold for this winter thus far. Yay.
We did get 'out of the house' on Saturday to try out a fairly new BBQ place in Raleigh. I'd seen and heard a little about "Hideaway BBQ" on Capital Blvd just inside the Beltline. I knew that they hosted a fair amount of country singers and had Monday night country karaoke (from the great Greg Cox of the Raleigh N&O). Every Friday I pull out the "What's Up" weekend section in the N&O to flip through the pages to read Greg's latest review. Greg posted his review about the joint in early January and it's been in the back of my mind ever since. Once we pulled up their website and saw they have fried green tomatoes AND fried pickles, we had to check it out. They have a lot of interesting BBQ - they don't discriminate on the "eastern/western NC" bbq stereotypes - they have Texas, Kansas City and Memphis style bbq on the menu as well (sweet, smoky, sour, hot & tangy).
Our take: The table is set with brown paper and they don't see a need in giving you plates for the hushpuppies or your first course. We made quite a mess on that brown paper! It just felt wrong eating straight out of the basket and over the table. The fried pickles were tasty - beer battered and thick cut (a little too sweet and too much batter for our liking). We are in love the the fried dill pickle chips at "Out-n-Back" AKA "OB's BBQ" in Atlanta and have a high standard for our fried dills. We've not encountered anything like them 'up here, yet. Paul had the Texas beef brisket BBQ sandwich and I had the Western NC pulled pork BBQ sandwich (we both choose fried okra as the side and each came with coleslaw). They were both tasty and we had our choice of 4 different sauces on the table. Nothing was spectacular (other than watching the NCSU vs. UNC-CH game on the big screen - GO PACK!) so I doubt we'll return any time soon - we've got so many other NC BBQ places to explore!
Also on Saturday we considered tearing out sheet rock and installing new moldings and trim in the foyer. We have a huge open doorway between the foyer & the dining room that's ugly naked sheet rock. After seriously considering the mess and mayhem that would ensue if we started tearing out the wall, we decided to do a little reconnaissance mission at Lowe's to gauge how much this little project would have on our bank account (and relationship!). Thankfully, we decided to put it off for another day and instead quelled our desire for a home project and purchased a new handle set for the front door. On any shopping trip I cannot contain my desire to check out the 'clearance' items. Our Lowe's has clearance tables from time to time and every once in a while you find a great deal (after sifting through ugly wallpaper borders and strange items that I'm not sure any one has use for). We found the handle set we had been eying marked down, was $154 to $85, viola! Weekend project goal accomplished!
Check it out: (well, the website picture anyway, I've been too lazy to take an actual picture)
It took a lot longer to complete the installation thanks to the talented (NOT!) people who originally installed our front door (which never quite latched correctly). Thankfully Paul had all the tools he needed to chisel out the holes in the door frame as well as slightly alter the metal plate with his handy-dandy Dremmel tool. I'm not sure how long it took, but in the end it was all worth it - we have a beautiful front door!
We're working on FUN WEEKEND plans... maybe we'll go somewhere WARM and take our bikes - we're waiting to see what the weather will do...
We did get 'out of the house' on Saturday to try out a fairly new BBQ place in Raleigh. I'd seen and heard a little about "Hideaway BBQ" on Capital Blvd just inside the Beltline. I knew that they hosted a fair amount of country singers and had Monday night country karaoke (from the great Greg Cox of the Raleigh N&O). Every Friday I pull out the "What's Up" weekend section in the N&O to flip through the pages to read Greg's latest review. Greg posted his review about the joint in early January and it's been in the back of my mind ever since. Once we pulled up their website and saw they have fried green tomatoes AND fried pickles, we had to check it out. They have a lot of interesting BBQ - they don't discriminate on the "eastern/western NC" bbq stereotypes - they have Texas, Kansas City and Memphis style bbq on the menu as well (sweet, smoky, sour, hot & tangy).
Our take: The table is set with brown paper and they don't see a need in giving you plates for the hushpuppies or your first course. We made quite a mess on that brown paper! It just felt wrong eating straight out of the basket and over the table. The fried pickles were tasty - beer battered and thick cut (a little too sweet and too much batter for our liking). We are in love the the fried dill pickle chips at "Out-n-Back" AKA "OB's BBQ" in Atlanta and have a high standard for our fried dills. We've not encountered anything like them 'up here, yet. Paul had the Texas beef brisket BBQ sandwich and I had the Western NC pulled pork BBQ sandwich (we both choose fried okra as the side and each came with coleslaw). They were both tasty and we had our choice of 4 different sauces on the table. Nothing was spectacular (other than watching the NCSU vs. UNC-CH game on the big screen - GO PACK!) so I doubt we'll return any time soon - we've got so many other NC BBQ places to explore!
Also on Saturday we considered tearing out sheet rock and installing new moldings and trim in the foyer. We have a huge open doorway between the foyer & the dining room that's ugly naked sheet rock. After seriously considering the mess and mayhem that would ensue if we started tearing out the wall, we decided to do a little reconnaissance mission at Lowe's to gauge how much this little project would have on our bank account (and relationship!). Thankfully, we decided to put it off for another day and instead quelled our desire for a home project and purchased a new handle set for the front door. On any shopping trip I cannot contain my desire to check out the 'clearance' items. Our Lowe's has clearance tables from time to time and every once in a while you find a great deal (after sifting through ugly wallpaper borders and strange items that I'm not sure any one has use for). We found the handle set we had been eying marked down, was $154 to $85, viola! Weekend project goal accomplished!
Check it out: (well, the website picture anyway, I've been too lazy to take an actual picture)
It took a lot longer to complete the installation thanks to the talented (NOT!) people who originally installed our front door (which never quite latched correctly). Thankfully Paul had all the tools he needed to chisel out the holes in the door frame as well as slightly alter the metal plate with his handy-dandy Dremmel tool. I'm not sure how long it took, but in the end it was all worth it - we have a beautiful front door!
We're working on FUN WEEKEND plans... maybe we'll go somewhere WARM and take our bikes - we're waiting to see what the weather will do...
Thursday, February 01, 2007
The snow has arrived!
The snow was later and has lasted longer than they predicted! Shocking.... well, maybe not so much. I swear it seems to be impossible to predict winter weather in central NC. All the local schools were cancelled and even Paul's office is closed... my work, however, hasn't made such decision. Anywho - I had to take a few photos of the SNOW because, well, that's what I should do!
Snow around 9:30am (looking from the loft)
Snow on the driveway and my recently washed & waxed car
Around 11am
Snow on the landscape light
If it continues, I'll take a few more pictures and post them on my Flickr page. For now, I'm going to get back to 'work' which includes laundry, vacuuming and maybe some work, work since I brought it all home with me. Mmmm, the house is starting to smell so good - we've put a roast in the Crockpot.
Snow around 9:30am (looking from the loft)
Snow on the driveway and my recently washed & waxed car
Around 11am
Snow on the landscape light
If it continues, I'll take a few more pictures and post them on my Flickr page. For now, I'm going to get back to 'work' which includes laundry, vacuuming and maybe some work, work since I brought it all home with me. Mmmm, the house is starting to smell so good - we've put a roast in the Crockpot.
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