We celebrated Joe’s 17th birthday on the 17th. We don’t have much space for purchased items, and we’ve learned that we don’t NEED to buy things just because it’s a celebration, so we decided to take Joe on a little mini vacation.
Before we left, Ethan’s grandmother decided to take care of Joe and Ethan’s birthday at the same time this year. Ethan wanted a hydroponic pepper growing kit, so she delivered a package that Ethan has been over the moon about. He planted and labeled his seeds. Stay tuned for progress on those little things.
We went on another hike to take in the fall, the boys were so hyper and loud I didn’t have to worry about sneaking up on any wildlife, so that was a perk.
Such a lush trailhead
Crunching the leaves on the trail
Watching the sun warming adjacent hills
Finding some interesting foliage
Like this GIANT leaf. They used that leaf until it was just pieces fanning each other and playing savages
Another use for the giant leaf: whip
Giggling and enjoying each other’s company
Colorful green/pink/purple bush
A view from a neighborhood near our hike
Because Joe has a strong passion for history, we decided to visit the oldest city in the US, St. Augustine, FL.
We got up in the dark for our 7 hour drive to the Ponce St. Augustine, our hotel home for the weekend. Once we arrived, we stretched out on our beds and marked our bed territory. After spending most of our latest showers in an RV sized shower stall, the double-headed shower this room housed was nirvana.
After we freshened up, we headed out to dinner at Scarlett O’Hara’s, less than a 15 minute walk away.
This is the gate that protected the city from invaders when the it was first founded
Here is a close-up of the blocks made of crushed seashells, called coquina.
Walking down the oldest streets in the country, enjoying the real life magical Disney-like feel of it all
Joe outside the historic building that housed the restaurant
The boys checking out the menu with Miss Scarlett in the background
I was introduced to Cuban coffee when visiting my friends in Miami a couple years ago and haven’t had it since. I was on a mission to get some of it, so we set off to a Cuban restaurant for brunch.
Although delicious, the coffee wasn’t exactly the same, but the food was delicious. The tres leches cake we decided to eat for dessert was the best tres leches I’ve ever tasted. If you’re ever in the area, make sure to visit La Harencia Cafe and try it. Even Eric said it was possibly the best dessert he’s ever had.
MMMM
MMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMM
Walking off a bit of our breakfast, we visited some of the shops and historic sites, and even ran into a long-time St. Augustine resident who wanted to share his knowledge on the coquina construction and area history from his perspective.
The Lions Drawbridge
Le Macaron
Macarons from Le Macaron
Le Macaron
In the courtyard of Cathedral Basicilica of St Augustine
Interior of Cathedral Basilica of St Augustine
Interior of Cathedral Basilica of St Augustine
Interior of Cathedral Basilica of St Augustine
Interior of Cathedral Basilica of St Augustine
Interior of Cathedral Basilica of St Augustine
Art gallery displaying some original works of Dr. Suess
Some originals by Salvador Dali
One of the many cannons in the area, but this one had googly eyes and it made us all laugh
The kids had a bit of school to work on, so we dropped them off at the hotel and decided to take the afternoon as a date. We rented a two person three-wheeled scooter and scooted around the narrow brick streets we couldn’t reach via car.
Looking down the street toward Flagler College
Flagler College
Flagler College
Ritzy hotel in St Augustine
Houses turned businesses
Oldest drugstore in the country
One of my dream houses, complete with Southern Charm
Beautiful oak trees with spanish moss
Flagler College
Joe needed more time to do his schoolwork and wanted to stay behind, so Ethan, Eric and I decided to find a beach and then grab something quick for dinner to bring back to Joe.
While we waited for our table, we brought Ethan to the shore so he could experience how nice and warm the ocean water is. He had a great time, and although he initially was just going to dip his toes in, once he realized how warm and wonderful the water felt, he couldn’t resist taking waves to the face, drenching his entire body.
Sweet boy at sunset
Expecting it colder, Ethan was happy to feel the warm water St Augustine is on
The margaritas were so good I had to have two. We spent the evening barefoot, dining at a picnic table in the sand and enjoying each other’s company.
The next day, we got to celebrate Joe turning 17. We started off the day with an adorable little mini piñata filled with chocolate candies and a few gifts. The loofa was mine…he just got to use it to beat the pulp out of his piñata if he so desired.
Then we went to an old military memorabilia store. The owner beamed with passion about how he found the items in his shop, who owned them, the stories the items held and how much he loved what he did every day. He was enjoying telling us about the items as much as the boys were enjoying listening to his stories and tales about them.
We decided to try Peace Pie, the pie filling ice cream sandwich place next to the Cuban restaurant, for a fun and different treat. In part, they were good, but they were also REALLY hard if they were pre-made, so it took away from the flavor. It was hot, so ice cream felt nice any way we could have it.
Ethan’s was one of the VERY frozen sandwiches, so it was difficult to eat. It was either a brick or a melty mess. Eric decided to do a little pie ice cream sandwich face smash and had Ethan giggling ice cream bubbles.
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the little downtown portion of St. Augustine. One of the buildings, the Lightner Museum, has a building that once housed the largest indoor swimming pool in the world. When we visited, though, it wasn’t full of water. It was filled with pirates eating and announcing their pirate club plans.
We then went to a restaurant that overlooked the ocean, called The Reef. If was absolutely fabulous food and the server was top notch in every way. We highly recommend it if you’re ever in the area.
After dinner we made a quick trip down to the little beach outside the restaurant. We’d hoped to do some fishing (neither Joe, Ethan nor Tiffany have ever fished in the ocean) but the winds were too strong for any decent fishing, even from the pier.
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