Thu: Flew to MCO and got in around midnight. We were offered $800.00 credit each for our airline seats as they were overbooked, plus first class to MCO via LAX. So tempting. But decided it would put our whole trip off & we'd be exhausted as I'm not good at sleeping on airplanes. Stayed @ Homewood Suites on Int'l Drive for the night. Went to a "McDonald's on Steroids" per our hotel desk. It was 2 stories high.
Fri: Went beach hopping on our way to St. Augustine. Stopped for lunch at Pizza Alley & ate outside and had a great calzone. A little disappointed in the shopping. Last time we were there they had lots of antique stores & old windows. This time more franchise shops. Then another hour to our condo in Amelia Island. Our condo was great. Everything from the gate code to the front door key pad all worked like clockwork. Always a relief. Then to grocery store to stock up for the next few days. It's warmer in UT than FL today.
Sat: Shrimp Festival in Amelia Island. Blocks & Blocks & more blocks of arts & antiques & shrimp.
Had lunch at Joe's Second Street Bistro where everything including the ketchup was homemade. I had a piece of key lime pie that cost $8.00 but it was good....After that went to Fort Clinch State Park & fort and that was really interesting, then shark tooth hunting on their beach. Fun day.
Sun: Got up early & drove 2 hrs to Savannah, GA where we got on an Old Savannah Tour trolley to see the town. We could hop off & on and shopped & sat for over an hour listening to a couple guys singing outside. Amazing buildings & history. Went to Paula Deens Retail store & bought a couple things. The restaurant needed reservations. On our way home stopped at St. Simons Island for dinner at Iguanas. (Florida's water is horrible even in a soft drink) Nice little town with a large fishing pier & a band was in the park.
Mon: This morning we took a 3 hr tour on Amelia River Cruises. Our Capt was Pajama Dave. He was wearing his pj's and I thought oh great what is this. He was the most amazing guide and knew the area so well. We went by Cumberland Island (where JFK, jr was married) and learned all about it & saw the wild horses that live there and the shrimp industry and the nuclear submarines. We saw 5 dolphins including a baby swimming beside us. Went to lunch at the Salty Pelican where they serve only local shrimp & it was great. After that went to Main Beach & American Beach that was a black beach. In the 1930's blacks were not allowed on the beaches & an insurance company that sold to african american's bought this beach so they were welcome on it. Lots of the old little houses & hotels still there next to the beach.
Tues: We decided since it's our last full day we would stay "home" and play on our beach. It's beautiful and we've walked it everyday. The sand is very compact and easy to walk on. Tom found one sharks tooth & a little lady we've met twice on our walks gave me one. We went to the Ritz Carlton that is right next door & went thru their shops & lobby in the afternnon. Then we headed back downtown to shop a little more and ended up eating at the Salty Pelican again for dinner because it was so good. Also went to Capt Pajama Dave's pajama store & bar for a beer and visited with him a little more.
Wed: Headed out about 9:30am. Not sure who's idea it was to drive 3 hrs back to Orlando to catch our plane. ha. Would have been nice to drive 30 min to Jacksonville even tho we had to go through ATL. Left plenty early & went to an outdoor mall we had visited with the kids 20 yrs ago that I remembered being fun to shop at. Was so sad not very many stores open there. Had lunch outside at Adobe Gilas then headed to airport. After going through the same tolls twice to get there & paying $4.00 parking we decided we're ready to go home. There are also fires close by & it was very smoky on our walk on the beach this morning. It was a wonderful trip with wonderful memories.♥
our spot on the beach with our condo in the background.
