21 Nov Florida or Bust
So folks, we have left Georgia and arrived in St. Augustine FL. Although, not all of us will make it all the way down to St. Augustine. Yup, Christopher Robin (CR) needed some love and we dropped him off at a RV dealership in Jacksonville. Shout out to Travel Camp RV and especially Tiffany for her amazing attention to us and her working with the manufacturer Forest River to fix CR’s ills.
Because CR’s visit to Travel Camp was a bit longer than we had expected, our stay with dear friends, BK and Amy in St. Augustine was extended. (My heart is doing a happy dance right now, cuz Amy is a friend from middle school who I love dearly. Getting to spend extra time with her was fine by me).
I won’t bore you with details of Christopher Robin’s issues. Dave covered that.
What I will share is how fantastic St. Augustine is. Amy and BK have a lovely home in the historic district of the city. The streets are lined with unique and charming houses. And the oak trees with the Spanish moss are everywhere! We learned way back in Savanah that we look and don’t touch the moss. Remember those chiggers….
Enjoying St. George Street with BK and Amy
Oak trees and Spanish moss
While spending these eight, yup eight days with our friends (these are good friends!), we fell in love with their pups as well, Buddy and Poco. We lost our sweet old girl Annie (17 1/2 years young) back in June, and this is the first time since 1986, that we haven’t had a dog to love and cuddle. What really touched us both, was how incredibly loving and affectionate these two small rescues were to us, strangers in essence to them. No joke, Dave really did keep threatening to kidnap these cuties. I knew he was joking, but I did see Amy hold them a little tighter as we said goodbye. 🙂
Poco and Buddy
Pups and beach 🙂
So many wonderful sites to see in St. Augustine. Strolling St. George Street, walking around Fort Castillo de San Marcos, Bridge of Lions, lots of breweries, light houses, fantastic restaurants, and beautiful beaches, and amazing artists. (BK you rock!) There is so much rich history here and beautiful architecture. Need to come back to explore more.
St. Augustine Lighthouse
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument
Award winning chair made by BK
All that is awesome, but given this wonderful opportunity we have, Dave and I really want to experience the everyday, the non-touristy things and people that make this country so amazing. What fun it was to go to a block party in Amy and Bk’s neighborhood, to see people of all ethnic backgrounds and ages, come together and celebrate the fall with a great smattering of potluck everything. Yum. Or walking the beach where Hurricane Irma had just left a path of destruction, an in your face reminder of the power of nature. Or running to the nearest Publix Grocery store and being greeted by their employees with such pleasantries, from the stock clerk, to the cashier and baggers. How refreshing to interact with people just doing their jobs, but doing it with a sense of pride. Encouraging.
Block party snow cones!
Florida School for the Deaf and Blind
What moved us perhaps the most was on our last day in St. Augustine, when Amy, who is the Director of Development at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, invited us to see a performance given by a dance troupe of deaf students. Powerful, heart tugging, wonderful, joy-filled. These talented kids, brought me to tears. Their challenges are so obvious and real. Yet watching them serenade Dave on stage or dance with me and some other audience members, all we saw was young folks really giving it their all and having fun. We could all learn so much from those with different abilities.
Our last evening was completed with a nighttime walk on the beach to see the moon in a phase called a waxing gibbous moon (I had to google it, you should too 🙂
Moonlight beach walk
It was tough to say goodbye to the Moring’s and St. Augustine. We so appreciate them putting up with us for an extended period of time, the endless laundry I did, me wanting the fan on all the time (BK, thanks!), and the delicious meals we shared together. Although we hadn’t planned on staying there as long as we did, we couldn’t have been happier to be “stuck” with Amy and Bk. It is our honor to have them as friends.
What I think about now is that Dave and I really are a good team. Not without hiccups, but they are always met with laughter and hugs. We have been married for thirty two years and known each other for thirty six. Amazing that when you spend 24/7 with another human being, you can still learn new things about one another. Some of these new learned things are ehhh, but most are just awesome.
We are beach people 🙂
For Us, It’s Not Abad Day 🙂