March 16, 2010: St. Augustine, FL

We had a nice breakfast at the Inn which included Belgium waffles with fruit and whipped cream.   Fruit, country ham, and toast was available. 

Toured the Oldest House in the U.S.   They used to have swinging shelves in their homes which were used to scare the rats. Rats didn't like the swinging so they would jump back down on the ground.  Imagine living in a home with rats and mice. 

Toured the Castille de San Marco (fort), Fountain of Youth (Ponce de Leon landed here), Old Jail, and the Oldest School.   I would highly recommend the jail tour.  Prisoners were treated very poorly back then.   They worked 12 hrs on roads, wearing weights around their ankles.    The jail cells could be as warm as 110 degrees.  Many of the prisoners died of disease within a month.
They might be lucky to get a bath once a month, in which all of them used the same water.
Women prisoners did the cooking for the men which consisted of mainly beans and coffee.

On the tour of the oldest school, we learned that the bad kids would have the dunce hats on. The extra bad kids would be put in a hole on the floor called a dungeon.     I had never heard that before.

Had a nice seafood dinner at O.C. Whites.  I would highly recommend this place.

Our B&B had appetizers and then dessert in the evening. We went to the 

Ale Works and had their famous root beer.  

There is a ghost story book of St. Augustine they have in the gift shop.  It talks about our room at the Inn, Lilly's room.    There have been sightings of Lillys ghost in the room.    Lilly was an African American servant here many years ago, who had a love affair with the house owner's nephew.   It was a forbidden love.    

Anyway, some guests who have stayed in Lillys room have had experiences with Lillys ghost.  Apparently, she doesn't like MTV, so I turned it on to see if she shows up tonight. 

Tomorrow, we are off to the Lighthouse in St. Augustine and then start our decent south towards Melbourne.

March 15, 2010: St. Augustine, FL

We left Zephyrhills in the morning and headed towards St. Augustine.    We thought we would take a side trip to the Villages retirement community near Leesburg.  
We stayed there 3 nights 1 1/2 yrs ago at a beautiful cottage home to check it out.   
My mom almost bought a home there at that time.  It is so cute to see all of the fancy golf carts zipping all over.  We had rented a golf cart when we were there in 2008 which was alot of fun.     Today, we just wanted to drive around that area to see the changes.   They keep building more and more each time we stop.    The latest is a bunch of new medical office buildings.    Every restaurant you can think of is at the Villages.

We had lunch at Panera Bread and I swear I was the youngest person in the restaurant.  lol      You have never seen so many old people in one place until you go to the Villages.     Just a little tidbit....I heard the Villages has one of the highest rates of STDs so the old people still have it going on. 

The drive from the Villages to St. Augustine was long and boring.  There isn't much in central FL except a bunch of trees and dumpy looking homes.    You have to be by the cities or near the water to get the more upscale surroundings.

We are staying at the St. Francis Bed and Breakfast which I highly recommend.   We are staying in the Lilly room.    They served us vegies, crackers, spinach artichoke dip, and wine around dinner time.   They call it social hour. Then,in the evening, they had delicious chocolate cake with lots of chocolate frosting.   They have their own chef on the premises.   Also, they have flavored coffees that are complimentary, as well as wine.  You feel like a rich person staying here.

We walked around the town for a bit and found the shopping, Flagler College, the oldest school in the US, and the oldest house.  We will go on tours tomorrow of the different places.

March 13-14, 2010: Lakeland and Plant City

Mom and I flew on Allegiant Air from Grand pids directly to St. Petersurg airport.    

It was nice to not have a layover anywhere. The plane was completely filled. 

Once we got to St. Petersburg, we got our rental car and drove down to Ruskin, which is about 45 minutes southeast of St. Pete.  We had dinner with my mom's friend, Abi, and her boyfriend, Bernie.

We went to find my mom's friend, Gloria's, mobile home, where her brother and sister-in law were staying for a month.   Judy and Stan were home so they showed us around.  We also took a walk to the lake, Lake Manatee.

We got to Grandma's around 8 p.m. and stayed and visited.  Grandma just had surgery so she wasn't feeling up to par Saturday night.  I always enjoy chatting with Grandma and Norm.

Today, mom and I drove around Lakeland, FL as that is where we were planning to 

move about 1 1/2 yrs ago.   I really like the area. There are alot of lakes there. We found Lakeside Village which is a shopping center on highway 586.   We went to Starbucks, Talbots, and Chicos.

Then, we went to Plant City to the Strawberry Festival.   Traffic was terrible. We had delicious strawberry shortcake from the local catholic church that sponsors this tasty treat.

Sara Evans, the country music star, performed in the afternoon. She sings 'Suds in the Bucket' and other tunes.

After the concert, we found her touring bus.    I peeked through the gate like a paparazzi that I am and got a couple of pictures of Sara and her husband. 

Then, headed back to Zephyrhills to visit more with Grandma and Norm. 

Grandma looked much better today.   I love seeing her!

Tim McGraw Concert with Lady Antebellum opening

Patty, Mirelda, Alex, and I had a nice dinner at Sam's Joint before going to the Tim Mcgraw concert at the VanAndel arena in Grand Rapids on Feb. 27th.  Although we had nose bleed seats, we still had a great time, listening to great music.    The concert was sold out.     


I was very thankful the weather was decent enough to drive there.