Vitamin Sea

I wandered southwest and found a little recharge for my battery - exactly what I was looking for!

Friday night I drove down to Preston, Georgia from Macon to see my S.G. (for new followers, that translates to Sweet Guy.) I was a little taken a back, in a good way, by his daughters bouncing outside to greet and hug me once I got there. It seems we have crossed into that "bonded zone" and for someone who could very well one day be permanently in their life, it was nice to see.

He and I parted ways from his family and headed down to his family's beach house in Mexico Beach, Florida. It is a cute little beach bum stilt house, that is sort of a weathered blue/gray with two bedrooms and one bath. It is directly across the street from the beach, snuggled in a little neighborhood across from the infamous El Governor, the main beach hotel in MB. We got into town close to 9:30 that night, stopping only briefly, in Dothan, AL, to grab a quick burger from Mickey D's. Since his family does not rent the house out, it took a little while to do all of the pre-vacation things to get the house ready: turn on the a/c, turn on the water/water heater, air out the home. We had a quick drink and few laughs and decided to crash.

Saturday morning I got up around 8am, after a really good night's sleep, and decided to cook us a hearty breakfast. While he was snoozing, I snuck on out and drove up to the one little grocery store in town and go some provisions: Cheese, Pickles, Bread, Coffee Creamer, More Cheese, Eggs, a Hat for the beach, and of course, cheese.

After breakfast, we hopped across the street to the beach. If you aren't familiar with Florida geography, Mexico Beach is on the Gulf of Mexico, east of Panama City and west of Apalachicola.

S.G. rented us some chairs and an umbrella, and this s where we camped out all day. Sipping Bud Lite Limeritas, discussing Gilligan's Island politics, staring at the waves crashing in, and chomping on pickles. We talked for hours, swam a little, and sat and read Palate, Southern Living, and Garden & Gun together. It was truly a magical day. By around 3ish, I was a little tired and wanted to finally grab some lunch, so we headed back to the house for snacks and a shower.

That night we drove over to Port St. Joe to eat at a little dive called Three Tails Oyster Bar. I was thrilled to find they had fresh Sangria! We indulged in a little Oysters Rockefeller and I ordered some grilled shrimp with jalapeno hush puppies, corn on the cob, and onion rings. S.G. ordered a blackened Trout sandwich with onion rings.

We laughed, we talked, we truly just let ourselves unwind and enjoy the perfect weather - mid 80s and cool breezes. As we drove back over to Mexico Beach, we were mesmerized by the incredible sunset. 

That evening, we decided to head over to the pier and order some ice cream cones

from this popular little shack called Tommy T's. I got a double scoop of strawberry shortcake on a cake cone, while he went for a double scoop of rocky road on a waffle cone.

We walked a little, then went back to his house and sat on the porch swing enjoying our frozen treats.

In classic "getting older" form, instead of hitting the karaoke bar (as intended,) we cuddled on the couch (I dozed off and on,) and watched crappy local television.

All in all the first official day was excellent. Well fed, well rested, and definitely well sunned.

On Sunday, I got up a little early and cooked another hearty breakfast for us. We ended up packing a lunch this time for an extended day at the beach. Of course we wanted to try something

a little different and take Gypsy, his border collie, to the dog beach with us. Salads, cheese, beer, and a pup - we headed out for another afternoon of sun, sand, and surf.

Gypsy was amazing on the beach - jumping in and out of the waves, chasing balls, and never once needing a leash. That dog is incredibly smart. When S.G. said sit - she sits. When he told her to stay on the blanket while we swam, she never once moved. Now that's a damn good dog. We sipped Bud Lite Limes, ate our salads, and relaxed the day away. I do believe HERE is where I got a little sun burned, but honestly, what's a trip without a little burn.

Between the sun, the tremendous amount of walking and swimming, as well as sipping beer in the sun, I needed to take a nap - so we headed back to the beach house and slept for almost 3 hours. Once we got up - it was time for dinner. We headed over to another dive, but this time stayed in Mexico Beach. We ended up at Mango Marley's. We ordered homemade potato chips with blue cheese crumbles, dressing, and scallions for an appetizer. I had a watermelon margarita with fresh watermelon inside of it. SG ordered a random sandwich of sorts, while I went for the yummy chicken wings. We chatted quit a bit about our future, and I am happy to report - we are going to take this as far as we possibly can. We work well together. And THAT is all that matters.

After dinner, we decided to go for a walk on the beach. There is nothing more relaxing that a little time together as the sun sets. It is always bitter sweet to be leaving vacation, but we knew this was it. All in all, it was a fantastic Memorial Day weekend. Yes, I know what the holiday represents. It represents one of the greatest sadnesses of all - losing someone you love in battle. But I think it says something to remember what these people were sacrificing - a way of life for the rest of us. By enjoying our lives and living our lives, we honor those who were protecting us. For that I thank everyone who serves, who has lost someone, and to those who will one day make the ultimate sacrifice.

I hope each and everyone of you had an excellent Memorial Day. Until Next time..

Taking Life With a Grain of Salt... A Wedge of Lime...

The past two weeks have been a whirl wind of good times coupled with relaxation, with a dash of stress and concern. 

*smh*

Needless to say, my writing is sporadic... and I am trying very desperately to do something about that. As you may have read earlier this week, I do plan to do a little five-part blog post. That will start on Monday, but until then, let me share with you a little of what is going on in my personal life.

As you can see in the top pic, my cats are adjusting to the heat the only way they know how, by finding a nice, cool dark spot in my closet, way up high, right on top of my clothes. *sigh* I promise those t shirts were folded very nicely before those two made an appearance.

Speaking of cats - Zen has decided he also likes to crawl into the laundry basket. Oh.. let me just add - he is quite the mouser. Yes... he caught a mouse in my apt. I don't even want to know how that little guy got in, but I know he won't do that again. About midnight last night I found Zen walking through with a mouse hanging out of his mouth. I ran screaming thru the house, grabbed a broom, got him to drop it, and banged the poor mouse numerous times on the head screaming - Die! Die! Die!.. then I swept him out the door - only to see him scurry off. *shudder*

Salvatore feels much better. He has been dealing with some blockages in his urethra. Finally off his meds. 

My plants are doing well!

My Gerber Daisies look awesome. Most have bloomed!

I may very well be in love with this little fella.

My Niece came over and spent a little time at my pool with me. I'm totally digging her bathing suit!

Enjoyed a little coffee talk with my friends Stephanie & Andre

My cousins from Indiana, Courtney & Betsy, came through Georgia and visited with us. 

Here is my Uncle Bill and Aunt June from Indiana. We met up at the Pickle Barrel in Gray, Georgia. 

That little stinker. 

If you have not gotten by Roasted lately, you really should. Nothing like a Mediterranean Lunch

enjoyed a little time with my sister in her new house. 

There are some perks to living in an apartment complex. 

My roomie and I took off last Friday for the Golden Isles... the southern coast of Georgia. Took about 3 1/2 hours and we ended up in St. Simons Island, Georgia. We wondered the shops in the village - just to shake off the stiffness from driving those back country roads through Georgia. 

Here I am.. chillaxing on the pier on the Atlantic in St. Simons. 

Here is Lynn doing the same exact thing. LOL There were a lot of fishermen out... 

Packing for a trip is not for the faint of heart. 

After a walk about, we stopped by Iguana Grill on St. Simons. I opted for the coconut shrimp and a baked potato. Later we got ice cream cones to carry as we walked around. 

The beautiful light house in St. Simons. 

More of the beachy shops on St. Simons. Georgia is simply beautiful, isn't it?

Two dear friends enjoying a road trip!

Beach Selfie

Enjoying the view from the pier. Yes, the Atlantic is a little darker than the Gulf. :-)

We felt like we could just let the stress of the week disappear. 

Next we popped down the road about 20 minutes and drove on Jekyll Island, Georgia. We made a way around the historic district to the most beautiful hiking trails to driftwood beach. 

Jekyll Island's Driftwood Beach is really quite a fascinating place. See the land in the distance on the right? That's St. Simons Island!

It's almost magical. 

There were hundreds of hermit crabs scooting into the sand near this spot. 

If you look head.. you can see the light house. :-)

We headed out to go shopping in the historic district. 

The walking trails leading to the shops and the historic homes (of the Rockafellers, Vanderbilts, Carnegie's etc.)

Jekyll Island, Georgia

We drove past Jekyll to Brunswick, and down about 30 more miles to Kingsland, Georgia to see my friend, Lisa. We met up with her at her home. 

Later that night she took us into St. Mary's, Georgia for dinner. We had a great time.. but headed back a little early to get some sleep. It had been a long day!

The next morning, we headed to Amelia Island, Florida to get a little beach time in. It was Lynn's 38th birthday, and we could not think of a better way to spend her birthday. 

Lynn relaxing on the beach, scrolling FB, drinking her iced caramel macciato (sp). 

The sea gulls discovered my cheeze its. 

We were at the beach from around 10am until 2pm. Soaking up the sun... playing in the water... just refilling our soul! But hunger called.... 

We met Lisa at Cedar River restaurant on Amelia Island. I had the best shrimp scampi of my life! After lunch, we headed back to get ready for Lynn's birthday night out in historic downtown Fernadina Beach, Florida. 

Here is Lisa and I at the oldest bar in Florida - The Palace Saloon. This place used to be the stomping grounds of pirates!

A very cool place - with a great band! They played covers from the 90s. 

Lisa & Lynn

Silliness

On Sunday, we got up, packed up, gased up, and headed up I-95, about an 1 hr 1/2 to Savannah, Georgia to see our friends. 

We met our friends at this adorable little beach shack of a restaurant out in the marshes on the way toward Tybee Island, called Bona Bella. 

Was great to see PC & JJ!

I ordered the Banana's Foster French Toast. 

We had soooooo many laughs.... 

Here you see the whole group - Lynn, PC, JJ, Me, and Cindy

After a lovely brunch, we headed back to their house and chatted for an hour or so. Later, we hated to say goodbye, but headed north-westward for Macon.

I could not be happier with the way the trip turned out. I needed that. I came back to Macon, only to continue the fight for our funds to be reinstated in the city/county's budget. It looks like we may be okay.

So many changes will come this summer, and I am looking forward to making the next 1/2 of the year the best 1/2 of the year.