Sunset at Clearwater Beach.
Bed ‘N Biscuit A Success!
We have determined that Boxer and Sydney’s stay at Bed ‘N Biscuit was a success. We are mulling over the idea of introducing Peanut to Mila. Of course, Peanut presents her own issues of fence climbing and escape, so we’ll tread carefully with her.
While on vacation, we did communicate with Mila and want to share with you some her descriptions of our dogs. They are priceless!
“They are taking to their boarding adventure with relish: arguing across the fence with some dogs they despise and giving friendly sniffs to others who are OK by their doggy standards. I marvel how they decide INSTANTLY whom to love and whom to display all their teeth to!”
“Your doggies are troopers! Miss Sydney has some likes and dislikes, and she gives the Dislikes a piece of her mind across the fence…. Then she goes to her favorites and does nicey-face at them. Boxer thinks all that girl stuff is plain silly and would rather watch the squirrels and coax them down from the trees with soulful eyes.”
Spot on, Mila, spot on!
St. Augustine – Part Deux
Ah, the city of St. Augustine! We enjoyed a fun six days in this historic city. Here is one of many statues displayed in this historic town. It was taken in front of the Lightner Museum and no, we did not go inside…but we decided to act like a tourist and take its picture…we passed it many times as we walked to and from our lodgings.
For those of you familiar with St. Augustine, the first morning we breakfasted at The Bunnery Cafe, but then we found this bagel place. The owners were nice and the bagels and coffee rocked. They even let us bring Peanut! Super cool…
We went kayaking for the first time ever and we will certainly do it again. You can see downtown St. Augustine from here. If you want to kayak, go to Anastasia State Park. They’ve got an outfitter there that will set you up with everything you need. When we went they were cash only – and rental fees start at $20 for the first hour. We got quite the upper body workout.
Another view. We picked a lovely day to paddle.
When you go to Anastasia park you must stop by Island Joes for a fish taco, fish and chips, hamburger, etc. The food was good and the owners really nice. There’s a small store next door in case you forgot something – lots of camping supplies and other stuff.
We enjoyed Anastasia so much that we decided on a whim to cycle there. We had to cross the Bridge of Lions. Nice views, eh? Lisa looks real smart wearing her Tilley.
The great thing about this vacation was that we didn’t have television, internet or a stove. So, we were forced to get out and get out a lot – yes, every meal was eaten out. But, we loved it! We walked so many miles! And ate at some very good restaurants! This was definitely one of our most enjoyable and satisfying vacations. Thank you Terry and Tom for allowing us to stay at your place. You rock! And St. Augustine rocks!
Downtime in St. Augustine
We’re enjoying some down time in St. Augustine. The house we’re staying in is close to one hundred years old and situated perfectly. It’s located in Lincolnville Historic District – “St. Augustine’s most prominent historically black neighborhood.” We are a 10-15 minute walk to downtown and the other more famous historic district.
The picture above was taken while dining at Caps restaurant. The food was good but the view was better. Earlier this evening we went to the famous O’Steens – known for their fried shrimp. Expecting a long wait we brought reading material – but had unknowingly timed it perfectly and had NO wait at all. The food was very good – I enjoyed my side dishes almost as much as my shrimp.
We’ve taken Peanut to the beach twice. This vacation is good for her, too. She gets our one-on-one attention. Hopefully, all these experiences will lessen her nuttiness.
The big dogs are at Bed ‘N Biscuit. Mila, the owner, called to assure us that Boxer and Sydney were doing well. She knew their mamas were having a hard time saying goodbye.
Yesterday, we found a used book store and purchased a few good reads. It’s now time for me to pick up my book and enjoy some quality quiet time.
Ciao.
Not Your Grandfather’s Warehouse – A Dining Review
In the most unlikely of places we were pleasantly surprised to find a delightful new restaurant in downtown Gainesville. The Warehouse Restaurant& Lounge is located at 502 South Main Street. In this converted auto shop you will be treated to some very good food and ambience. While it looks upscale on the inside dressing up is not necessary. We were dressed casually as were most of the other patrons.
Let’s get to the point. We started off with drinks. Mir enjoyed a nice glass of an Australian red and Lisa threw caution to the wind and ordered a Margarita.
We skipped appetizers because we noticed their dessert menu – cheesecake trumped calimari. Mir’s entree was the “Grilled Filet of beef topped with crumbled blue cheese, mushroom fondue and a side of seared yukon gold potatoes.” Lisa’s entree consisted of “Grilled flank steak and snowcrab mac n’cheese made with penne and tossed in a white cheddar bechamel with tender chunks of snowcrab.” Yummo! Our mouths are watering again as we type this. Mir said her filet was cooked to perfection. Lisa’s meal was so good she cleaned her plate which was problematic as room for dessert might have become an issue. Fear not, dear reader, we both shared a raspberry key lime cheesecake. OMG! What a gastronomical experience.
The owner, Richard Yoh, stopped by to chat and thank us for coming. We thanked him for opening up a lovely eatery on our side of town.
Check out The Warehouse website. Directions are on the front page. FYI: they do accept major credit cards except for Discover.
Our rating: two thumbs up! We’ll be back for sure. Why don’t you give it a try?
Local Wildlife in the Area
One of our resident owls. Haven’t seen any babies this year – but it sure is fun to watch and listen to the adults.
Using her phone, Miriam took this pic of an alligator while walking to work – she sees all kinds of wildlife there. This one looks big but was actually only about 4 feet long.
We encountered this weather rabbit during our walk around the duckpond. Forecast sounds pretty accurate don’t you think?
Pedestrian Safety
We were thrilled this week to see that the city had erected pedestrian signs and painted the cross walks at the corner of NE 8th Avenue and NE 9th Street. Our neighborhood association had requested this be done and the city did it! Apparently, this intersection had been on the list to be improved – and we think our specific request and follow up may have sped things up. It looks great and will make it safer to walk the area.
Where do all the frogs come from after a rain – it’s like they magically appear. Where do they live when it’s not raining? Anyway, this one showed up on our banister. Take care, Mr. Frog.
This and That
Yesterday our neighbor, Mandy, stopped by to chat. While she was here our neighbors across the street called to see if they could check out our remodel and take some measurements. They’re also getting some plans drawn up in anticipation of their own remodelling. So, they came over and we had a grand time viewing their new plans and talking about the remodel, etc., etc. Suddenly, hanging down from our fence was the notice below:
We had monopolized Mandy for so long that Thomas was handing out flyers trying to find her. Of course we invited him over too and had a grand time. Let me report that our new porch was plenty big enough for all of us. Can’t wait til it’s finished. Please hurry, Mr. Contractor.
Natura Pet Sold to Proctor & Gamble – Ugh!
Well, friends, we will be looking for a new dog food. Natura Pet, which makes several different pet foods including California Natural that we feed to our dogs, has been sold to Proctor & Gamble. The song, “Another One Bites the Dust” comes to mind. I can guarantee you that even though Natura Pet says, “we will continue to deliver the high quality products that have earned consumers’ trust”, the food ingredients and formulation will change and become another big box dog food that’s crap. I believe you are what you eat. That goes for our pets, too. Yes, it’s more expensive but they’re worth it. Period.
An Alternative to Coke Products?
Looking for an alternative to the typical soft drink? Trying to avoid HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup)? A co-worker, Andrew, turned us on to this brand. The ingredients are much better than what you’ll find in Coke or something similar. The ginger ale even has Vitamin C.
We don’t drink much soda but when we do we’re now reaching for one of these. There are a bunch of different flavors. Check them out at Ward’s.
Mirlisa's Bits and Pieces 