Weekend at Perry's

We took full advantage of the last weekend before school started and spent the weekend at an independent resort in Daytona Beach. While I love the Marriotts, Hiltons, and Comfort Inns of the world, the chain hotels just aren't as interesting as our independently owned superior small lodgings. Perry's Ocean Edge is a true, good old fashioned Florida beach resort at its best. The property has 3 pools, including one indoor pool so that the inevitable afternoon thunder

storms don't result in wet, bored, cranky kids. 

The resort has picnic areas everywhere, perfect for a group like ours with 3 families staycationing together. It's right on the beach with a lifeguard tower strategically positioned in sight. Almost every room has some sort of kitchen, some even have full kitchens, and lots of options for sleeping arrangements. This is where we had MiniMe's birthday party and this time we enjoyed oceanfront kids suite rooms. The view was awesome. The kids enjoyed the bunks and tv/game system in their "room" and we saved a lot of money by bringing drinks and snacks with us, stored conveniently in our in-room kitchenettes. Highlights of the weekend included:

• Homemade strawberry ice cream made by Beloved and enjoyed by all!
  
• Fresh, hot, homemade donuts, served up free by the Perry's Ocean Edge crew each morning for guests. 
  
• Watching the Main Street fireworks from our hotel balcony Saturday night.
  
• Being able to keep an eye on the kids that were enjoying the beach AND the ones enjoying the pool from our shady table on the resort "lawn". 
  
• Did I mention the Tiki Bar?
  
• Early afternoon brunch at Tiki Bill's restaurant on site, with the best homefries in town!
• 
  

If you really want a beach vacation that will give you the true Florida experience, try a superior small lodge in your area. I highly recommend it. And you can visit Perry's here. 

By the way, we decided that when we retire we may just move into Perry's, on the ground floor of course (ouch, my hip!). So in 30 years I'll be posting a photo of our same group here only a little older and a lot more relaxed!

You can't see that from Ohio

For the first time since 1946, the state of Florida actually lost residents with its cumulative population number going down. With that news and Hurricane Bill sitting in the Atlantic staring right at us, I thought it might be a good time to remind myself (and all of you) of just one reason why Florida is such a great place to live. 

We can see the space shuttle and rockets launch from our front yard!

I recently visited the Kennedy Space Center and really enjoyed it. Haven't been there since I was a kid and I definitely appreciated it more this time. I've taken for granted the fact that as Floridians we have been an eyewitness to history by watching the spectacular launches of rockets and space shuttles. In fact, it wasn't until I was in college that I realized that not everyone in the U.S. can see the space shuttle launch. I just assumed it flew over every state at some point or something, I don't know what I was thinking. My stupidity became crystal clear when I was a college Junior and working at the Orlando theme park Wet N Wild one summer. The space shuttle was scheduled to launch that day and the park kept making announcements about it to keep everyone informed of the launch time. One visitor told me his entire family planned their Florida vacation so that they would be able to see the shuttle launch. 

"You mean you've never seen it?"

"We live in Ohio. Of course we've never seen it."

"You can't see it in Ohio?"

"Ummmm, no."

I know he must have been thinking dumb blonde!

Wash N Dry Lions

While the Bridge of Lions has been under renovation in my hometown of St. Augustine, the actual lion sculptures have gotten a bath and a makeover - a very expensive and methodical scrub & shine. You can see more about their clean-up in this story in the St. Augustine Record. 

That's a picture of a good number of my high school senior class on one of the lions back in 1986 (that's my little pea-sized head at the very top). 

The two white marble lions that have "guarded" the bridge in the historic district of St. Augustine since 1927, got a much needed refurbishing while the bridge is under construction. They were moved to a warehouse, washed, scrubbed and repaired by artisans and art historians. They will be replaced as sentries at the foot of the bridge when the renovation of the bridge is finished sometime next year.

The white marble lions have been highly recognizeable icons for the Oldest City since they were donated by a former St. Augustine mayor and placed prominently on either side of the bridge in the early 20th century. As a kid growing up there, we heard all kinds of spooky stories, myths, and legends about the lions, their creator and their guardianship of the bridge. 

I don't know if any of the stories I heard were true (probably not) but I can't wait to see them back at the foot of the bridge!

Hurricane Safe Zone

So we're smack in the middle of hurricane season and all we've seen so far this year (thank God) are some afternoon thunderstorms and a few weeks where it rained way too much and flooded some areas. Until yesterday . . .

Wondertwin and I were enjoying a wine tasting at the Vino 100 where we are both now wine club members - that's right, we have glasses with our names on them. It had been a little overcast, but the sun was still shining every now and then at 6 p.m. Then Wondertwin starts getting call after call on her iPhone (which is really annoying when you're trying to drink wine and gossip). Her mom calls, her Man Du Jour calls, and they're all wanting to know if she's ok or if she's caught in the really bad weather our area is apparently experiencing. 

We glance out the window, nothing, not even a sprinkle. Nope, seems we are in the Cone of Safety, and that's located at the Vino 100. But apparently, chaos is breaking out all around us. Funnel clouds in Ormond Beach, tornadoes touching down in Port Orange. Really. 

Wondertwin and I had just last week been discussing our hurricane plans this year. Seems her baby daddy has declared his newly remodeled home to be hurricane evacuation central for her and the kids. But, even if his home wasn't on the river in a flood zone, I faced no competition in him luring her and the kids away from my home during evacuation periods. I have a brick home inland, and I have a generator. Last time we had major hurricanes, Wondertwin and her kids stayed here for several days and enjoyed hot meals, cold popsicles, cold wine (for the mommies) and the kids slid down the stairway in their sleeping bags for hours. The kids were entertained and the mommies could track the storm on the radio while reading back issues of US Weekly. 

So after yesterday, I now know that the Vino 100 is also a great hurricane evacuation zone - and it's fully stocked!

Cup half full

I've decided to have a positive outlook today. Yea, I know, must be an overdose of medication or something. But, instead of jumping on my blog and griping about the rain and how flooded everything is here in Central Florida (we got 15 inches of rain between Monday and Wednesday), I was inspired by the sun peaking through the clouds today to write something positive.

Here goes.

5 Things I love about Florida (in no particular order)

The booming frog chorus that erupts in the evening especially after it rains. I hear it and picture that singing frog from the Looney Tunes cartoons and it makes me smile. 

TV Weathermen/women in Florida. This has to be one of the most amusing, sometimes tedious, then suddenly frantic jobs in the world. Sunny, chance of rain in the afternoon. Sunny, chance of rain in the afternoon. Sunny, chance of rain in the afternoon. HURRICANE!!!

Tourists. Love 'em or hate 'em, they're amusing. And they provide a boost to the economy. 

Wildlife. Today on my travels I came across the following: wild turkeys, a Redbird pair, pond turtles, a 3.5 foot carp, a red-tailed hawk, a monarch butterfly. 

Walking barefoot in rain puddles. Yes, I've gotten to do a lot of that this week. This was one of my favorite activities as a kid. Rolling up the pants legs and sloshing around the streets through all the puddles. And now that I'm an adult, I don't have hear my mom yelling at me "You girls get out of those puddles!! You're going to get ringworm!!"

Warning! Travel Advisory

Wondertwin is organizing a girls getaway weekend in June to Fernandina Beach. You have been warned!

If you happen to live in Fernandina Beach, or if you were thinking of visiting there, just be aware there may be a whole posse of middle aged mommies running free-range through town. We shop. We sip. We surf. We get spa treatments. We laugh too loud and act otherwise inappropriate for our ages. 

If you're traveling to the posh resort area of Amelia Island, only you take a wrong turn, you'll find the historic and funky seaside town of Fernandina Beach. Others might pick the luxury of Amelia Plantation, but me and the girls are just suckers for a quaint downtown area listed on the National Register of historic places. Plus, Fernandina Beach is home to the oldest Florida bar continuously in operation - the Palace Saloon. Beloved and I spent a great night there years ago enjoying a band made up of guys over 50 who rock playing for local college kids. It was quite entertaining. 

While Cedar Key may be all about clams, Fernandina Beach is home of the modern day shrimping industry.  Its harbor was the place where shrimp fishermen tossed aside the castnets, and launched motor propelled shrimp trawlers. 

Fort Clinch is a must-see. It's just up AIA and was occupied during the Civil War by Union Forces. Fort Clinch is a very picturesque spot nestled in a gorgeous Florida state park. My favorite plumbers, Sci Fi channel's Ghost Hunters, even filmed an episode there. 

Shopping, shrimp, saloons and spectral soldiers. Sounds good to me!

Weird & Wonderful

My ever-shrinking local newspaper carried two totally weird only-in-Florida stories today and one wonderful one. 

First the weird. Residents of a mobile home park in Fruitland fed an escaped circus monkey Coke, potato chips  and Twinkies long enough to alert his owner/captor to get to the park to retreive the wayward performer. The monkey, named Reggie, had been on the lam since March 13 when he had escaped during a performance at a Florida flea market. 

The second shark bite victim of 2009 in my little part of Florida alone was reported yesterday. Just a flesh wound. Surfers taste like chicken. Did I mention that I live in the shark-bite capital of the world? Really. 

Now for the wonderful. One of my favorite original Florida theme parks, Marineland, made news. The place known as the "World's First Oceanarium" officially opened its Dolphin Conservation Field Station yesterday. The Field Stat

ion is a partnership between Marineland and the Georgia Aquarium. A great example of the old and new working together. I got a chance to visit the Georgia Aquarium last year and I highly recommend it. But my first love will always be Marineland, located between St. Augustine and 

Daytona Beach on AIA. 

I remember the excitement of seeing the diver feed the dolphins and other sea life as I watched from one of the "porthole" windows conveniently placed at "kid level" along the sides of the Oceanarium. Saw my first eel at Marineland. View the history of the "World's First Oceanarium" here. 

News like this in my daily paper on a regular basis is just one more reason why I love living in Florida. 

Barefoot

You may think my last post about being shocked at all the facial piercings flaunted by local high schoolers made me sound old, but here's something that makes me feel really old. I realized today that at some point along the way I started wearing shoes. All the time. Even indoors. What's up with that? I'm a Native Floridian for goodness sake! We don't need no stinkin' shoes! Especially in the house. 

Before the age of 30, I don't remember hardly ever wearing shoes, except at work. But as soon as I left the office, I'd toss the shoes in the backseat and they'd stay there until I needed them for work again the next day. It wasn't unusual for me to have 3 or 4 pairs of shoes in the car, like a rolling shoe closet. 

I drove my mother crazy by never having shoes on my feet. Especially when I got to be a teen and would take off for the day on my bike, or once I could drive, in my car, with no shoes. I used to keep a pair of shoes in the backseat of my car, just to appease mom. They were never on my feet. 

I went to a South Florida college and attended class barefoot nearly every day. Heck, some kids often had no more on than a bathing suit in class. So barefoot, no big deal. 

Now MiniMe wanders the earth without shoes. Beloved stays after her to put her shoes on before going outside, etc., but I don't push it too hard. After all, she is me. Since she took her first step, she has preferred to be barefoot. Like a true Florida girl.

I think I might just have to take a barefoot weekend. Avoid shoes at all costs. 

I know it is not socially acceptable most places to wander barefoot into public. But when did that happen? This is Florida? And please, all you germaphobes out there, don't chime in about unsanitary conditions. I'm not interested.

Cedar Key update

So I didn't get a chance to let everyone know what a fantastic time we had in Cedar Key. This is a quaint little fishing village with a serious art problem. You might also refer to it as Clamalot, since the clamming industry, or aquaculture, is thriving there. The clam farmers lease underwater tracts of land from the state to produce their hard clams. I'm not sure where else you can lease ground that's underwater, maybe Fargo right now?

We ate at Nick's (thanks Floridacracker for the recommendation) and had some stellar clams and clam chowder. I'm a Minorcan Clam Chowder lover myself, but "when in Rome."

Just about everything about Cedar Key is truly lovely - from the people, to the historic homes and downtown area, to the restaurants and merchants, to the artists, to the abundant wildlife. Unfortunately, those pesky no-see-ums (or flying teeth) were abundant as well. Tip from me to you, bring bug spray, sunscreen and an agenda for lounging with you to Cedar Key.

Another tip for you windsurfers out there. Dogs don't enjoy windsurfing. At least, that’s the impression I got as we watched a windsurfer struggle on a breezeless day. On the board with him was a nondescript black dog wearing a lifejacket. He didn’t look happy. I mused that the dog was probably thinking “When we get back to shore, I’m pissing all over this board and you. Why couldn’t I have been adopted by a nice, little old lady? I’d be home sitting on someone’s lap right about now.”

I Heart FPL

I love Florida Power and Light. I know I'm gonna get some comments from people who disagree with me, and that's fine. But just hear me out first.

An item in the newspaper caught my eye this morning. At a time when details of corporate greed and corruption are at a nauseating high, Florida Power & Light gives back. To our public schools. Even to manatees.

FP&L wants to install an electric heating system when it coverts its 43-year-old Port St. John plant into a $1 billion natural gas plant, due online in 2013. The heating system will pump warm water and keep the manatees who flock to the area toasty. Otherwise, water temperatures near the plant along the Indian River could drop into the 50s in the winter, which will weaken the manatees' immune system.

Wait, there's more. FP&L also is helping our public schools. The company is set to install photovoltaic panels at a Daytona Beach middle school this spring. The panels will convert solar energy into electricity, which will save the school money in utility costs. Not only that, but FP&L (actually its foundation) is paying for the installation, worker training and maintenance, and has developed a curriculum component that it will pay to train teachers at the school to use in the classroom. The school is one of 6 in Florida FP&L is working with on the program. 

In addition, FP&L sponsors just about every community event, non-profit organization, children's program and cultural program we come trotting their way with. They also employ a heck of a lot of people with good salaries in our state. 

Thanks FP&L!!!

B.D. Cedar Key

Before Disney (B.D.), Cedar Key is one of those unique Florida small towns that can trace its claim to fame in Florida to the time before Disney. Pencils, brooms, clams. An unusual combination to be sure. But this is what Cedar Key's history is made of.  Cedar tress were harvested and turned into Faber pencils on the island in the 1800's at the first major US pencil manufacturing company.  The city was also the location of fiber broom and brush manufacturing. A state-wide ban in 1995 on large scale net fishing turned lemons to lemonade on the island. A government retraining program helped fishermen, now out of work because of net bans, learn to harvest clams in the shallow warm waters of Cedar Key. Today, the aquaculture clam industry brings in millions to the tiny, historic fishing village economy. Cedar Key is the largest supplier of hard shell clams in the U.S. 

Beloved and I are visiting Cedar Key this weekend. It's been a while. I'm looking forward to returning to this part of Florida. Small towns along the west coast are much more rural and authentic than many other areas of Florida. I plan to stop by the bookstore in Cedar Key that's famous for its large selection of books about Florida, by Floridians, etc. It's called Curmudgeonalia.  

A post about Cedar Key just wouldn't be complete without a retelling of my favorite Cedar Key memory. Longtime NativeMom acquaintances will have heard this story, probably more than once. The last time Beloved and I visited Cedar Key, we took a ride on the motorcycle out into the wooded surround. It was hot, muggy and after riding for more than an hour in the middle of what seemed to 

be nowhere, we were looking for someplace to stop and cool off. That's when we spotted a homemade sign on the side of the road for a fish camp. Oh well, it would probably have a bottle of water or an ice cold Coke to sell. We turned down the dirt road and discovered a beautiful piece of property on the river. A little shack, with what seemed to be a large deck that led to a dock on the river, seemed to be the fish camp the sign indicated. As we pulled to a stop under a gigantic old moss covered oak tree, we could hear music. 

"Cool, there's a band playing," said Beloved as we entered the small, ramshackle fish camp bait shack. We ordered two beers, which the bartender charged us a dollar each for and slid over a bowl of peanuts. We grabbed up the beverages and nuts and headed out to the deck to enjoy the band. Only to discover there was no band. It was just a redneck family singing karaoke. 

It was a blast. Until, after a few beers, I asked the mom of the singing family if I could request a song for their daughter to sing. She was a teen with a beautiful voice.  Her momma slid the song book my way and I quickly picked a favorite. Travelin' Soldier by the Dixie Chicks.

"Oh, she sings that song so purty," sighed her momma. "Only her daddy don't let her sing Dixie Chicks songs no more. On account of the politics and all."

That was it. We were done. It made for a great story though. 

Now they're plotting to raid my kid's savings account?!?!

I got a question for our Florida legislators - yea that means you Evelyn Lynn and Jim King. WTF?! You've mismanaged Florida's budget and tax structure for years now (and both of you have had plenty of time to do it since you've served multiple terms), so now you're considering stealing money from MiniMe's college fund? 

Every parent, hell, every citizen, in Florida should be alarmed that our flegislators are looking at ways to raid the monies in the Florida Prepaid College fund. Don't believe me. Read here. 

Parents, like myself, sacrificed, planned and put forth no small sum of money (sometimes in monthly payments for 18 years) to ensure their child got at least a public university education. 

Who let Evelyn Lynn be the chair of the Higher Education Appropriations Committee? When she says things like this, I have to wonder if she passed Finance 101.

"We talked about the possibility if there was such money there, perhaps we could borrow that," said Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, chair of the Senate higher education appropriations committee. 

Does the saying "Robbing Peter to pay Paul" mean anything to you? Keep your fingers off MiniMe's college fund!!!!

Update: 3/10/11: Me likee Alex Sink, Florida CFO. See why. 

Honor System

With the economy in the dumps, it's nice to know that the honor system is still alive and well in Florida.  You may not be able to get credit, but for a few dollars you can get firewood, produce, honey, jam, books, and much more along Florida's roadways and small towns. 

On my route to MiniMe's school there's a farmer who sells neat stacks of firewood on the honor system. Just pull up, drop your money in the coffee can and load your wood. Near Umatilla, there's a farmer whose stand has become rather famous. Pull off the two-lane road under the shade of a giant oak tree and choose a jar of fresh honey or homemade orange blossom jelly then leave your money in the can. In DeLand, the Muse Book Shop keeps a bookshelf full of books just outside the door. Choose one and leave a dollar, all on the honor system. 

We could use a little more honor system in this country if you ask me (which no one did). I'm sure you, my stalkers, oops I mean readers, know of even more examples of the honor system still in practice in the Sunshine State and elsewhere. I'd love to hear about it. Leave a comment and tell me about your favorite roadside retailer. 

Florida Fans Rejoice

No I'm not talking about Gator Fans, I'm talking to true state-of-Florida-in-all-her-natural-beauty-and-quirky-strangeness fans. Here's an event you'll love!

The tiny town of Lake Helen has been hosting a book fair every year that features real-live Florida authors. The Florida Authors Book Fair benefits The Lake Helen Friends of the Library and this will be the 16th year of the event. Whether or not you are a book enthusiast, this is a free, fun and fascinating event and it's happening this weekend. 

Make plans now to stop by on Saturday, March 7 at Historic Hopkins Hall in Lake Helen, Florida from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Thirty authors from across Florida will be signing, selling and discussing their books while donating a portion of their proceeds to the Lake Helen Public Library. Free parking and admission.

The preservation of Florida's people, places and history is a common

theme among many authors this year. They include my friend and fellow blogger Mark Lane, Nancy Barber and Jane Bolding, Muncy and Herb Chapman, Ray Cunningham, Roger Fulton, Herb Hiller, Fred Hitt, Alice and Ron Howell, Bob Kealing, Jeffery Lamb,Tom Levine, Edgar J. L'Heureux, Robert Macomber, Helen Parramore, Lowell Teal, and Ron Williamson.

Directions: I-4, Exit 116, east on 4116 for .8 mile to left on Euclid Ave., north 2

blocks to Hopkins Hall at 192 W. Connecticut Avenue.

DeLand gets into the act

Went to DeLand's version of a bike week event this weekend. This event is fantastic. Why? Because the people who live in DeLand actually come out to the event and are nice to all the bikers in town. They don't call it "small-town hospitality" for nothing. 

The event is held in DeLand's Mainstreet-award-winning historic downtown. The restaurants and stores downtown were packed. There was a kid's zone and lots of vendors that weren't just selling motorcycle-related items. The DeLand Fire Department was there selling t-shirts (I don't know what the t-shirts said, but they were being hawked by cute, young firefighters. Enough said). There was the booth for the Journey's End animal rescue, where visiting bikers were practically lined up to drop a dollar in their donation basket. The local belly-dancing club was enjoying a lot of attention (can you say MILF?). I watched as big, burly biker guys gleefully filled bags with candy at the home-made candy shop. 

Locals really turn out for the DeLand bike event. I took the kids along and we had lunch at Bellini's (best pizza in the world, you rock Scott!). I ran into my daughter's 2nd grade teacher, a school board member I know, several of Beloved's co-workers and a few friends. Thankfully, I did not see the Wicked Witch of Bike Week. Unless those were her feet sticking out from under the historic home on the busy corner of New York Ave. (One can dream).

If you've never visited DeLand, it is a must-see. Great people, beautiful city, small-town hospitality, a vibrant arts community, lots of mom-and-pop stores and restaurants. Bike week or not, it's fun year-round. 

Working in Vacationland

This weekend is my hometown's own little spring break. Yes, it's early, but this will be the only weekend for months to come when our town isn't full of visitors. All the people wearing brand new Dale Jr No. 88 Amp hats have finally gone. Although it was good having them here. Really. Please come back next year!

Next weekend you'll see a noticeable increase in motorcycle traffic as bike weeks begins. Two weeks of people here on vacation, enjoying themselves and their shiny new bikes, and yet we're still working. 

It's hard to work in everyone else's vacation land. Not only are you constantly reminded that OTHER people are having fun and NOT working. But you also get friends/family who roll into town to enjoy the events, call you up and want you to come along. Beloved and I might play hooky one day during bike week, maybe 2 days, but we live here. We're not just visiting. And we have to get up and go to work.

So when my friends/family all comment on how "lucky" we are to live here - we don't have to travel to enjoy speedweeks, bike week, spring break, the beaches, etc. I remind them that being surrounded by so many people on vacation when you're not isn't always ideal.

Not that I'm complaining. I'd just rather be on vacation. 

Tiny Florida Icicles

With my eyes watering, teeth chattering and hands shaking from the cold, I did my best to snap a few photos of Florida icicles this morning. I found these tiny icicles while walking the dogs and although I could not feel my fingers, I tried snapping a few photos of the iced over palmetto fronds. 

While my neighbors have their plants wrapped tightly against the cold, no one has to protect the palmetto. It is indestructible. I remember back in 1998, when our county nearly burned to the ground in the raging fires, the palmetto survived and in fact bounced back with a vengeance. 

If only someone could figure out how to make consumer products like kid's shoes and women's sunglasses that were as indestructible as the lowly Florida palmetto. 

Forget Phil, Meet Filippe

Yesterday may have been Punxsutawney Phil's day in the spotlight, but I think Florida should have its own animal to predict the weather forecast. I propose Frostproof Filippe. Forget groundhogs, in Florida we have gopher tortoises. Wouldn't it be great if every Feb. 2, Frostproof Filippe, our own celebrity gopher tortoise, would crawl out from his burrow to make his prediction. If he sees his shadow, then he knows he's still in Florida where our winter will bring a cold snap every couple of weeks with lows in the 40s and highs in the low 70s most days through March. If he doesn't see his shadow, he's still in Florida and it's probably going to rain that day. 

Like a Good Neighbor, who's moving

Buh-Bye State Farm! Don't let Florida hit you in the ass on the way out. And take your other business with you. If you're not man enough to stand up to Florida's weather, you don't qualify for getting our car insurance, either!

But that's just my opinion . . .

You haven't had pancakes like this before

One thing that should definitely be on your list of things to do/places to see in Florida before you die is enjoying the do-it-yourself pancake breakfast at the Old Sugar Mill inside DeLeon Springs state park. I could tell you all about it, but it's better if you get the kid's eye view.

Read my buddy Carson's (aka Blogger-Boy-Extraordinaire) blog entry about the Old Sugar Mill experience.