OUR LAST DAY IN ST. AUGUSTINE.

 On Sunday, the weather was warmer, but not great. At least it wasn't raining all day. The kitties took turns in the strollers. The little red-haired girl in the next campsite just loved looking at the kitties. Riley was very accommodating with all the attention, and Molly, not so much.

Ryan and the family went for a walk in the morning. Najla is practicing for a marathon, so she tries to get in as much running in as possible. They all came over to the MH for dinner about 4PM. We ordered pizza and had a good time talking and just hanging out. Najla really had a good time with Riley. He's just so cuddly. She picked him up and put him in her lap and he just melted into her, along with his catnip pickle.

The kids had a good time playing with Molly and Riley with a feather on a stick, as they tried to catch the feather.  Riley is ferocious about it. When he caught it, he didn't want to give it up for anybody.

On Monday, we left for Kingsland, Ga which was just over the Fla/Ga line. We made reservations at the RV Self Park, which was not really a campground, but an overnight place to park. It was right off I 95 and Highway 40, a great location. They had full hook ups and the best wi-fi we had for the whole trip. No real amenities, but they had live security cameras all around. 

We only stayed overnight, as we wanted to go through Atlanta on New Years Day, when the traffic was better. We also met Debby and Tom for dinner. It was good to see them again and we had a nice visit.

Our next stop was in Forsyth, GA at the KOA, South of Atlanta. We have stayed there many times on our way back home. Check in time is 2pm and we arrived about 3 pm to find the mangers had closed the doors at 2pm (check in time) and left the paperwork outside for us to find our site. The site was not the best. It was very unlevel and the Wi-Fi was terrible. It did however, have squirrels. The kitties loved it.

On New Years Day, we headed for home. The traffic going through Atlanta was good, no accidents, and no stops at all. The kitties are always scared when we are riding due to the noise and motion with all the bumps and jostling. They usually all stay together under the end of the bed. When it gets to be too much, Riley runs, crying from the back of the MH to the front. He loves cuddles and fell asleep in my arms like a baby.

We have a very nice, uneventful trip back home. We had a really good time and a nice rest. It's going to be hard to get back to work, but the kitties will be so happy to be home.

AFTER CHRISTMAS TIME IN ST. AUGUSTINE

 The kitties got a chirping and flapping bird for Christmas, and they loved it. They all played with it.

On Thursday, we rode out to Murabella area in World of Golf community where The Meyers have one of their vet practices. Najla had told us about a new Publix grocery store that was built right across from the one already there. In spite of the competition, they were both plenty busy. The new one was unique. It has an upstairs with a sitting area and a bar called POURS. You can go upstairs, get a beer and take it with you while you shop. It even has a beverage holder in the grocery cart. What will they think of next. 

I stopped by the Outlet Mall to visit a couple of stores there. I really only go to Talbots and Vera Bradley stores, since I usually find something I need there.  At Talbots it was great timing as they had a major markdown on prices and then 40% off that markdown price. I needed some thinner sweaters and a couple of new long-sleeved T-shirts. The Vera Bradley outlet was awful. The fabrics were terrible, and the styles were bad too. Last time, I found a couple of nice wallets that I am still using, so I didn't buy anything there. 

In the afternoon, we hung out with the kitties. They had a wonderful time looking out all the windows at the people, dogs, birds and squirrels.

 Later Ryan texted and said they would be over for dinner, and we could order out or we could cook. We didn't bring our grill this time, so we make beef enchiladas, bean enchiladas, beef tacos and Mexican rice. Najla is still eating vegetarian, so that worked for everyone.  They came over about 4 and we had such a great time, talking, eating and laughing all night.

On Friday, the weather was rainy and cool. Ryan and Najla made reservations for dinner at The Boathouse. It was previously known as the Fish and Oyster House. It's in a beautiful setting with a outdoor eating area in the back.. They also have updated their menu. I ordered the shrimp and pimento cheese grits and it was the best I have ever had. The sauce over it was incredible. YUMMMMMY.

On Saturday, it was rainy all day long. It was a good day to relax and just chill. I worked on my hexie quilt and the kitties spent the day looking out the windows.  Molly was obsessed with the trees and bushes behind the MH. She loved watching the squirrels go up and down this tree.

And Riley spent a long time trying to catch raindrops with his big old feet. We just found out his father's official registry name is Backwoods Alabama Big Foot Bronson. That explains it.

Abigail just enjoyed sleeping on our bed and begging me for cat grass.

David realized he had a prescription to pick up at Walmart, so away we went to the store. Since we were already up and out, we went to the local quilt shop, which we found had changed hands. It is no longer Bees Quilt Shop. She must have retired and sold out to the people that own Cut Up and Sew which is another shop in Palm Coast. They had reorganized and it looked much better and the people there were friendlier.

We were pretty hungry at that point, so we took a chance to go to get a hamburger at Gas Full-Service Restaurant. We had never eaten there, but heard it was very good. It is very near the Bridge of Lions on the Anastasia Island side. It looked like a dive, but the food was fantastic. We didn't have to wait for a table since we were so early. David had a regular hamburger, and I had a Black and Blue burger. Too bad I didn't take pictures. They were perfectly cooked and delicious. However, the man at the next table had a Jalapeno Popper burger and it was a mouthful!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

It was a busy, drizzly day, but we were in warmer weather and that was nice.

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CHRISTMAS 2024

  We got up early Christmas morning (4:30am), to make a couple of fresh quiches to take for breakfast at The Meyers. After the quiches were baked, we put on our Christmas gifts, the Polar Bear PJ's and drove to their house. Thank goodness we weren't stopped by the police, or anyone else. We had to sneak into the car in the campground and out of the car in front of the house. At least we weren't the only ones. Randy, Najla's father was also there in his Polar Bear PJs.

Everyone had a great time opening gifts. The kids were so much fun and got a lot of stuff. Most of them were small items, but they enjoyed every single one.

                                                   Emma and Ellie

                                                     

                                                      Trevor got a new robe for Christmas.

After gift openings and some quick breakfast, we went back to the MH and let the kitties sit out in their strollers for a little bit. They loved looking for squirrels. Molly's head is like on a swivel. She is constantly scanning the area, looking for whatever she can find. She is the most curious kitty. 

                  I made another attempt to get Santa hat pictures of the kitties.

    For dinner we cooked a small ham, potatoes and veggies. We thought Glynda might call and come over since she was visiting in New Smyrna, but it seems she was watching dolphins with her friend. So, we had a nice quiet night with the kitties. It was a great Christmas.

VISTING ST. AUGUSTINE FOR CHRISTMAS

 On Monday, the 23rd, we drove to St Augustine. We had reservations again at our preferred campground, Sun Outdoors. We like to stay in the back in the Oasis section, because the sites are not cramped and they camping site has pavers, so it's pretty clean as far a tracking in dirt. We couldn't get out favorite site in the corner, but it was nice any way. The campground was really full of kids and people on vacation during school break. 

Ryan texted pictures of Emma making special Christmas treats. I can't believe how big she is now. Almost as tall as me. 

                                 She made pretzels dipped in chocolate with sprinkles. YUMMM.

                 After we got settled into the campground. Molly & Riley started the squirrel hunt.

                             Molly's favorite place is sleeping on the ledge of the back window.

Monday night, we went met Ryan, Najla and the kids at Seafood Kitchen for a great seafood meal. Seafood Kitchen is right around the corner from their house and the food is always great.

On Christmas Eve, we hung out at the MH during the day and went to The Meyers for a great Bar B Q dinner, with pulled pork, broccoli salad, rolls, potatoes and other fixings. Najla is a great cook and everything was so good.

For an early Christmas gift everyone got a pair of microfiber Christmas PJs to wear on Christmas day. So, David and I had to wear them and drive over to The Meyers on Christas morning. 

ANOTHER QUIET DAY

 We had another quiet day with the kitties. It turned cold overnight, so we didn't have any go out time. Friday night was Fried Haddock at the Bistro, so we went there for dinner. The Chef there is excellent. Everything we had there was so good. I could swear I smelled someone cooking chocolate in the campground that afternoon. And the Bistro does have chocolate cake on the menu. Could be the smell of that wafting over to our side of the property. Anyway, we both had the Haddock and it was great.

                                            The sun was going down and the sky looked so calm.

The next day was David's 82nd birthday. I gave him a couple of small items. A Brit toothbrush holder that kills bacteria was one gift. We've wondered how many times Molly has gotten on our bathroom counter and sucked on our toothbrushes. She is so curious. It's also handy in that small bathroom in the MH. The other gift was an electric cutter, kind of like an electric rotary cutter. He cuts up a lot of boxes at home and I thought it might be useful.

The next day, we had some bialys for breakfast and picked up a bit in the MH. Then in the afternoon we needed to get a few groceries and a few small last minute Christmas gifts. 

The Villages have these big signs over some of the roadways. It's kind of like you are going to Disney World for the elderly. Everyone here is OLD. We felt right at home.

When I took this picture of the Spanish Springs sign over the road, I had no idea that it was in fact a golf cart overpass leading from the shopping centers to the opposite side which is more rural. WHO KNEW??? How neat.    https://www.facebook.com/reel/572849522322920

We went to Kohls, Publix and I needed a couple of small items from Joann's. Afterward, we went back to Darrel's Diner for lunch. David was hankering for a tuna melt and I had a hamburger. They certainly give you large portions at Darrel's. We were so stuffed; we didn't even eat dinner. Just a couple of Oreos for dessert.

I had bought a Santa hat for the kitties at PetSmart and forgot about it. I tried it on them, but I see I'm going to need help getting a good picture.

                                          It would help if they held their heads up. LOL

          

                          Molly didn't cooperate at all, but she wanted to supervise everyone else.

                                                  I love little Abby's face. She is the sweetest girl.

       Today will probably be another quiet day. I need to do some laundry and some serious cleaning, as  

we leave tomorrow for St Augustine.

A QUIET DAY, JUST DOING NOTHING

 We decided to go to Darrel's Diner for breakfast. It was close by, a small diner at one of the malls. There is no shortage of breakfast places here, and the food was delicious. We both ordered the corned beef hash meal. 

Our fireplace needed repair, so we went to Home Depot for wires, etc and David worked on it while I sat outside with the kitties. They had a good time, but there weren't many animals to get them excited.

Molly looks and analyzes everything. She is so curious about anything she sees or anything we are doing. She wants to be part of it all. They love getting on the dashboard in the morning to look our over the fields. Sometimes, there is a horse and carriage going by.

The property here is so nice. It looks like trails going through the woods.

I can't believe I forgot to post about our dinner at The Bistro. It is a restaurant here at Grand Oaks and they are only open Wed-Sat. We didn't make reservation since we went at 5:30 and figured they wouldn't be busy yet. What we didn't realize was that they had an event here in their dining hall, A Christmas Murder Mystery Dinner. It started at 6PM, so the kitchen and waitress staff were busy taking care of that. We waited quite a while for the one waitress to take our orders. I ordered the beef medallions and David, the Salmon. Our meals were excellent!!! We were in no rush anyway; except we were hungry. Everyone was very nice here. They happened to have a bake of hay in the dining room. I guess if we got really hungry........

During the day people like to sit outside and eat on the patio for the nice views. It was very nice at night too.

When we were headed to the Bistro the other night for dinner, we passed the camp hosts. They were riding around on their garbage pickup vehicle with a Christmas tree strapped to the back. Later we saw them with the tree all lit up and riding around the property. Very cute. 

I decided in the afternoon to lay in the bed and watch TV while I worked on my hexies. The kitties decided to join me. 

They love sleeping with us.

We had a quiet dinner and no plans. Very relaxing. So much for today's antics.

SHOPPING AND THE VILLAGES

 After breakfast and a ride though Grand Oaks, we needed to go to PetSmart. We were really surprised as to how close we were to everything in The Villages. We were 10 to 15 minutes away. It seems like all the major stores and businesses run down 441/27. On the west is the upscale Villages and east is rural with horse farms and lots of big properties, where we are staying.

We went to PetSmart first and rode through a few of the shopping area. Then we noticed there were 3 quilt shops, all within 5 miles of each other and all on 27. We visited each one and they were all small, but different and the owners were all very nice. One of them was The Sewing Studio, which is a smaller shop like the one where I bought my new sewing machine at the AQS meeting in Feb. They carry some great bag patterns and lots of nice vinyl to for the bottom of bags. I bought a couple of pieces of the bag vinyl. One pink and one gray.

By then we were hungry for lunch and saw a Johnny Rockets listed in The Villages. It was quite a ride through that area. The Villages is a retirement community with about 80,000 people over 55 years of age. The roads are quite curvy as there are many, many neighbors in different sections., many golf courses too. There are commercial business, shops, and restaurants mixed in, including Johnny Rockets. There is no lacking any restaurants or services you might need. The big thing in The Villages is the hundreds of golf carts people use to ride around in. They have their own riding lanes, and they park EVERYWHERE. Crazy. I wish I had gotten a better picture of the overwhelming number of golf carts.

The streets are jam packed with cars and golf carts and there was nowhere to park at Johnny Rockets. We passed Toojays, a very popular Deli in south Florida and opted for a hot pastrami on rye sandwich. We hadn't eaten at Toojays since West Palm Beach. Their menu is huge and lots of bakery items too.

The sandwich was huge, and we couldn't eat it all, so we saved half for another meal. It was good, but not as good as we remembered.

Back at the MH, we took out 2 strollers and a play pen for the kitties to sit outside with us. So relaxing and they all enjoyed it. Even Abby had a great time. There was a nice breeze in the air and perfect weather.

We are here for 5 more days, so there is lots more time for us to explore.