Friends from Kentucky!

One of the hardest things for me about moving to Florida is being so far from friends and family.  So I get really excited when any of them have a chance to come and see us!  Our friends AJ and Adrienne have a much longer winter break than we do at UF so they thought it would be a good opportunity to come visit us!

AJ had visited Florida with his family when he was younger, but Adrienne has never been here or seen the beach.  I really wanted them to have a good time so I made out a list of all the options I could think of that were relatively close and within all of our budgets., plus we found some new places to go so Adrienne could shop at some places we don't have in Kentucky!

The first day went well, the boys (AJ and Chris) did 'manly' things!  They went for a hike at nearby Payne's Prairie and saw buffalo, wild horses and gators up close and personal!  Then they explored a nearby pawn shop, something they have both been wanting to do, and a local game shop.  Adrienne and I shopped around Gainesville, first at the mall then at some smaller places Adrienne had found online.  One was a really neat shop that had all kinds of treasures, from vintage hats and jewelry to new or refinished finds, it was a fun adventure!

The next day we were going to ride up silver river with Granddaddy but AJ came down with a serious stomach bug and Adrienne had several of the symptoms too.  So we spent a lazy day around the apartment eating soup and watching TV. They introduced us to a fun series of movies that were made in the 30's and 40's entitled Thin Man.  They are about a retired investigator and his wife and how mysteries always seems to find him.  We really enjoyed watching them and are trying to finish the series on our own time now.

The third day AJ wasn't back to full snuff but feeling well enough to come along, so we headed out because we all really wanted Adrienne to see the beach!  We headed to St. Augustine for the afternoon and had a great time, neither Chris or I have been to St. Augustine before and we really look forward to going back and exploring it more fully.

Deciphering directions...

Finally the beach!

Piggy-back ride? I don't mind if I do!

We brought a picnic and the seagulls though it was for them!

Spiffy light house!

Giant wrench used to work on parts of lighthouse!

At the top!

It cast a cool shadow!

We climbed a lot of stairs, going up was scarier than coming down.

There were lots of boats all over the place.

Unfortunately we were to late to visit here, Next Time!

Really tasty food!

Before we went home we got supper at a pub in town there.  I wasn't sure I'd eaten Irish food before and jokingly wondered if Mom's cooking counted.  Surprisingly it almost did!  I had some yummy Irish stew, Chris had fish and chips, Adrienne had the same plus some clam chowder (which I have to take Dad to try) and AJ had bangers and mash (the only thing I don't think mom has fixed, it was sausages on top of mashed potatoes with brown gravy).  It was all really good and I recognized a lot of other menu items as well.

The last day came and our friends had to fly out from JAX that evening.  Before leaving we took some time in Jacksonville to shop at some places that I didn't think I had enough money to walk into!  But we had a lot of fun looking around and Adrienne found some fun clothes, as well as spoiling me with a purchase or two.

We are so looking for ward to when our friends can come again and hopefully see more of Florida!