A 5-day getaway for a 60th birthday celebration!
Thursday, January 2nd
We left Ponce at 11:00 and decided to take the scenic route up A1A and across Grenada Boulevard in Ormond Beach. There was a pretty serious two-car accident at the corner of Grenada and Tomoka Avenue – one lane was closed, and we sat through numerous light changes before we were able to get on the move again. It was at least a 30-minute delay. The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful with the exception of an overturned vehicle just to the east of Silver Springs. With a brief stop at the Winn-Dixie in Chiefland, we arrived at Manatee Springs at 3:00 exactly – check-in time on the dot!
We had to sign in at the concession area, so we took the opportunity to go and look for manatees. We were lucky! We saw three manatees and a turtle – so exciting!
We got to our glamping tent and unloaded a few of our camping buckets – kitchen stuff, lanterns / lights, firewood, etc. After a quick snack, we got our water, stove, and other kitchen items set up for dinner. Markus got the fire ready to light while I set up our clothing and toiletries in the tent.
At this point, it occurred to us to check the starting time of the Sugar Bowl, since it had been delayed. Sure enough, we missed the kick-off as well as the first quarter; the score was 3-0 (Georgia) when we started listening on Sirius. It certainly was an exciting second quarter for Notre Dame – as was the rest of the game.
At half-time, we walked down to the waterfront for the sunset and to see if the manatees were still at the springs. Unfortunately, they were not, but the sunset was really pretty. On the way back to our campsite, we saw three deer, which I wasn’t quick enough to catch on my camera. Nonetheless, they were beautiful, and we were so happy to see them!
We brought pasta and meatballs for dinner – I got dinner heating while Markus tended to the fire. Soon, we had a nice steady flame in the firepit and a good hot meal to warm us up. We called it a night around 10:00 and hunkered down under the covers. The bed was comfortable, but the tent was really cold; the portable heater that was provided seemed to barely make a dent as the temperature dropped into the 30’s. For the record, the low was 33* overnight.
Accommodation: Manatee Springs Glamping Site
Friday, January 3rd
The BIG 6-0 today!
By 8:30, the sun was already starting to warm the tent, so we crawled from the warmth of the duvet to face the day! We had a Keurig coffee machine, which we immediately got going. Hot coffee definitely helped to take the chill off! We got the truck loaded up and took a few minutes to sit and enjoy the morning sunshine. We left the campsite at about 10:00 and went in search of breakfast. I had picked the Boulevard Café in Chiefland. Markus and I each had a breakfast sandwich. It was okay – a nice warm way to start the day but nothing special.
We put the Hilton address into the GPS, and it projected a drive of 5.0 to 5.5 hours. We didn’t realize it would take that long, so we immediately got on the road. We took the back roads instead of I-10 and made really good time the whole way. It also helped that we crossed into the central time zone, so we gained an hour. What a birthday bonus – a 25-hour day!!
We got to the resort at 2:30 and were lucky that our room was ready. (Incidentally, we were surprised that the Hilton Vacation Club is in the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, which is a gated / secured community. We didn’t know that we would have to go through a manned gate to get to the resort.) We hauled our bags to the apartment and set about getting our bearings. I chose 5 O’clock Somewhere Bar & Grill for dinner. Since it was Friday, and we didn’t know how busy they would be, we made a reservation, which wasn’t necessary in the end, but better safe than sorry. The restaurant was only a half mile away, so we walked there and back. I splurged and had a burger and Markus had fish tacos. Again, the food was good, but not particularly special.
The Penguins / Panthers hockey game capped off the night. It was super exciting since Florida won it in a shootout!
Accommodation: Hilton Grand Vacation Club
Saturday, January 4th
After a very leisurely morning, we went out for a walk with the intention of visiting the Farmer’s Market at the Village of Baytowne Wharf, less than a mile away. We walked all around the village but never saw a sign for the market, nor did we see anyone that appeared to have been shopping at the market, i.e., with a bag of produce.
We returned to the room to come up with plan b – our original idea was to go to the Air Force Armament Museum at Eglin Air Force Base, but it was a 45-minute drive to get there (and another 45 minutes to get back) so we opted for the Destin Harbor Boardwalk instead. It was only about 12 miles away, but it took almost 25 minutes to get there with traffic on US Route 98, which is the main road along the Gulf.
We parked and walked along the waterfront. There were a few people around, but the majority of businesses, including just about all of the charter boats, were closed. One fishing charter was open with the next day trip scheduled for Wednesday, January 8th! Needless to say, he was getting no business. Although it was a little cool (high was 58*), it was a pretty day with beautiful blue skies and plenty of sunshine, so it was actually a nice opportunity to walk along the marina without any of the hawkers trying to sign you up for their charter – fishing or otherwise. A few of the restaurants were open and we considered stopping to share a beer but preferred to be closer to the resort before we imbibed in an alcoholic beverage.
On the way back to the Hilton, we made a detour to the beach, which was similarly gated as the resort. The beach boardwalk access was really nice – and there is a shuttle if you don’t want to drive the 1.1 miles. There is also a beach side restaurant, and we decided to stop in for a glass of wine and a snack. We chose the pulled pork sliders, which were served with fries, coleslaw, and hushpuppies – a huge amount of food! We ate one slider each, shared half of the fries, and brought the rest back with us. We may end up eating it for a non-traditional breakfast tomorrow. 😊
We finished the evening with laundry and football. So happy that there is NFL on Saturday in January! Also, there is a spa bath in our apartment and I couldn’t resist a nice soak!
Sunday, January 5th
We left the Sandestin Resort at 10:00 this morning, intending to drive to Pensacola to the National Naval Aviation Museum. We arrived at the Pensacola Air Station (PAS) East Gate only to find out that we were at the wrong gate. So, we detoured to the West Gate and got turned back once again. There are no weapons permitted on the military base, even if they are in a lock box in the vehicle. So, we drove an extra hour beyond our hotel for nothing! There wasn’t anything else that we wanted to see in Pensacola, so we put the hotel in the GPS and drove back east. It was a really nice drive along the coast – the last 20 miles were right along the beach with numerous parking areas. We stopped at a parking area that was 11 miles from the hotel and walked over the dunes on the boardwalk to take a few pictures. The sand is amazingly white! However, it was quite windy today, so not the best conditions for being at the beach.
We were too early to check-in to the hotel, so we drove past it and into the Navarre Beach Marine Park, which is a nice park with numerous access points to both the bay and gulf. There is also a turtle conservation center, but it is not open on Sunday. After a quick trip to Publix, we settled on Andy D’s for a late lunch. We started with arincini balls with crab and then shared a blackened mahi-mahi sandwich with sweet potato fries. The food and service were excellent! We stayed to watch the end of the Buccaneers / Saints game. Go Bucs!!
It was just after 3:00 when we checked in to the Springhill Suites. It’s ridiculous but there is a $25 parking fee, so they gave us 2 drink coupons for their “signature” cocktail to “compensate” – good only between 5:00 and 6:00. We went to the bar around 5:15 for our free drinks. They were actually pretty good; we left a $5 tip and returned to our room at 6:00. It is notable that at this time of the year, it is completely dark by 6 o’clock in the evening. We could no longer see the Gulf from our room. We spent the rest of the evening watching the end of regular season football, including the Vikings / Lions game – what a way to end the season!!
Accommodation: Springhill Suites Navarre Beach
Monday, January 6th
Today was mostly a travel day. We checked out of the Springhill Suites at 11:00 and made it to Apalachicola by 3:00 (3-hour travel time plus one hour time difference). We unloaded our bags and got to our room; we have a one-bedroom suite with a separate sitting area – it’s really spacious, but still cozy! And, beautifully decorated!
After getting settled in, we had just over an hour to visit the John Gorrie Museum State Park, which was 0.2 miles away – an easy walk. The museum was interesting, but was focused more on the history of Florida State Parks than on Dr. John Gorrie. For those interested, Dr. Gorrie was a pioneer in the field of air conditioning and refrigeration; he invented a mechanical device that produced ice in order to cool the sickrooms of yellow fever patients. After the museum, we walked around the historical downtown square (lovely buildings) but very few establishments were open. It was obvious that shop and restaurant owners use the slow time after the holidays to complete repairs and renovations since we could see a lot of construction work going on inside the galleries and cafes.
Adding to that, some businesses are not open on Monday – even at other times of the year. So, we had difficulty finding dinner. One restaurant / bar was open but the specialty was oysters (Apalachicola is famous for local oysters) and we weren’t in the mood for that, so we settled on a Hunts Brothers pizza from the hot food section at the Piggly Wiggly. It wasn’t bad – and we even had a mini-refrigerator in our room for the leftovers, which we brought home.
Accommodation: The Gibson Inn
Tuesday, January 7th
We left the Gibson Inn at 10:20 and, once again, took the slow route home – east along US Route 98 and US Route 27, before heading south for a few miles on I-75. We got off of the interstate at Irvine (County Road 318, which was the same exit for our home at the Ocala Jockey Club many years ago). From there we took US 441 south and then headed east again on Florida 40 to Ormond Beach. It was a lovely – and calm – drive. After 6.5 hours, we pulled in to our driveway at 4:50. Home sweet home!