Jacksonville and Amelia Island

As July comes to an end, so does my Birthday Month and I am remembering back to the special trips my husband has treated me with over the years. He knows that I would much rather experience something new than to have something new and he always treats me to a road trip for my birthday. Last year in July, Sugar whisked me away to Jacksonville for a birthday weekend. This of course was a bit more than a day trip for us but depending on where you live or have plans to travel to, it could most certainly be one for you.

Not knowing much about the Jacksonville area I did a quick QA on social media and asked friends for tips. Someone recommended Little Talbot Island State Park as the best beach in the area and I am seriously going to hug her neck when I see her in person.

We loved the trip so much that we decided to do a repeat this year. The information in this post is from two separate trips but you could pick what appeals most to you and create a wonderful day, weekend or week long trip to this area. If you are a true beach lover this is the spot for you. We were in the area July 4-7 and could not believe that we were able to find a beach not crowded full of people.

Little Talbot Island State Park

We spent two days each trip at Little Talbot Island State Park. Tips: Pack beach provisions and gas up the car for the day (Ice, Water, Snacks, etc). There are very few spots to stop once you get off of I-95. This is a State Park and there is a small entry fee per vehicle ($5 when we were there). The park has opening and closing hours, two bath houses with restrooms, outdoor beach showers, a vending machine, plenty of pic-nic shelters with charcoal grills, park rangers but no life guard is on duty on the beach. Pack a trash bag and be prepared to take everything back out of the park that you bring in. The area is pristine and you will definitely want to keep it that way. Be prepared to see wildlife and to leave everything as you found it, removing beach artifacts is illegal on this beach. We saw turtles, dolphins and many different types of birds during our four visits. We found that on the weekdays the beach is mostly secluded, especially the further out you walk but on the weekends there are a few more people and if you want a pic-nic shelter you might wish to arrive early.

https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/little-talbot-island-state-park

We took a side trip to Big Talbot Island State Park and visited Bone Yard Beach: The cost to enter is $3 per vehicle. It’s an honor system with a box so be sure to have correct change. Here you will find a nice parking lot with pic-nic shelters. There are no facilities. Because of Dune restoration you cannot walk onto the beach from the parking lot. There’s a short, less than half a mile, trail through the woods (jungle) to get to the beach access area. It’s actually a short, fun little curvy walk. Have bug spray handy and wear appropriate foot wear. We saw quite a few folks biking in this area. Apparently there’s a popular bike trail from one end of the Island to the other. The beach is beautiful but is not in an area that you can swim. We found that the area is more for walking than for playing and sunbathing. Although it might be a cool place for a sunset pic-nic. We were told this is the best spot in the area to watch the sunrise. Somehow trapsing through that trail in the dark gives me the creeps though.

We drove further up the A1A to Fernandina Beach: This is a much more populated beach with shops and restaurants but was still not overly crowded like we are used to along the South Carolina Coast. At Fernandina Beach you can actually drive your vehicle onto the beach and lay out as if you are tailgating. Interesting and Cool. Sugar thinks it’s terrible and shouldn’t be allowed because of engine emissions and oil leakage. We found the cutest beach front bar and enjoyed a seafood lunch. The bar had SWINGS instead of stools. HOW FUN! After enjoying lunch we drove a short distance to their shopping district and tooled in and out of locally owned shops. It’s a very cute waterfront town that we could definitely spend more time in if given the opportunity.

Restaurants along the A1A

After spending the entire day on the beach, enjoying a pic-nic and watching the sunset we reluctantly, only because the facility was actually closing, packed up, cleaned up and decided to stop at one of the water front restaurants we had passed on the drive in. At the Sand Dollar we sat outside and watched container ships, fishing and Shrimping boats, personal water craft and a ferry travel across the water way. We could also see the air force base just across the water where someone was practicing their take off and landing techniques.

At The Palms Fish Camp we sat out on their dock and listened to a fun little band while enjoying Mayport Shrimp and cocktails. Many of their patrons appear to travel there by boat. Lucky Ducks!!

Jacksonville:

We rolled into the area on both trips just in time to catch the amazing fireworks. Trip #1 we could see them all around us as we crossed the many bridges that you will find in this city. Trip #2 we arrived in time to throw our things into the condo and head back downtown to catch the show from the downtown riverfront area.

The River and Post Restaurant has the most epic rooftop bar I have ever seen and y’all I have fallen in love with many rooftops in my day. This rooftop has the best view of the St. John River that runs through downtown Jacksonville. The Skyline in all it’s glory looks so lovely and inviting. It’s well covered, so can be enjoyed no matter the weather, AC/Heaters were both visible. They had the best bar seating that looked out over the river plus table and booth seating for larger groups. They do feature live music as well but it had not started yet when we were there. This City has learned to not let Mother Nature stop them from enjoying the gorgeous views. It’s open air so bring alight jacket if you are easily chilled by the wind. Before going up to check out the rooftop we enjoyed a romantic dinner on the first floor in their main restaurant. Sugar had planned a sunset cruise of the St. John River but due to impending storms it had been canceled. Our young, waiter at River and Post had many recommendations of ways we could enjoy the night and the #1 was to check out their rooftop. He did not steer us wrong in any of his suggestions.

We did spend a little more time in Jacksonville during our second visit. The Town Center Mall has everything you could ever want and more and not too far from there we found Metro Dinner, known for their HUGE portions and being featured on the Food Networks, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. The food was in fact devine but it was NOT healthy if that’s what you are into.

There’s so much more I could tell you about this area of the Country, so many side trips that can be taken while staying in Jacksonville, many, many beaches to explore but I know we’ll be back so for now I will leave you with this, if ever in the area also check out https://www.dailysplace.com/ We were able to snagg two, fantastic seats at the last minute to see Rob Thomas (front man for Matchbox 20) in this very cool open air, yet covered amphitheater. The arena is attached to the Jax Jaguar Stadium. It was super easy to get in and out of the parking lot, there were no parking fees, the tickets were inexpensive and perfect, center stage. We hope to see another show in this Amphitheater again in the future.

Blowfish Baseball

My father in law LOVES the Lexington County Blowfish. The Blowfish, named after our favorite hometown band, Hootie and the Blowfish are a Summer Collegiate baseball team in the Coastal Team League. Their season is short, only while college is out of session. In fact, I believe this is their last week so you’ll want to grab tickets quickly or you’ll have to wait until next Summer. Tickets and concessions are both inexpensive so it’s a great outing for the entire family. https://www.goblowfishbaseball.com/blowfish/blowfish-on-main

I have been to quite a few of their games over the years and highly recommend games during the July 4th weekend but I did not attend this outing. My husband had a little guys night out and was kind enough to capture a few shots so that we could tell you about it here, in my blog. This is definitely a fun way to spend a Summer night if you live in the Midlands area of South Carolina or happen to be visiting.

My Father in Love, Joe and Blowfish baseball owers, Bill and Vicki Shanahan

They also have theme nights, as you can tell by Bill and Vicki’s t-shirts and on certain evenings they have a huge fireworks display when the game is over. Last night was one of those nights. If you’ve missed them this summer add this to your must do list for Summer of 2020.

Woodstock – Golden Years

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, I thought I would tell you about the trip that Sugar and I took to Woodstock in March of 2019. Unlike the original Woodstock music festival that took place on a 600+ acre dairy farm in Bethel, New York, we visited the Town of Woodstock, Georgia.

Very sadly, my husbands Aunt Elaine, passed away and we were in town for the day to attend her funeral services at First Baptist Church, Woodstock. Now that is an impressive mega church. I had personally only spent a handful of times with Aunt Elaine but she became very important to me in a short amount of time and we were shocked at the sudden turn of events that left us grieving her loss. In fact, we had a road trip planned with her in April. The timing was just horrible.

After the beautiful celebration of her life the family gathered for lunch and then headed back home in many different directions. We decided to stick around and check out the town that Elaine called home, Woodstock, Georgia.

Driving through HOT Lanta isn’t so bad on a Saturday.

Woodstock is about 3o miles north of Atlanta and 240 miles west of Columbia, SC where we were traveling from. We were aware that we would have to travel through Atlanta traffic so were careful to plan the timing of our trip accordingly and surprisingly it wasn’t a terrible trip to make all in one day.

When we arrived in the town of Woodstock we were pleasantly surprised by our findings. Cute shops, rooftop restaurants and bars, an old record store, a spa, a brewery and so much enjoyable outdoor space. Since we’d just finished lunch with the family we were not able to try out any of the restaurants but they all looked great. The brewery was hopping with live music and families playing games outside. There’s a large amphitheater in a local park that we are sure features fantastic music. I was overwhelmed by the eclectic art exhibits all around town and how many people were just out and about enjoying the day, riding bikes and skateboards, walking around, sitting outside of cafes, there was even a lovely outdoor fireplace.

https://visitwoodstockga.com/ Their website refers to it as “a City unexpected” and I would agree that is the perfect slogan. If you are ever in the Atlanta area but want something off the beaten path, definitely give this town an opportunity. I found the cutest pieces of clothing to bring back and add to my wardrobe and after walking around for a bit we shared a piece of pie from a local shop before heading home. Our only regret is that Aunt Elaine was able to show us around her quaint town and we are certainly kicking ourselves for not visiting her before. Life is so very short.

This might not be the same historic Woodstock that you’ve heard of but it’s definitely a town worth getting to know. I hope this is an encouragement for you to fill the tank up with gas and take a road trip this weekend.

Charlotte, N.C. A Concert and some grub

We are huge fans of live music but our budget doesn’t allow us room to see everyone we want to. Over the years we have fallen in love with Groupon concert deals. Especially those for lawn seats at outdoor arenas. I like my own space and sometimes arena seats are crammed in on top of one another and no matter how hard you try, you end up all in the personal space of the stranger sitting next to you. Lawn seats, as it turns out, typically offers the opportunity to spread out a little more. We have learned to take our low beach chairs and a large beach towel and spread out a little, not a lot as it take up so much room that others are cramped but we have figured out how to spread out enough that other’s are not trampling all over the top of us. There are very few acts that I need to see up close and personal anyway. Seeing them from afar and hearing the live music works just fine for the both of us.

Last year before Christmas, Sugar, snagged two $20 lawn tickets for the summer tour featuring Train and goo goo dolls. Originally we were going with a group to celebrate a friends birthday but their circumstances changed, so it ended up being just the two of us visiting PNC in Charlotte, NC.

Normally, travel to and from Charlotte for concerts in one night and don’t make it an over nighter. But this time we found ourselves with a free weekend so opted to book a room and enjoy Saturday in the City as well. The Hilton University Place, Charlotte was literally 5 minutes from PNC. I had no idea when I booked it that it’s situated on a large lake and has a boardwalk that features a shopping center and many great restaurants. We pulled into Charlotte on Friday evening in time to grab a bit at Boardwalk Billy’s, just across the boardwalk from the hotel. Such a pretty view and their Shrimp Tacos were quite tasty.

Getting in and out of PNC is always fairly easy. General parking is free and it’s a short walk to the amphitheater itself. We settled in on the lawn and thoroughly enjoyed the show. Somehow the rain bypassed us during the concert. We were prepared but lucked up.

On Saturday we enjoyed having nowhere to be and took our time before checking out of the hotel and heading out for Brunch. A friend that lives in the area recommended that we try Community Matters Cafe. I cannot say enough about this place. You’ll have to read all about it here: Communitymatterscafe.com Definitely look at that menu while you are on the site as well because oh my word, the food is out of this world. If you choose to patron this establishment you will receive way more than a wonderful meal, you will receive an experience that will touch your heart and at the same time you will be offering someone hope by allowing them to serve you and learn new skills that will get them out of the situation they have found themselves in for whatever reason. While it’s downtown the Cafe was very easy to get to and from, there’s plenty of parking, it’s super clean and decorated so nicely. The food was WONDERFUL and the service was sweet. If you aren’t in the market for a meal they have the cutest coffee/pastry shop as well and they also offer a few take away items in their “shop” . It would be magical if every single metropolitan City in our nation could have a Community Matters Cafe. I simply adore this concept.

We walked off brunch at Concord Mills and made a brief stop at South Park mall before heading back to Columbia. That visit to Community Matters will stick with me for a very long time. There’s so much to do in Charlotte, that one overnight visit definitely doesn’t do it justice. I am normally not much of a mall girl but coming off of vacation and it being so hot and rainy, we just didn’t have it in us to check out their many other offerings. We’ll do that on another trip. #charlottesgotalot

Columbia Fireflies, Segra Park

If you haven’t taken the time to attend a baseball game at Segra Park in Columbia, South Carolina, you are definitely missing out. No matter what their season record is, I promise it’s worth the trip. And if you have little ones, take them along. It’s seriously a fun summer event for any age group. The Columbia Fireflies event staff does a jam up job of ensuring that there are activities that would interest everyone throughout the season, heck there’s actually something for everyone each night. These two links will tell you everything you need to know about attending a game and about other events planned at the park during the off season. https://www.milb.com/columbia https://segrapark.com/

General admission seats are anywhere from $5 – $15. We have sat in practically every single section including the boxes and I don’t think there’s a bad spot. If you don’t want to eat while in the park, which I think would be a crying shame because what is baseball without an all American Hot-Dog, there’s a wonderful Bar B Q restaurant located right next door to the park that you could grab a bite before or after. For the kiddos there’s a play area and plenty of fun entertainment during the game. They have all types of food and beverages to include craft beer. Thursday nights are Thirsty Thursdays feature bar specials. The gift shop is so much fun to tool around in, almost everyone in the park typically has on some type of firefly clothing. We love our team! The best nights are fireworks nights because the show is always amazing. The theme nights crack me up, they have everything from free bobble head night to bring your puppy to the park night, star wars night, first responders night and my favorite, Zootopia night. Those Zootopia characters are hilarious to watch. Speaking of watching, those Fly Guys are pretty entertaining too. My husband and I laugh that it took us three seasons of attending games before we were actually able to focus on the game. There’s so much going on you don’t even really have to like baseball, but I do happen to love the game. We even took my 80+ year old Father-in-Law for his birthday and they let him throw out the first pitch before the game (you’ll need to make arrangements for this beforehand) It is truly a beautiful park. We have attended several events in addition to baseball such as fundraisers, walk/runs, weddings, cocktail hours, you name it, they have it. Take a couple of hours out of your busy schedule and swing by to enjoy a game.

Life is a ZOO

We live in Columbia, South Carolina and have one of the best Zoo’s in the nation. In fact Riverbanks Zoo was recently named one of the top 7 in North America.

Quite a few years ago when Sunshine was little, I learned that the best time to visit the Zoo in order to avoid crowds and beat the the S.C. Famous heat, is early Sunday mornings. Weekdays during the school year are likely ideal as well. But when sunshine was little we could throw on sundresses, eat breakfast, be at the Zoo gate waiting on it to open, spend 2 hours walking around and still make it to church on time.

My husband, Sugar, and I decided to pay Riverbanks a visit recently as it had been a year since either had visited. The Zoo has so many new cute little babies. The gorilla babies were so much FUN to watch. We could have sat there for hours. We had the BEST time during our visit and were finishing up around the time the parking lot was starting to fill. Note that there are two parking lots, one on each side of the river and so many different things to do in addition to seeing the animals. You can feed animals, plan an animal encounters, play in the splash water park, listen to live music, zip across the river on the zip line course and so much more. Everything you need to know can be found on the Riverbanks Website here https://www.riverbanks.org/

We highly recommend a visit, make it a day trip if you don’t live in the area and enjoy Ice Cream from Zesto before you head back home. Enjoy a few of my photographs below.