More Than A Beach

Our return to Saint Augustine kicked off with a bang, literally. We arrived just in time to celebrate New Year’s Eve at the pier for Beach Blast Off. Food, drinks, live music and to top it off an amazing fireworks celebration all to say goodbye to an incredible 2014 and welcome in all the adventures that 2015 has in store for us. I know I mentioned in a previous post that St. Augustine and I are kindred spirits, the town even functions on my timeline; up with the sun and to bed with the sun. So imagine my delight when the fireworks happened at 8:00 at night! I was over the moon that I could send an epic year off at a fantastic celebration, still manage to hit the sheets early and wake up ready to take on 2015, fully rested and full of zest!

If Beach Blast Off wasn't enough to kick start an amazing 2015, Tom had concocted this unbelievable birthday celebration for me. That’s right, I turned another year wiser on January 2^nd, and Tom managed to outdo himself with a magical weekend escape to the Omni’s Amelia Island Plantation. Not only did we have a great room, but I woke to breakfast in bed, a morning at the spa, lunch in town, upon our return to the hotel the concierge had set up champagne and cake in the room and if that wasn't enough, Tom had one more surprise up his sleeve. He had arranged a private bonfire on the beach for us; more champagne and the makings for s’mores. It was all so dreamy and Tom made me feel like a complete queen, granted he does that on a regular basis, but an entire weekend of it was lovely and so appreciated.

With such an epic kick off to 2015 it got me to thinking about life, our last year and all the wonder that has come with it. I know we are living in this sort of dream world, the travel, the experiences and I am never for one minute not grateful for the opportunities that life and the universe has given us; for taking the plunge and saying what the hell, let’s do it. Life has a crazy way of presenting itself and I feel beyond blessed to live in this fairy-tale that I do and the gratitude I feel for those that have been there for us; to help us make it happen and for those that we get to share it with, our readers! Thank you to you all for growing, learning and living it with us. Okay, enough of my sentimental side, I’ll get back on task and reveal more of our crazy adventures.

Miss Ethel playing on the beach

Saint Augustine takes the holidays to the extreme and then they tack on another month of it, it is the Nights of Lights, which goes from Thanksgiving to the end of January. The entire town is draped in Christmas lights and this year was a little extra special due to the city celebrating their 450^th year anniversary has the oldest settlement in the United States. Of course being us we needed to add a little extra magic to an already enchanting experience, we decided to tour the lights by a private horse drawn carriage. We took to The Tasting Tours lobby, procured a bottle of wine and met with the beautiful Leo (our horse) and Laughlin (Leo’s handler) to hop on board our carriage. Seeing the city at a slower pace and a different perspective just added another level of beauty to the city; also, the sound of a horse trotting along the cobblestone streets, the click, clock and clack,  just made it that much more alluring. If you ever need a moment to feel like Cinderella, this would be the city and the mode of transportation to help you find your inner princess.

El Galeon is also parked in the docks of Saint Augustine until summer for the 450^th anniversary, the full-size reconstructed Spanish sail boat is open for tours and gives a great perspective of what it would have been like for those that crossed the ocean blue all those 500 years ago. A look into what it would have been like to been part of Ponce de Leon crew and the craftsmanship of what goes into building a man-made ship of this size, all truly remarkable.

We also happened to be in town during the “Enemy at the Gates” at Castillo De San Marcos and to be honest is was probably Tom’s favorite excursion upon our return to St. Augustine; he got to watch cannons fire at night, what manly man wouldn't love that! The staff and volunteers provided a living history tour by candlelight; the fort is dark, lit only by candles and we got to watch actors reenact scenes from battles past. Completely enthralled by the history, seeing the fort without electricity and the loud booms of the cannons echoing within the fort walls all added to that otherworldly experience of what it might have been like to have been there during the battles; minus the fear or our lives of course.

Besides adventures and copious amounts of time on the beach, Saint Augustine has this magical way of drawing family to us. Tom has another long lost cousin, Jean. In fact it is Tim’s sister that you might remember from the Ontario Outings post.

Stole this shot from Jean that she took while we were out walking on the beach

Jean and Tom looking through family photos

Jean and her husband, John, live over in Tampa and took the drive to St. Augustine for the weekend to meet up, get to know each other and share history on really the unknown side of Tom’s biological father's family. Jean and her husband were such a delight and it was so wonderful to spend time with them, getting to know them and hear stories about Tom’s grandmother, aunts, uncles and of course little tidbits about a man that helped bring Tom into the world. Jean was so thoughtful that she put together a photo album of Tom’s heritage and we spent the evening browsing photos, listening to stories and learning what life was like all things Lenny.

Sandi, John, Jean, Bonnie and Tom

And if just getting to meet Jean and John wasn't enough, we found out that Tom has another cousin, Sandy, that actually lives in St. Augustine and she joined us all for brunch the following morning and chimed in her stories and memories. Getting to know family along this journey has been such a great and wonderful experience for us and these moments in time that have made Project #Gonewanderlusting worth every mile.

Gavin, Sherry, Todd and Evie

A few days after meeting Jean, John and Sandy, and just before we hit the road for Texas, Todd, Sherry and the kids flew in to Saint Augustine to show Sherry’s parents a town that captivated their hearts as well when they were here visiting us in October (Click here for that visit). Neither Tom nor I had seen Todd and Sherry’s kids, Evie and Gavin, in over two years, so we were just ecstatic about the opportunity to spend time with them and just admire the young adults that they have grown into. The passage of time is mind boggling, days go by way to fast and before we know it the years have slipped by; thank God for Florida, because I am pretty sure we have seen Todd and Sherry more times since we’ve been in Florida than we had in the last two years in Utah.

Our breakfast send off  crew

Meeting up with Todd, Sherry and the kids made for an exceptionally hard send off from Saint Augustine, every piece of my being was dying to stay, to spend more time with them and also knowing that part of my heart was being left there on the beach. This place has captivated us and we can't wait to return again. Until then we have more shots that we took while exploring Washington Oaks, the museums and of course our time spent on the beach.

Lucky shot at Washington Oaks

Washington Oaks State Park

Coquina Beach at Washington Oaks

Lightner Museum

New France

Sometimes I get a hankering for Europe, it feels like too long since we last crossed the vast sea to Italy; that urge to surround yourself with old, to be sucked into a culture that just engulfs you at every turn and just suivre le courant. Plus it feels as though our friends have been taunting us this summer, as numerous amounts of them have spent their spring and summers abroad this year; they have been instantiating my desire to return, a yearning I haven’t been able to let go of and so what does one do when they are already on the road trip of a lifetime and can’t quite make it happen? Well you head to Quebec for a long weekend.

View of Montreal from Mont Royal

Quebec is a French paradise without having to leave the soil of North America, from the language, food and architecture, something we haven’t been able to surround ourselves with since leaving New Orleans. Now don’t be mistaken, New Orleans and Quebec are nothing alike, both vastly different; Quebec is refinement at its finest, while New Orleans is its rowdy sister, both exuding a culture and experience each their own.

Habitat 67 in Montreal

It has been ages since I was last in France and needless to say what little French was still my head I had to pull from the archives of the brain in order to retrieve what little remained so not to look too ignorant while in Quebec. Other than catch phrases and basic language skills, I relied mostly on a phrase that worked wonders for me the last time in Paris, “'Desole, je ne pas parler le francais. Mais, tu parle l'anglais.”  It works, I promise! Although I found we really didn't need it in Quebec, French Canadians are so quick to switch once they see you are processing what they are saying, they don’t make you struggle a bit to comprehend, they just automatically adjust, which was very refreshing.

Ethel Enjoying the Grass

We checked into the Omni, in Montreal, just down the hill from Mont Royal and were ready to explore and experience all that this city had to offer. We started of course with what was in sight, so up the hill we climbed to take in the cityscape and get a general layout of the land. Once down from our trek and checking with the concierge about our dining options which had to include Miss Ethel, we noticed the Jazz Festival was in full bloom. Since it was outdoors at a local park we thought we would join in; the concierge confirming it was at a dog friendly park, but once we arrived at the gates we were shot down with “no pets”, which meant Ethel got her way, as she was ready for bed. Tom and I were a little disappointed since we were looking forward to popping a squat on the grass and taking in some smooth tunes.

Down by the Tracks in Old Montreal

Looking back, not being allowed access to the concert was probably a good thing, since we were up with the sun and off to Quebec City to explore for the day, a bit of a drive, but so worth it. Quebec City really is like jumping into France: the scenery, the sounds, the architecture and the food, ah heaven! We spent the day strolling the streets taking in everything we possibly could, trying to relish as much of this city as we could in one day. Getting lost in the neighborhood streets, sitting for a glass of wine and just soaking up the little moments that I miss most about Europe, plus people watching the tourists is a pastime favorite. Even Ethel had fun, Quebec City was by far the most pet friendly city we experienced during our month stay in Canada, chilling with us in the cafés, even she seemed to be swept away by the easy going atmosphere, or just picking up on Tom and I’s relaxed vibe.

Before heading back to Montreal we made a quick pit stop at Montmorency Falls for a bit of a nature hike mixed with a mild shower from the falls, waking us up from our food coma in order to make the drive back. The falls gorgeous, the stairway daunting and all worth the expenditure of energy in order to get those endorphin's flowing again.

Staircase Leading Down to Bottom of Falls

We had one more day in Montreal before heading back to Toronto, so we took to Mont Royal again, walking around to the cemetery and over to the Saint Joseph Oratory. My pictures of this place do not even do it justice; the basilica’s copper dome is the highest point in Montreal, and the second largest in the world, only Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome being larger. Getting up to the doors of the main entrance is no small test, one must climb more than 280 stairs, or as we witnessed, some faithful members can choose to take the separate staircase of 99 steps by climbing on their knees, stopping to pray on each step.

St. Joseph Oratory

Before hitting the road, we stopped in Old Montreal for a cappuccino, perusing the streets and stopping by the Notre-Dame Basilica to listen to the bells as they rang for their Sunday afternoon service. Feeling nostalgic and not quite ready to hit the road back to Toronto, we turned towards the river, stopping for gelato, and taking everything else we could possible commit to memory, relishing the moments and thinking about how fortunate we are to be on this journey. 

An Interim Home

We had a few days in between Washington DC and New York that we didn't have a place to land, so we opted to use some free hotel nights at the Bedford Springs Omni for a nice little stop over, plus a slower pace in between city stops sounded delightful.  When we drove up to the hotel it was like taking a step back in time, a step onto the set of Dirty Dancing, circa 1963 when families would spend summers at hotel resorts which offered up daily activities; I seriously could not wait to book my ballroom dance class and basket weaving lessons. Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but they did offer a bunch of other activities ranging from Yoga, history tours of the grounds, hiking, biking and Segway tours and evening s'mores around the campfire; what more could the Compagno's ask for!

The history of this hotel is amazing and I have to share a little of it so you can grasp the incredible factor of it. Bedford Springs was built in 1796 and has had the pleasure to host ten United States Presidents, seven of them during their Presidential reigns; we literally walked the same halls these great men once walked. The hotel was built around eight natural springs that have been used for their healing powers, in fact the springs actually are used to fill the indoor pool today and they provide their own bottled water from the springs on the resort to their guests. Bedford Springs also boasts one of the countries first and oldest golf courses, which unfortunately due to crazy weather we didn't have the pleasure to play a round.

While we were there I convinced Tom to partake of the charm of the area and go on a covered bridge tour; I thought it was awesome and he totally appeased me. Our self guided tour took about two hours to drive through the Pennsylvania countryside, past vineyards and farms; the area was absolutely stunning and well worth the time. The entire loop includes fourteen bridges in all, but we did a quick speed through of the ones we were interested in and saw five of them, we/I wanted to see a few more of them but we missed some do to a lack of persistence and ability to follow instructions; regardless we were pretty satisfied with what we did see and I am pretty sure Tom secretly thought it was too.

Bowser: 

Kniseley:

Ryot:

Cuppett:

Colvin:

Our stop over was a nice in between although the Omni wasn't up to its normal level of service, which was a surprise to us because as a hotel chain they generally offer up some pretty great service regardless to the location; I don't know if they were slammed while we were there, but we had to call down to the front desk everyday for fresh towels because housekeeping skipped our room both days we were there. Plus all the extra perks with Tom' Black Level we are accustomed to upon check in weren't up to appropriate standard; I have come to appreciate the chilled bottle of wine upon check in or the little doggy treats they leave for Ethel. So we were all a little disappointed, but to have a bed to land on and one surrounded by such beautiful scenery made the lackluster service sort of fade away. Oh and the pool, the pool helped! 

Austin

Austin is truly a dog lover and runner’s paradise and all I would ever need to wear would be yoga pants all day and everyday and I would fit right in. Ah, a gym rats heaven! We had the pleasure of a little weekend getaway to Austin last weekend to see the hip side of what Texas has to offer and offer up they did; good food, great weather and a very clean and friendly place to visit. 

Did I mention the dog friendly? We checked into the Omni in downtown Austin and upon checking into the room they had Miss Ethel set up with bowls, treats, toys, a list of dog parks and a fabulous list of pet friendly restaurants for us all to dine at. Oh and the crème de le crème, they had a room service menu just for dogs! Love the Omni!

We spent the weekend eating, walking, eating and eating! We received quite a few suggestions on things to do, but most of the time we spent walking the city, enjoying the parks and the running trails along the river. Why? Because we have a fur daughter, who likes to be in bed early, especially after a long day of walking and/or being carried, mostly carried; so 6^th street not in the cards for us plus I’m old and if I make it past ten these days I think it is a huge accomplishment and deserves a happy dance! Even though we didn’t get to experience the wild side of Austin, it was still a great time and a city that we could totally live in, other than Tom is officially allergic to Texas and is currently addicted to Benadryl!