Girls Weekend Journal

St Augustine Lighthouse           Tuesday, October 25, 2016 Yes, that is a picture of the St. Augustine Lighthouse above.  Yes, you can go into it and climb the 219 steps to the top for what I am sure is a stunning view of the area.  No, we did not choose to do this. Are you kidding?  There is a time when we would have readily done this, but our knees and ankles have aged a bit since we began our annual adventures and some things we just have to let go.... Anyway,  we awoke this morning to the alarm at 7:30am, a bit of a challenge since we managed to stay up until 3 am the night before journaling away.  After breakfast we were off for the days' adventures which centered around an EcoTour of the inter coastal water that is one of the bodies of water that surrounds Saint Augustine.  This tour, which doesn't seem to be very popular with tourists, was recommended to us by some of the locals working at one of the troll...

  On the beach on Anastia Island Kathi wrote: Monday, October 24, 2016   Today is massage day! The day felt luxurious from the moment we awakened. First of all, we didn’t have to listen to any alarm of any kind, mysterious, inadvertent, or purposefully set. Second, we got lots of sleep, especially me. It’s not often I get a full 8 hours, nevermind 9! It’s just decadent, that’s what it is. By  7:30  we were out at the dining room table beginning our morning routine. I made the coffee, then started writing. I love writing our daily journals; it’s a way to relive our experiences and solidify them in my memory. It is quite time consuming, but both Lori and I are dedicated to the recording and sharing of these trips – it adds an extra level of enjoyment to them.   Our massage appointments were  at noon , so we were able to enjoy a few hours of chill time, mixing writing with researching, planning, and chatting...

    Sunday, October 23, 2016 Flagler College Entrance   Today was a day that Kathi and I both wished that we could turn back the hands of time and attend Flagler College here in Saint Augustine.  Seriously, this place is amazing.  We got up early this morning so that we could take part in the 10am tour because we figured there would be fewer people on this tour, thus allowing us to ask more questions of our student guide.  This proved to be true and we did, indeed, ask many questions during the tour despite the lack of caffeine in our blood (this due to the fact that we were running a bit late leaving the condo, and not walking past any coffee shops on our way from the car to the college.  This place is magnificent and I would advise not missing the opportunity to tour this building if you happen to be in Saint Augustine.  The building was completed in 1888 after 18 months of construction and originally served as a VERY high class ho...

St George Street Saturday, October 22, 2016   Another glorious morning in St. Augustine, Florida.  We were awakened a bit earlier that expected this morning by the 6 am alarm that Kathi inadvertently set last night while placing her iphone on the charger/clock radio last night.  Once she turned it off, we both got up to use the bathroom, but deemed it too early to start our day and both climbed back into bed and went back to sleep for a couple of hours.  When 8am rolled around we were both ready to start the day.  These days, Girls Weekend morning usually start with a cup of coffee and some time on the computer.  Catching up on emails and social media and the like.  For me, this also includes catching up on all of my many word games, Lexulous, Words With Friends and WordChums.  On this particular morning Kathi was searching on line for an adapter that would allow us to connect an HDMI cable to her computer.  She was so involved wi...

This is another entry written by Kathi. Friday, October 21, 2016     Kathi in St. Augustine   We forgot to mention the random alarm noises we experienced during the day yesterday, after we had settled in to our condo.  A car alarm went off with no one around, and some type of smoke detector alarm started beeping and we had no idea where it was coming from.  In addition, there was some kind of motorized vehicle cruising around outside our window that we could never see or identify. This morning we were awakened by another strange sound  at 6 AM .  It sounded like a cross between a fire alarm and a moose call. As soon as we were brought to consciousness it stopped, then started again and then stopped again.  We managed to sleep a little bit more after that but decided to get up and get the day rolling  at about 8:45 .   After we had both showered and breakfasted we forwent our normal morning nerd computer/journali...

  Jacksonville airport. Picking up the rental car Thursday, October 20, 2016 God blesses Girls' Weekend, and we get confirmation of this every year as we plan to meet for our annual sojourn.  Lori arrived at the Jacksonville airport first this year, and by the time I landed, deplaned, and made my way to baggage claim she had already picked up the rental car keys and was waiting for me. Oh, Lordy, that first long satisfying airport baggage claim area hug is the most amazing culmination of months of anticipation! It took us a bit of time to find my bag, as we could not locate my flight on any baggage claim monitors, nor was it assigned to one on the main screens, NOR was there anyone from my flight waiting around for bags. As it turned out, almost no one on my little commuter flight had checked a bag, and those who had, picked them up planeside. We finally found my bag sitting all alone on the claim belt reserved for American, looking a bit aba...