St. Augustine

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

For Dean's birthday, this year, we took a trip to St. Augustine. We had seen the city as children, but of course, those memories were rather "old". We stayed on St. Augustine Beach, and though it was cold, we walked everyday. This beach is wide enough for cars to drive on, and it was the first time I can remember walking on the beach in a trenchcoat and furlined boots!!!
The "oldest town" in America provided us with lots of "touristy" moments. Of course, I had to visit the oldest school house. I didn't realize friends, they had a time out room back in those days...It was a little room under the stairwell!! I think the most interesting buildings were the museums and Flagler College...They used to be magnificent hotels across the street from each other...You had to rent your room for 90 days, whether you stayed that long or not! Flagler built one...they had spas, pools,restaurants, etc.... They were quite the showplaces in their day, and still beautiful today!
There were many good places to eat...even the Columbia has a restaurant there. A local favorite was also ours...Osteens...great shrimp!!

Flip's Birthday

For the last couple of years, Dean and I have tried to take each grandchild on an individual birthday "bonding" excursion. You really get to know each one in a special way, when they are one-to-two...AND the little "beggars" are so much easier to control!!!!

This year, the grandfolks seem to be getting older???? When did that happen? Dean's back was out again, and rather than disappoint Flip...Grandma was on her own..OK..first mistake..."Where would you like to go, Flip?" (He's five) "I want to go to your house in Monticello." Well, that is, a bit of a drive so I suggested a couple of other maybes..maybe Busch Gardens, maybe Mosi, maybe The Florida Aquarium, maybe Chuck E. Cheese.... after a small debate, (Flip wanted to spend the entire 5 hours in C.E. Cheese...just shoot me now!) we settled on the Aquarium and then the Cheese palace!!


When we got over to Tampa, there seemed to be a larger than normal group of folks at the Aquarium...I am not kidding, it took me until the next morning to put together the answer as to why....The Super Bowl!

Flip really enjoyed the Aquarium, though I don't believe he trusted my suggestion at first. He liked lying on top of the glass floor, pretending to swim with the sharks, the black lights, that made his socks look "purple", the really "BIG" fish that Papa (Joe) would like to catch, touching the starfish and the anemone, AND the "Dipping Dots". Before we left, we completed another tradition of picking out a "prize" for the others...You will have to ask the other kids, but I think he picked out special things for his brother and sisters...Flip also picked out a lovely emery board for Lori, and a hammerhead shark "grabbie-thingie" for Adam.

Then, it was back over the bridge for a lovely pizza meal and games at Chuck E. Cheese. For the life of me, I do NOT see (or taste) what kids see in Cheese pizza.
We got really lucky on a couple of machines, (actually, there are workers wandering around, helping bedraggled grandparents win tickets for the little ones!)and Flip and I ended up with over 900 tickets! ("If Grandpa had been here we would have over a thousand.")Anyway...that's a lot...but, since he had already gotten prizes for everyone at the Aquarium, he settled on some "big" things for himself! Lori, I am SO sorry about the Spiderman foam gun thing...I didn't know what it was 'til I opened it up... I told him that if he pointed it at any human child or beloved pet, I would take it away..oh well, I'm sure it's history now, anyway...

I am complete agreement with Lori, Flip is a real sweetie!!! BUT...they are just getting too old too quickly!