I'm still here. Life's been keeping me pretty busy and I always feel bad when I neglect my blog. Nothing too exciting lately though. Still in school, still working (doing four 10 hour days now, which is nice!).
Will write soon and provide updates on a few of our recent trips and outings.
P.S. Have I ever said how much I love Flickr .
I don't really have any logic or reason for this post...but oh, well. This is my blog, so I make the rules.
I've been working on a project for school. We have an upcoming F2F meeting this Saturday and our group will be making a 50 minute presentation on metadata. Super exciting stuff...
Not sure how, but when browsing through Flickr, trying to find photos to include on the presentation. I came across this photograph, I just thought it was too funny pass up. I'm almost thirty (shh) and I still love happy meals.
* Well, quick report - I got a new job so with out of town training and just generally keeping busier than normal, I've neglected my poor blog. But I'm here still and have actually taken some time to write a post.
In between leaving my old job and starting my new job, I took two weeks off. This was great since I was able to get some things down. Some being the operative word there. I was able to read, crochet, work a little on school stuff, but mainly I just relaxed. If you ever get the opportunity to do this, I highly suggest it. Before when we moved from Tampa to Gainesville many moons back, I started a job on a Monday after moving on a Saturday (try to avoid that if you can). I'm just full of advice tonight, huh!
During one of those ten days off, Matt and I visited Fernandina Beach and Amelia Island.
This was a wonderful quick trip. We intended to find a place to jet ski, but unfortunately, horrible insurance ruined that (no where would rent jet skis cause of the liabilities). We did end up finding a great place where we spent the afternoon talking with the locals.
We also managed to visit Fort Clinch State Park and the Pippi Longstocking House (picture to the right) and walked, for a few minutes (it was a million degrees - even when you are Floridian, you can barely stand the heat) on the beach. The Atlantic Ocean is different than the Gulf, I have to say, I've always thought that and was reminded again. If you've never been, the Atlantic is much colder!
We wound up staying at the Addison, an absolutely beautiful B&B downtown Amelia Island. We also managed to meet Gator fans way up there. We stopped in the old time Post Office (picture above to the left) to ask for directions, and managed to meet a fellow fan, who hugged us on the spot when he spotted Matt's UF hat. Gotta love that!
And we caught the sunset, not an easy trick when you are on the East coast of Florida, but we succeeded. Like always, Matt and I can't be away from water long, so this helped us get our fix.
Sorry to be away so long, another post coming about our trip to Charleston for the Fourth of July (I know, not a Florida place, but we gotta get out of the state once in a while!!).
Now I like technology as much as the next person. I own a Nintendo DS, an iPod Touch and have favorite websites to visit to get my gaming fix. But I also love arcades. There's nothing like the flashing lights, bad pizza, or trying to win the cheap teddy bear (gotta get more tickets) or beating your personal best high score (personally, I'm the Queen at Galaga and Ms. Pac Man). I can remember growing up visiting these places. The Madeiria Beach Fun Center , St. Pete Beach Amusement Center and the Treasure Island Fun Center (see a theme here) were often a weekly fixture in my childhood. And now it's official, all of these (original) places are closed.
The St. Pete Times ran a great "special report" about the closing of St. Pete Beach Amusement Center (which ironically enough, was only a block from my first apartment). This is the last arcade on the beach and now it's closed. I vaguely remember reading that the Treasure Island Fun Center relocated, but that happened too. I also fondly remember every time I visited the Pizza Hut (which is also now gone) playing Ms. Pac Man (this continued until my twenties - I know, I know, I'm a kid).
Well, I remember my dad always saying this, "everything changes, they get rid of the old and replace it with the new" and that's obviously very true. I'm very sad about the loss of my childhood haunts, but I guess that's all part of growing up.
Matt and I took this picture on our honeymoon - a year and a half ago now. I just came across it and thought it was too funny to pass up and wanted to share it.
I've always wondered about this picture and the significance of the message (since it's written in several different places in Savannah) so I pulled out the handy-dandy Google search and came across the exact same message on the exact same concrete slab on another blog. Hmm....
I've been neglecting my poor blog for some time now. I don't have any excuse except exhaustion and a lack
of time. Also this lovely little
yellow powder has invaded Gainesville and most of Florida and has reeked havoc on Matt and me. Sneezing, itchy eyes, headaches, stuffy head, tiredness (I could continue, but I'd just be complaining) has become the norm for us. Like most of the country, it's the super fun time for high pollen counts and it has really knocked us both for a loop this year.
The picture to the right packs a lot of humor, because that's not how pollen looks here in Gainesville. Think of all the yellow stuff covering your car - (the picture is from Atlanta, but it could just as easily be our cars) so bad that you could write your initials on it.
We finally broke down and picked up some Zyrtec after Matt heard from some people in the know that this might help. I can only hope. Has anyone else been knocked down for a loop by the horrible allergy season?
I always find it funny that I drive by cows everyday to and from work. I had to share it here, so I finally remembered to take a camera and catch them in action. I think the only bad thing about the poor cows, is the sign that says "beef" something or other.
For some reason, I don't think these are milk cows!
Since Matt and I can never go too long without seeing the water, we headed to the Gulf of Mexico again this past weekend. This time, we headed North to Steinhatchee. They say Key West is a fishing town with a drinking problem, but I'd say Steinhatchee is a fishing town, with a fishing problem. Since they are on the Gulf and on the Steinhatchee River - there is no shortage of places to head out on the docks or to fish by boat. You can even dine at the Hungry Howies without even really leaving your boat. However, there is no real grocery store, movie theater, shopping, and they just recently got cell phone service.
For lunch we tried Roy's Retaurant - a Steinhatchee landmark right on the Gulf. The views were fantastic. We continued our exploration after lunch and drove along Riverside Drive. We had one interesting experience and made some observations. Steinhatchee has lots and lots of signs (see picture and this is just one example), lots of beautiful vacation homes, and some very delicious (according to Matt) smoked mullet and smoked shrimp dip at a tiny little business called Old Hickory on the main road in Steinhatachee.
I love that we continue to find real Old Florida places. While I do enjoy my cell phone, the various Publix Super Markets within a few minutes of the house and the fact that we have a mall within five minutes (admittedly, I've only been there once, although I have been to Ann Taylor Loft a number of times), I still love the charm these old cities provide.
Update: I've been told by people in the know (thank you, Dean!) - that next time we are Steinhatchee we'll have to check out Steinhatchee Landing Resort, a 35 acre community with vacation guest cottages and recreation aplenty. They even take dogs, so maybe we can even look at taking Clark with us next time!
