February Florida Foray

Thursday and Friday

We have had a busy couple of days here in Deland Florida.  We are here visiting our friend John Lindner in his new house.  Tomorrow we will make a short 14 mile drive to the DAYTONA SPEEDWAY for the Granddaddy Daytona 500.   We have had a few adventures and quite a bit of good food and wine, no surprise there.  

John picked us up at the Orlando Airport and we immediately drove to Kissimmee to pick up a case of SCHLITZ that our friends Gail and Rex who very graciously transported it in their car to Florida for John.  They are here for 6 weeks, and we will catch up with them next week. It took about five minutes for John and Gail to realize they had gone to college together!  SMALL WORLD!!

Johns’ house is everything we thought it would be and more.  He has done some extensive remodeling since he purchased the house last October.  The house is a great size and we are really enjoying our time here.  We spend a lot of time in the “Sports Center”, that was once the garage.  First night here we were up to 3:00 a.m., not our usual bedtime, but we were having to much fun to go to bed. 

Last evening we went to downtown Deland and went to Artisan Alley, to a farmers /flea market/ art show.  So many fun shops and stalls with merch and food.  Also a great craft brewery and live music.  We had a blast and found a slab of ribs to bring home for dinner.  

The weather has been fabulous, in the 80’s yesterday and high 70’s today, we have been walking around without coats, wearing sandals…heavenly!

More later!

SATURDAY (aka the day before the race)

We awake to another glorious day!  Sunny and 70 before 9 in the morning!!  We decide to eat pizza for lunch and pick up some food for dinner, in the hope of getting to bed at a reasonable hour before the big race!  

We head to Angelina’s Italian restaurant and we are surprised how busy they are, and are glad to finally get a table outside.  The pizza was great, thin crispy crust and no shortage of toppings.

We head to the grocery to pick up a few things for dinner and the Girl Scouts of American are selling cookies!!!  Guy picks up a box of Carmel delites and John buys a case of Thin Mints! The scouts and their moms are delighted!

Girl Scouts!  Yum!

Lunch Al Fresco

We head home and get a nap before making a spectacular dinner!

Tenderloin towers, with morels, cheesy potatoes, asparagus and fresh tomato slices..unbelievable! Then fresh strawberry and angel food whip cream cake!

Dinner

Dessert!

IF IT’S SUNDAY IT’S RACE DAY!!!

Yet another beautiful day and we arise early and get ready to begin our RACE Adventure!

After John makes us all Michaeladas, beer with Bloody Mary mix, we call and Uber and head into Daytona.  It’s 10:30 a.m. and we arrive at Chris’ place.  Chris is a longtime friend of John’s and lives a stone’s throw from the Daytona Speedway.

We immediately head to Total Wine, and pick up necessary libations for the day and the future.  Bloody Mary’s, Bloody Maria’s, beer and Rumplemintz  shots.  Chris is doing a big remodel, and his yard and home are really great.

                                                    Fig tree

                                                                      The Men

WE HEAD TO THE RACE!

We are no stranger to large events, but this is epic.  Around 130,000 people all in one place for one reason, it’s daunting.  We get to the park, through security, onto a shuttle and the next stop is the Fan Zone!

The excitement in the air is reminiscent of concerts and ballgames.  People are instantly bonding over their shared love of racing and spirits are high.  Before I know it I am standing on the RACETRACK!

                                                 Guy leaving our names on the track!

                                                Cars before the Race

Moments before the race we are cleared from the track and the Race is on!

Trace Adkins sings the National Anthem as he did the year before with no fans in the stands.  He and his Fans definitely make an impact this year.

Roughly 3 hours later Austin Cidric wins the race and it is a dramatic ending.  Luckily everyone is okay as multiple crashes precede the finish.  

We have a blast and look forward to next year!!

Monday and WTF Happened?

Everyone is moving slowly this morning.  It takes until lunch at Hulls in Ormond Beach to start putting the pieces of the previous evening in place.  After the race we went back to Chris’ place and continued to have a great day.  We had a “bit” of a wait to get an Uber back to Deland and Johns’ abode.

Lunch is fabulous, if you ever get anywhere near Ormond Beach, this is definitely a bistro that you want to enjoy!  Freshy-fresh seafood and homemade everything, including a Blue Crab Gumbo that I have to learn to reproduce, other worldly!!

John takes the ocean highway back to his place and it is a wonderful way to see this side of Daytona Beach.  We have really enjoyed our time and I am already making a check list of things to do next time we come this way.

Did I mention I made homemade noodles for John?  Was so much fun until the realization that we would need to finish them on the gas grill.  John has been remodeling his kitchen and the stove top isn’t working yet.  So, John starts the grill and for the first time in my life, I finish homemade noodles, outside on a grill!  They actually turned out okay.  We had them with pesto for dinner, along with beer can chicken in a Jerk rub, and roasted cauliflower. DELICIOUS!!

Tuesday and onto St. Augustine and Sawgrass

John leaves us early in the a.m. on Tuesday and gets back to his life and work. We say our farewells and start to pack and clean up the premises (not that big of a deal).  Johns’ dog Roux is very attentive this morning and I think she realizes we are leaving.  She has been a real addition to our stay.

We call a Lyft and hit the road again.  Our driver keeps us engaged and entertained all the way to the car rental at the Daytona Airport.  She has traveled overseas extensively and has just returned from Brazil and Carnivale.  

We get into the airport and have a remarkably fast interaction and pick up our car.

We get on the AIA coastal highway and head to St. Augustine.  The scenery is stunning and we follow the ocean until we spy the lighthouse.  We park and pay our admission and begin our trek to the top of the lighthouse.  The grounds are beautiful and the light keepers home and gardens, along with Coast Guard history are beautiful and I am so glad we are taking our time learning the history.

We take a deep breath and start climbing the 219 stairs to the top!

ON TO SAWGRASS                                                                                          

Into the car and on our way to Old Town St. Augustine.  This area is very reminiscent of the plazas in New Mexico and Arizona.  We circle around for 40 minutes but have no luck finding a parking space.  My frustration level is high and I am tired and hungry.  We give up and head to the Marriott Sawgrass Resort, to find food and comfort.

 

Marriott Sawgrass Villa and Beach Club

We are definitely in PGA country.  There are golf related venues everywhere you look.  We check in and head to our villa.  It’s really great with a porch and a view of a lagoon.  We open the patio doors and relax for a few minutes before we shower and find food.

We find the shuttle and head to the Cabana Beach, for Tacos and Margaritas, (it’s national margarita day), so glad to find food!  

The ocean is beautiful, the food is great and the surroundings are magical, we will definitely be back tomorrow to spend the day at the beach.

A Day of Ocean and Relaxation

 We start the day by walking to a nearby breakfast place, the Metro Grill.  We heard from a few of the hotel guests that this was to GO TO place for breakfast and lunch.  The portions are huge and we are sure we won’t eat until dinner.

We do a little window shopping and head to the hotel and the Cabana Club where we spend the rest of the day on the beach and at the pool.  HEAVENLY!

THURSDAY TOURNAMENT PLAYERS CLUB

We are checking out of the Marriott Sawgrass but before we leave we head to the TPC Club where they are getting ready for next weeks PGA Tournament.  The Clubhouse and grounds are extraordinary and we have lunch outside on the 18th hole.  The service is outstanding and the staff are utterly charming.  Here’s a few pics!

Onto Gail and Rex’s Digs in Kissimmee

Adios to Sawgrass and back on the A1A highway and the coast to Daytona.  Another beautiful ride and we hit the expressway and get to Kissimmee Florida, home of Disney, Epcot, Seaworld, etc.  We have no intention of doing any of these but are glad to see our friends and have a great dinner and cocktails before heading to bed.

Next morning we return the Mustang to the airport and head to Cherry Pockets for lunch.  We drive an hour to a small inland lake and have lunch outside with live music.  Really a great way to spend an afternoon.

The day ends with more time in the pool and karaoke with the Canadians.  There are more Canadians than Americans here at the Seven Dwarfs Villas, and they are surely the nicest people.  

SATURDAY AND ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL DAY IN FLORIDA

All we have to do today is enjoy the weather, pool and go to our Blues concert tonight.  Gail, Rex, Guy and I are in the water before noon and are sorry to have to get out at 2, but have to get ready for our night out.

Soon we are on our way into Orlando to have dinner and see Keb Mo!

It takes us an about 40 minutes to get to the restaurant which is in the same area as our concert, Il Pescatore.  Homemade everything and a definitely throwback to an earlier time. Food and service were fabulous and our waitress Annette definitely steered us right.  Loved it!

 

We get to our venue, Plaza Live, where they have live music and is home to the Orlando Philharmonic.  The concert is great.  The opening act is the Brother Brothers, really a great duo and I will start paying attention to them to see if I can see them again.  THEN KEB’ MO’!!  This is my first time seeing him and I am not disappointed.  I will definitely see him again.  If you have never see him do a You Tube search, really, really wonderful!

Gail and Rex are the greatest people to spend time with and we have perfect evening and memory for this trip! 

SUNDAY AT THE POOL

I start the day making a pot of chili, so we can relax and enjoy our last day of vacation with no worry about dinner.  We head to the pool and spend the day swimming, sunning and cocktailing.  The Bloody Maria’s are cold and the sun is hot.  Around 5 we head back to the condo, open a bottle of wine and feast on chili.  Gail and Rex will have some leftovers to contend with after we depart, but they seem, amenable to the task.

We catch up on the news from Ukraine and finish the evening watching the SAG awards where most of the honorees and winners show support for the Ukrainians and we all pray this will end soon.

MONDAY AND WE ARE HEADED HOME