Friday, November 28, 2008

Until next year!

Normally, on a vacation, the first few days creep by, then about mid-way through, time goes into warp speed. Not on this trip, darnit. It may have been a bit chillier than last year, but stayed in the 60's during the day, and on Thanksgiving it was over 70. Warm enough to stumble out onto the beach after eating way too much, and passing out like waylaid whales. I didn't get to read near as much as I had hoped, but I should have seen that coming. Some highlights from this year were:



1. Lighthouse hunting. There are four of them within a twenty mile drive from us (one is right next door!). This is a relative new hobby for us, but we are into it.









2. The day after Thanksgiving celebration in Apalachicola. This is an annual event for us, but it is always a favorite. We see Santa arrive in a shrimp boat to crazed, wild-eyed, screaming little kids, all the stores decorate and stay open late and serve wine and cider.



3. Feeding the kittens that live behind the St. George Inn. We couldn't help it. They seemed a little skinny, and they were very friendly. We wished we could take them all home.





4. The island bookstore (a highlight for me at least). The owner is retiring, so all new books were half off, and the used ones were a quarter. Bibliophiles, you can imagine how cool this was for me. The inventory was pretty picked over, but I came out with Wuthering Heights, Cold Mountain, and a Barbara Kingsolver novel.

5. Sometimes It's Hotter. This was a new find for us on the island. It is a little shop that sells their own spice blends, hot sauces, exotic cheeses and wine. Oh, and the best part...they make homemade french bread every day, but you have to get there early and buy enough, because they will sell out. We were invited to their day-after-Thanksgiving party, and they didn't have to ask us twice! Check them out here.





































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































4 comments:

Kathie Smith said...

I'm going to have to check out that spice shop...I feel like I have seen it, but maybe not. Sorry we couldn't be there!

Sandy Nawrot said...

The owners are Joe and Charlotte. They're from Chicago, which makes them even cooler. They have a HUGE selection of hot sauces (one I tried, called "Beast", made my lips burn for a couple of hours). They have a little soiree every Thursday evening that can draw up to 100 people from the island. The best thing of all...we could walk there from our house. If you and Eleanor go up next summer, you gotta check 'em out.

Anonymous said...

OMG, Thanksgiving at the beach? That's unheard of, at least in San Francisco. It's unseasonably warm here anyway, and our "orphan" dinner was overdone. So much food that we packed them up to pass out to the needy on the street.

Sandy Nawrot said...

I know, it must be a Florida thing. This is the third time in four years we have done it. Mind you, I still cook my butt off, and enjoy lots of fattening Thanksgiving food, but we prefer to give thanks to the sound of the crashing surf in the background! We had lots of leftovers, but since there aren't many homeless in St. George, we fed the leftover turkey to the skinny kittens!