Day 21 - 60 Santa Rosa Beach

Checked in our apartment in Gulf Place which is 4 miles down the road from Grayton Beach where we stayed the past two years. Mostly done posting until we leave here February 29. It's been a good trip and expect it to continue.

Day 20 Apalachicola

The drive on Route 98 from Carrabelle to Apalachicola is right next to the Gulf and is a beautiful drive that should be taken if you have sufficient time. Before going to Apalachicola we drove across the St George Bridge to St George Island and rode around. There's not much there except for a fairly large community of beach houses. It's about 10 miles long and a quarter of a mile wide. The most interesting part was crossing the bridge and seeing about a 500 oyster fishermen in small skiffs hand tonging. There were zero patent tongs. More than 90 percent of Florida oysters are harvested from Apalachicola Bay, so naturally it's why we enjoy stopping there. We checked into the River Inn at noon and immediately went for lunch. Instead of going to our usual stop at Boss Oyster's, we went to Papa Joe's Oyster Bar & Grill. Oysters on the Half Shell, Baked Oysters, and Oyster Stew were all better than excellent. The Oyster Stew was made just the way I think it should be, very simple - cream, butter, oyster liquor, and pepper - unbelievably good. Afterwards we walked around town stopped in a few shops before going to the old Gibson Inn for a refreshment. The bartender there showed us a picture she had just taken of a ghost she saw in the bar the day before, apparently it's infested with the damn things. A little more walking around before dinner at The Tap Room next to the Owl Cafe and more good food, Duck Confit, French Fries in duck fat with crispy prosciutto and parmesan cheese, and Pork Tacos. We are getting fatter by the day.

The next morning we had the complementary breakfast at Caroline's in our hotel. I had Trigger fish with poached eggs and Sylvia had Lemon Pancakes with Raspberry Butter. Whoa!

Day 17, 18, and 19 Cedar Key

Cedar Key

It was an interesting drive to Cedar Key in that for the last 30 miles there was nothing. Cedar Key is at the end of a long road from nowhere, and is unlike any place I've been before. It's a very old hurricane spent town and might remind one of how Key West may have been many years ago. We checked into the Harbour Master Suites on the dock and I was stunned at the incredible view. Check out the room on their website. http://cedarkeyharbourmaster.com/ForgetMeNot.php . As you can see the town is walk-able and has quite a few restaurants and bars. Most of them aren't very good, but they are interesting. One of the reasons I wanted to go here was that I had read there was a little place called Tony's that had won the Super Bowl of Clam Chowder contests (Boston) three times. And, obviously that was the first place we went, and it was very, very good.  I tried quite a few bowls around the area, and they all seem to try and imitate Tony's, but don't quite match up. Tony's is small (seats 54) and can be hard to get into on the weekends. Cedar Key is the second biggest producer of farmed clams in the country so clams are a mainstay around town. We just had four dozen clams and they were easily the best I've ever had. The small island - less than 1000 residents - has an interesting history, both before and after the Civil War, so the little museum is a worthwhile side trip.  If in the area be sure to go, and definitely stay at the Harbour Master with a waterview room. Three days here is more than enough time to see everything, although I would have liked to go kayaking and fishing. It's a beautiful and fun place, and if in the area I would come again.

Day 16 Weeki Wachee Springs

Mermaids

Left Clearwater late morning and headed north up Rt 19 not sure where we were going since we had no real plans for today. A quick trip around and through Tarpon Springs was convincing enough that it didn't seem like a pleasant place to spend the night. So we kept going until we stopped for lunch at Upper Deck Restaurant in Hernando Beach where we had a couple of okay sandwiches and watched the air-boats come and go. Afterward, we continued driving up the road until we got to Weeki Wachee Springs State Park when we remembered that John and Bonny told us we should checkout the Mermaid Show. With nowhere else to go, we got a room at a cheap hotel and went to see the Mermaids. It was sort of entertaining and after taking the Wilderness River Cruise thought it was a mostly worthwhile stop. The water here comes from a warm spring and is as clear as any water I've seen anywhere. The river was loaded with fish and wildlife and made me wish for the Patuxent River to look half as good as this.

Today was Sylvia's birthday and a decent dinner was necessary. Sylvia found a Spanish Italian place called Brian's Place (http://www.briansonthebeach.com). It's located in Hernando Beach and turned out to be absolutely terrific. It had the best menu I had seen in a long time. The Chorizo Cristini, Tuna Ceviche Tacos, and a special of the day Hog Fish dinner were all fantastic. I would have liked to try a half dozen other dishes but had no room. Brian's Dad Bob spent a lot of time giving us the history of him, his son and the restaurant - it was more than interesting. If anyone gets in this area - and I don't know why you would - Brian's Place is a definite must-go-to stop. I will if I'm ever in the area again.

Day 14 and 15 Clearwater

Cooter at Cooter's

Left Treasure Island for the short 20 mile drive up to our friends Bonny and Johns place near Clearwater. We ambled along Gulf Blvd (Rt 699) taking in all the little towns up the coast. When we got up to Clearwater Beach we found a little restaurant we just had to have lunch at. All Sylvia's family calls her Coot or Cooter, and the name of this joint (and it is a joint) was Cooters. Unless your name is Cooter, don't go there. The beer was okay, everything else was questionable. For her cocktail Sylvia had a Cooter Splash (see picture). She tried to get me to drink it, I wasn't biting. We did have food, and actually the Grouper sandwich wasn't bad.
Dinner at Bonny and John's was great and we spent the evening generally agreeing on the quality and content of Obama's State of the Union address. John's a physican and has a definite opinion on Obamacare and President Obama in general.

On Wednesday Bonny had a golf lesson scheduled so Sylvia joined her and the pro even let her participated in the lessons - incredibly nobody got hurt. In fact, they both said Sylvia did really well - I don't believe it. While they "golfed", I borrowed one of John's bicycles and took a four hour ride up the Pinellas Bike Trail. The trail goes for 39 miles from St. Petersburg up to Tarpon Springs. It's a pleasant ride through several small towns and villages and I would have loved to do the whole thing.
For dinner we went to Greektown Grille and had a pretty good meal. We all shared (except for John) an excellent Grilled Octopus. Sylvia had Greek Pasta and I gorged on a traditional Greek platter of Mousaka, Pastistio, Dolmades, and Gyro - I managed to eat about a quarter of it. We supplemented everything with several bottles of a Greek wine which I forgot to write down and should have because it was very good.

Day 12 Treasure Island

Treasure Island's a little town just west of St. Petersburg on the Gulf of Mexico. We arrived this morning and took a drive around the area to get a feel for what's where, and it seemed as though it's not unlike Ocean City, MD - very touristy with lots of traffic. We stopped for lunch at a joint called The Wharf in Pass-A-Grille which is south of Treasure Island. The Grouper Chunks were excellent and seemed very fresh. Afterward we checked into the hotel. The beach at Treasure Island is huge, it must be a quarter mile wide. I got tired just walking down to the water. We had a drink at Ricky T's before meeting Bonny and John, good friends from home. They live here and suggested that we meet at Guppy's on the Beach. We had a very good dinner, I had poached Trigger Fish and Sylvia had Potato Crusted Salmon. It was a very nice evening. Got back to the room to see the end of the Giants-San Francisco football game.

Day 9 and 10 Sarasota

Hotel room bartender

It was time to leave Naples and do the short two hour drive up to my most favorite city in Florida, Sarasota. Sylvia had never been there and wanted to see why I liked it. We went up Interstate 75 and cut in towards the Gulf at Punta Gorda and drove the rest of the way up the Tamiami Trail (41). Although it's off the interstate, I wouldn't recommend it since there's not much to see except traffic lights. Once in Sarasota we checked into the Hotel Ranola in the old downtown area. I had stayed there five years ago and liked it a lot. It's a small 8 unit boutique hotel that Sylvia immediately loved and asked the owner if we could stay three days instead of the originally planned two. Of course we could. Main Street Sarasota is an old throwback kind of street with shops, restaurants, and businesses that seem as though they've been there for 50 years...and most of them probably have. There's a diversity there that you don't see much anymore. Since we were spending three days here, and we had wanted to see Siesta Key, we decided to drive over there and get that out of the way. It's a nice place, but there's not much to see. We did manage to stop in Turtle Beach Pub for a drink and meet the bartender who was from Nantucket. At three o'clock people came out of the woodwork to take advantage of the Happy Hour. We may have been the youngest people there. We didn't stay long as we were anxious to get back to Sarasota and some interesting restaurants. After wandering around downtown, we stopped at a little shack next door to our hotel called Star Keeper Cafe. It's normally only open from 9:30 to 3:30 except for Thursday night when the owner cooks burgers and corn on the cob on the grill on the patio in the alley out back. We ate there and listened to two guys play some pretty good music. It was about 20 steps back to the hotel. Neat place.

On Thursday I went up the street to a little French pastry shop and brought back some coffee and an excellent mixed fruit tart. Around 10 we went for a walk over to St. Armands Key. It's a long walk, but it's along the water and over a lengthy bridge to a village with high end shops and restaurants. Sylvia really liked the shops. The only thing I bought was a Bloody Mary. On the way back we stopped for lunch at Marina Jacks outside bar for a little lunch. The Veggie Quesidilla was terrific, as I suspect most of the food there is. It's a beautiful, but large place on the water, and I would recommend it for a pleasant lunch. That evening we skipped dinner (yeah!) and went to the movies. Saw The Iron Lady with Meryl Streep and she was as good as she always is, but neither of us thought very much of the movie.

Day 7 and 8 Naples

Left Ormond Beach early for the 5 hour drive to Naples. Instead of taking interstates 4 and 75 all the way, we broke it up with a more interesting drive on route 17 through orange groves and small towns. We checked in a motel near town and drove over to Big Cypress National Park in the everglades to visit with our nephew Ryan who works there as a park ranger. He showed us some of the flora and fauna and I was amazed how many alligators actually inhabit the swamps. On the way back to Naples, we drove down to Everglades City and had scenic lunch at the Everglades Seafood Depot Restaurant. That evening we met Ryan and his wife Claire for dinner at Vergina where we had a nice Italian meal with good wine and wonderful conversation. It was really nice to be able to visit with them.

The next day (Wednesday) was uneventful. I spent the morning doing this stupid blog and Sylvia did something too - don't ask me, I don't know. For lunch we drove downtown to Old Naples on 3rd Street South and walked around a bit before stopping for lunch at the Old Naples Pub which wasn't very good, or maybe we just didn't order right. As expected, right after that we walked up the street and saw what looked like a great little place called Cafe Barcelona on 13th Ave. If I ever get back here, that is where I'm going to eat. After a stop at the City Dock for a beer and a wasted walk through Tin City, we went back to the room and decided that we wanted to cut back on the food and drink for awhile. About two hours later we went to Capricco's for antipasto, pizza and wine. At least every other restaurant in Naples is Italian and most of them seem to be pretty good. I saved some of the excellent tomato, olive, and anchovy pizza for breakfast and crashed early.

Day 6 Ormond Beach

Today we headed to see my cousin Eddie and his friend Carol who live in Ormond Beach. Instead of taking 95 we decided to drive route A1A down the coast. In order to do this we had to take a little ferry from Amelia Island across the St. Johns river to Mayport. The drive was slow and tedious, but worthwhile. The mansions on Ponte Vedra were unlike anything I've ever seen. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant Sylvia had frequented 15 years ago while working for the FAA. It's an old joint in Flagler Beach called High Tides at Snack Jack. We both had huge fish sandwiches. We got to Eddie's by 2 and enjoyed meeting Carol. They both laugh a lot and we had a terrific time talking about our family. They had just bought a house together and were in the process of renovating much of it.  What was neat was that when they looked for a place to buy, the one requirement was that they could walk to a Publix grocery store. So their house was next to a pretty diverse shopping center. We took a long walk through the many trails in their community and eventually walked to dinner at another Mexican restaurant call La Fiesta. That also was very good. We had a chatty visit with them and their dog Teddy and laughed a lot.

Day 5 Fernandina Beach

After three busy and very good days with Jack, Carol and Sammy the goofy cat, we left for Fernandina Beach - a cute little old town just off 95 on Amelia Island on the Florida Georgia border. It's one of my favorite stops that Sylvia had never been to. A day there seemed like a good idea. We checked into the Hampton Inn and walked the town with a lunch stop at Jack and Diane's little restaurant. It was pleasant, but I'm not sure I'd go back. We spent most of the day walking and eventually settled for dinner at Pablo's Mexican restaurant. It was an excellent choice. The service was good, the food was outstanding and the Margaritas as good as any I've ever had. Each one was individuality made with ample tequila - a definite go-back-to place. There's nothing I wouldn't order.

Days 3 and 4 Bluffton,SC

We had a very good several days with Jack and Carol visiting the local establishments. On day 3 we had lunch at the Bluffton Oyster house. It's little restaurant that was just opened by an old established oyster and fish purveyor in Bluffton. Obviously the oysters were very good, as was the beer. For dinner the four of us met some old Solomons friends Susan and Ed at Pour Richards bistro. That was really good! I had a burger with fois gras - how could that be bad? It was wonderful seeing everybody and had a very entertaining evening.

Saturday we drove around Hilton Head and stopped in some shops including Michael Anthony's little deli. A lunch stop at the Skull Creek Boat House was interesting. Sylvia and Carol weren't too happy with their food, but I had absolutely terrific fried belly-on Ipswich clams. That more than made up for Sylvia and Carol's meal (at least as far as I was concerned) - I didn't share. Afterwards we went back to the house and watched the football games.

Day 1 and 2 Home to Bluffton, SC

Decided to publish this trip so I could remember what we did. I'm having trouble remembering this morning much less yesterday. This might settle some future arguments between Sylvia and I...but probably not.

Ok, here goes. We left yesterday morning on our annual trip south to Florida with plans to hang out and visit friends and family until February when we could check into an apartment that we rented near Grayton Beach, Florida for the month. We wanted to spend the first night in Wilmington,NC - a town we enjoyed several times over the past few years. As usual, I like to find interesting lunch stops. After checking the internet for the best eastern North Carolina pork barbecue (vinegar based), Parker's in Wilson popped up more frequently than others, so that was the destination. It turned out to be a great stop. It's only 7 miles off of 95 and easy to get to. The barbecue was very good as was the fried chicken. I would recommend the Brunswick Stew instead of the green beans, the boiled potatoes instead of the french fries, and the corn sticks instead of the hush puppies. It's a big place and packed for a weekday lunch. There is no alcohol! Other than that it's excellent. Our bill was $15.85. We arrived in Wilmington mid afternoon in a downpour. which limited the walking around somewhat, but we managed to get to an Irish pub called Paddy's in time for cocktail hour. Later we had dinner a Mexican restaurant called Mixto. The Margarita's were excellent. I don't remember what we ate..see I told you so.

We got an early start the next morning and headed south with a lunch destination of Charleston, SC. We got there a little before lunch and walked around a bit before eating at a highly recommended place called Slightly North Of Broad (SNOB). It's very pleasant place, but the Shrimp and Grits I had wasn't one of the better ones. Sylvia had a tremendous charcuterie plate with everything made in-house, including the pickles. I would go back, but not for the shrimp and grits. We left Charleston and arrived at our friends house - Jack and Carol's in Bluffton,SC by evening.