Three's Company!: Quarterly Meeting

3 Years, 11 Weeks.

Tangie and I had our second quarterly meeting this past weekend.

Actually, we had an early 10th wedding anniversary getaway just the two of us, for a chance to catch up and reconnect, after the craziness of these past few months. My parents were, once again, gracious enough to stay over at our place with the kids while we were gone, this time to the northeast corner of Florida, at Ponte Vedra and St. Augustine.

But let's go back to before we left.

Lolo and Lala joined us Friday evening for supper. They had driven up from Avon Park through rain that afternoon. The reason for us celebrating a week earlier than our actual anniversary date was because they were flying out to California the following weekend, to help take care of my brother's little boy, while he does some work here in Orlando for a couple of weeks. The plan is for my parents to assist my sister-in-law and take care of Preston when Genevieve is at work. Hence the last minute decision to do our anniversary over this weekend.

FaceTime with Uncle Mike and Cousin Preston while the kids take their baths.

Braelyn watches as Daddy finishes up the weekly blog.

We attended church and Sabbath School on Saturday. The kids were all graduating from their respective classrooms and moving on to the next levels the following Sabbath, so we wanted to stay and attend the graduating "ceremonies". After church we said our goodbyes in the parking lot, the grandparents taking the kids back home for lunch while we headed our way up north to Ponte Vedra. We swung by a Thai place for lunch, and then drove the 2 hours up, Tangie sneaking in a short nap.

Apparently Kohlden wasn't too keen with it being his last time at Cradle Roll.

Grandparents trying to keep the twins' spirits up.

At least they rode the rocking bears, but their hearts weren't in it.

Getting our certificates, cookies, and gifts from Aunt Marlissa.

And still no smile.

Braelyn, on the other hand, was all smiles.

As were we, finally on our getaway weekend.

We decided to drive through St. Augustine and make our way up the rest of the way on A1A by the coast, for a nicer, calmer, more scenic drive than on I-95 with speeding cars and barreling semi-trucks. We took in the sights and got used to our surroundings, since we'd be spending most of our time around the area. We especially enjoyed the sights of the beautiful beach homes, each one getting bigger and more extravagant the closer we got to Ponte Vedra. Of course, I'm talking about the ones we could see past all the gates and privacy fences. Good grief!

Oldest city in the U.S.

Bridge over to the coastline.

It had been a while since we visited the area. We actually had stayed at the same hotel when we celebrated our 3rd anniversary. But this time we booked through Hotwire.com again, and it gave us the Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Spa in Ponte Vedra, just 30 minutes north of St. Augustine and 20 minutes southeast of Jacksonville. The hotel was undergoing some updating and construction, a "refresh" as they coined it, so they gave us some complimentary perks to make up for some of the construction noises and dust barriers. It didn't seem to bother us any, so the perks were a nice addition.

Our hotel.

Pretty view from the lobby.

Pretty tropical scenery and waterfalls.

Back deck.

Outdoor restaurant. We would eat here Monday evening.

Trying to hit the floating green for an upgrade to the Presidential Suite.
I missed it by just a few feet!

We settled in and then toured the grounds some. It was a nice setting, quiet and serene, not too many people around. Even the pool area was pleasantly quiet; just a few families with children there. Then we hopped back in our car to drive down to St. Augustine, where we had planned to have supper. But before we got back on the main road I turned to go into the Sawgrass Country Club, where the PGA Headquarters were located and where they host The Players Championships golf tournament every year in March. We drove up to the gate, though Tangie was apprehensive about the guard letting us through. He was very friendly, and waved us through without missing a beat, and we made our way through a winding road flanked by huge magnolia trees and banners with pictures of past champions, as we approached the magnificent building.

The Sawgrass Country Club.

A mere 77,000 square feet. See the red dot in the middle? That's Tangie!

Only 6 years old, you could never tell its age by just looking at it. It seemed like it was built in the late 19th century, with large solid wood doors and iron accents, beautiful wooden floors and tall recessed ceilings. It was very grand indeed. I wanted to go inside, and coaxed Tangie to follow me. We were met at the front door by an elderly woman, Gail, who was an official "storyteller", as her name badge depicted. We started chit chatting, and then before we knew it, she was giving us A PERSONAL TOUR OF THE ENTIRE CLUBHOUSE! For one and a half hours! And for free! I mean, she talked about everything, from the history of the design of the course to the commissioned paintings that covered the walls. It was amazing! She even said to call her if we ever wanted to play the golf course and gave us her personal home phone number and email address! It was like we became her adopted grandkids! After the tour, we ate a light snack at the clubhouse and then walked out to the fabled 17th island green, one of most famous golf holes in the world. I was in reverent awe as I walked barefoot on the grass, taking it all in.

Standing next to The President's Cup trophy. We were advised not to touch it.

Sitting in the boardroom where they made a lot of important golf decisions.

The men's locker room.

View of the back from the 2nd floor balcony.

Getting tidbits of history from our tour guide Gail.

We became her kids!

I had to go barefoot.

View of the country club from the back.

Tangie at the famous 17th island green.

Of course, I had to go on it and just caress the grass.

Heading back, I lost Tangie on the 18th hole. This is where you end up if you miss the green!

We made our way back down A1A towards St. Augustine, swinging by a Publix to pick up some breakfast supplies and water, because hey, who wants to spend $3.00 for a bottle of water from the hotel? We had supper at a restaurant called Caps On The Water, located on the inter coastal waterway. Very inconspicuous at first glance, the place was situated on an enormous wooden deck under large oak trees wrapped in Christmas lights. Very romantic and very pleasant, we had a 40 minute wait which we did at their dock, overlooking the water. The atmosphere was wonderful, and the food and service was fantastic! The only downside was that it was so dimly lit, that we could hardly see what we were eating, let alone the menu to make our food choices! Thank goodness for flashlights on our cell phones! It was a great way to end the day and evening.

Caps on the Water.

Beautiful scenery at night.

Sitting on the dock on the bay...

watching the tide roll away...

Lights make for a romantic setting.

Except that you can't see the menu!

On Sunday we had booked a specialty food tour of St. Augustine, through one of the city's walking tour companies. I had read about them on a city blog and thought we would enjoy the experience, as we had never done a food tour before. It was set for 2 in the afternoon, so we thought we would spend the morning enjoying the beach and pool amenities of the resort. Although the actual hotel was inland a ways, it did have a resort facility available for its guests right there on the beach, for free. You could either take the hotel shuttle, or drive there yourself, which we did. It was a nice little setup; there was also a formal restaurant you could get reservations for dinner in the evenings. We walked the beach first, looking for shells for the kids and commenting on how much more blue the water in Miami was. We sat on some lounge chairs and just relaxed for a bit, and then moved over to the pool when it got too hot. We were probably there a total time of just an hour, as we had to get back to the hotel to shower and change, before making our way down to St. Augustine.

Cabana Beach Club.

It was almost like we were in a Caribbean resort!

Tangie checks out the surf.

Tangie's view of me in the pool.

It was called Le Tour de Chocolat, which consisted of walking to 7 different venues within the historic city limits and indulging in chocolate desserts, some of the them paired with cheeses and wines from all over the world. When we booked the tour earlier that day I had mentioned that we were celebrating our anniversary, so at every restaurant or shop we were given numerous salutations of congratulations and were offered extra treats or glasses of bubbly. Oh, did I mention that again, we were THE ONLY ONES on the tour? Yep, a personalized tour just the two of us! For two and half hours! Our tour guide was a gentleman named Ed who taught Speech at nearby Flagler College, and he gave us a wonderful, intimate, and fascinating tour combining the history of the city and stories about food and his adventures in Europe, which we thoroughly enjoyed!

Waiting for our tour to begin. The umbrella came in handy!

Meeting Mark at our first stop, for chocolate wine and cheese. Ed is in the yellow shirt.

2nd stop was to a French chocolate shop. Here we see the homemade Belgian chocolate creations.

Which Tangie enjoyed sampling!

Our third stop for this chocolate mousse cake they nicknamed "chocolate cloud."

Following Ed as he gives us a tour of Henry Flagler's empire.

Flagler built the first indoor swimming pool, as shown in the picture, which is now

converted into a restaurant!

En route to our 4th stop, a winery that makes chocolate wine smoothies.
Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of that one.

Our 5th stop, an Italian restaurant with chocolate cannolis!

Crucial Coffee Cafe, in what used to be the old blacksmith shop, was stop #6.

Very quaint and organic gardens surround the eating area.

Chocolate cake with coconut ice cream.

Mint chocolate smoothie.

Stuffed!

Last but not least, stop #7 was Fudgebuckets, where we sampled at least a hundred different flavors of fudge.
Tangie's favorite? Surprisingly...watermelon fudge!

We found and sampled many different flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars at this store.

After we were all chocolated out, we walked around to take in some more sights of the historic city, as well as to burn up as many calories as possible, until our feet hurt so bad. It was then that we headed back to the hotel to relax and rest, before changing and having supper at a nearby restaurant.

Why me?

Tangie takes a breather.

Henry Flagler had this church built as a memorial when his daughter died.
They are both buried in it.

We just missed it! Oh well, maybe next time.

Beautiful drive along the city.

Supper al fresco at Pusser's Caribbean Grille Restaurant.

Braelyn missed us so Lala called us via FaceTime.

It didn't seem to help!

Monday we had planned to play a round of golf, even with the weather forecasts predicting 70% chance of rain for the majority of the day. So we knew we had to start early, just in case. We decided to book a tee time at the Fleming Island Golf and Country Club, about a 40 minute drive away, to the other side of Jacksonville. I had read some reviews and they were decent, the pictures online looked nice. It was either that or pay a small fortune to play a golf course in Ponte Vedra! We had a good time, enjoying each other's company and playing fairly well, considering. Afterwards we drove to Jacksonville Beach for lunch, getting stuck in a pretty serious thunderstorm and deluge that followed. It rained for the remainder of the day, so we headed back to the hotel for a quick nap.

The course reminded me of ones played in Tennessee and North Carolina,
with the tall trees but without the elevation.

Lining up my shot.

Tangie's perfect swing.

Such a pretty layout.

Trying to finish our round as the clouds gather overhead.

Watching the clouds engulf the marshlands.

Lunch at a Mexican restaurant right on the beach, they had the doors wide open to watch the rain fall.

After waking up Tangie convinced me to join her for a stretch/yoga class before supper, and I thought, "Sure, it wouldn't hurt." Boy was I wrong. WE GOT CLOBBERED!! And here I thought we were still in our 20's or something. Our instructor had us all bent up in different shapes, our limbs bending in ways they weren't designed to be bent. Boy, we were a sore bunch afterwards! And hungry too. So we headed back to freshen up and change for dinner at the hotel's restaurant, dining al fresco on their outdoor patio deck, and when the bugs started to show up, we finished up at another table inside.

Tangie reading her Kindle while I snoozed.

Okay, let's do this!

Doing 50 calf raises. Oh the pain!

Sitting in the outdoor deck, watching the sun set.

The hotel at night.

Dinner view from Alice & Pete's Pub.

Tuesday we had to check out by noon, so we wanted to take in a few more amenities from the hotel. We forced ourselves out of bed, sore and all, to hit the fitness center for an hour of running and biking. It was drizzling outside and the weather all day called for rain. It let up just a bit when we finished so we rented a couple of bicycles from their rental stand and biked around the grounds for about 20 minutes, until it started drizzling again. We showered and packed up our gear, and then headed downstairs to partake of the hotel's brunch, since we hadn't eaten breakfast and it was already 10 o'clock. It was pretty good, and we stuffed ourselves silly, getting our money's worth of $20 a pop. Afterwards it was sayonara to the resort and we started making our way back home, making a brief stop at the outlets in St. Augustine so Tangie could buy herself a couple pairs of shoes. Driving through several huge storm cells made the journey home a bit slower than expected, but we arrived safe and happy nonetheless.

Tangie leading the way on our bike ride.

Over the river and through the woods.

Pretty enjoyable morning!

Brake lights ahead!

Supper with the kids.

They were happy to hang out with us again!

The kids were happy to see us too. Braelyn, especially, had missed us a lot. My parents were waiting, all ready with their gear packed in the car, to head back to Avon Park. They were anxious to get their stuff packed for their trip to California. They certainly enjoyed their time with the kids, even complying when Braelyn asked them how grasshoppers tasted like when they're cooked. Let's just say that I'm kind of glad I wasn't home when they attempted that culinary adventure, even with my affinity to exotic foods!

Riding their bikes around the house.
It didn't help that it rained almost the entire we were gone.

Braelyn and Lala baked some cookies.

Kohl trying to make a decision as to which one while

Maddy just dives in!

Here was the rest of our week:

We visited the Grodacks Wednesday evening. We hadn't seen them in two weeks!

Corey graced us with a pasta and green bean supper. Delish!

Costco visit this week. Can you tell which one wasn't happy?

Goofing off on the hammock.

Mommy enjoying the three.

Thursday was 4th of July and I spent the first half of the day joining the men folk in our circle to assist the Zbaraschuks with the move to their new home. Meanwhile, Tangie took the kids and met up with the Grodacks and Jennifer with her 5 boys at Winter Garden, where they participated in the 10th annual Kids Parade down Main Street. Afternoon showers ensued but that didn't deter us from joining the Bergherms in attending Winter Garden's Party in the Park, by Lake Apopka, for supper and fireworks.