This weekend I spent several days in St. Augustine, Florida,
visiting Terry and sightseeing while—of course—exploring as many restaurants as
possible.
Terry has had a rough work schedule since leaving LA in late
October, and we weren’t totally sure that he would have much time off to spend
with me. But we figured even a few hours per night would be better than
nothing, so I flew out on Thursday and he picked me up from the Jacksonville
Airport.
Our first meal was at
A1A Ale Works, a spot Terry had visited with his coworkers a few times and
recommended. We shared the crab and artichoke dip, which was delicious but
filling for only two people. For dinner I ordered the Kobe Burger;
unfortunately, my order was switched with someone else’s and the burger was too
well done, but the waitress was kind enough to bring me a new one that was
cooked perfectly. The burger itself wasn’t anything to write home about,
though. Terry had the lobster pot pie, which we both liked better, and Terry
said that overall the seafood he and his coworkers had tried was tasty, so I
would go with a seafood item next time. We spent the rest of the evening
walking around downtown and stopped at
FudgeBuckets for Blue Bell ice cream. The ladies seemed so sweet and offered us
samples, which sold me on a scoop of the coconut. Terry got the pumpkin pecan,
which I believe had a swirl of caramel. Both tasted great, a perfect way to end
the night.
On Friday, Terry had to work, so I took my time getting
ready for the day and spent the morning hanging out, shopping a bit, and
bringing lunch to Terry and his team. I picked up lunch from
Panera, which was good but not great
(to be fair, though, mine was pretty cold by the time I got around to eating
it). When Terry finally got off work late that evening, we opted for
The Mellow Mushroom, a pizza and
sandwiches place, for dinner. We shared a pizza (half veggie and half “mighty
meaty” I think) and some bruschetta, both of which hit the spot. The beer
selection was decent, too, so we would recommend it as a fun, low-key lunch or
dinner spot. We did order dessert, the cookie with ice cream, but when you’ve
had a Pizookie at BJ’s pretty much nothing else similar can compare, so I’d
skip it next time.
Saturday Terry headed to work again, but we actually woke up
early for a quick workout, just 30 minutes running and walking on the
treadmill. After two days off, it just felt good to sweat a little, and the
hotel’s little gym did the trick since the rain prevented us from going
outside. I drove Terry to work and spend the morning at Panera again, writing letters of rec for former students. I munched
on the Asiago, egg, and bacon bagel, which was seriously delicious. What is it
about breakfast sandwiches? They’re SO good! I spent the afternoon lounging
around, relaxing, and reading this Finding
Colin Firth book by Mia March. It was cute and an easy read, but one of the
main characters bakes a ton of pies and it made me hungry every few pages. Ah,
the hazards of reading.
Saturday night turned out to be really fun. Terry found a
local bowling alley, and we played two games. Any bowling is fun in my book, so
we had a great time, but I was shocked to learn that this place doesn’t allow
adults to use “light” balls—meaning anything under 10 pounds. What?! I usually
bowl with an 8-lb. ball, and I was so embarrassed to find that apparently those
are reserved for twelve-year-olds. So much for all that strength training; I
kept losing my grip and dropping the ball early. Needless to say, it wasn’t my
best game, but we still had fun. For dinner, we headed back to downtown for
Hooked on Harry’s, a seafood place. The
outdoor patio has a really lovely ambiance with a canopy of palm trees that
reminded me of our
Turks & Caicosdinner at Coco Bistro, but we opted for the shorter wait to sit inside.
I ordered the bourbon-glazed salmon with fries and vegetables (the sides left
much to be desired, but the salmon was absolutely perfect), and Terry went with
the Cajun-spiced tilapia, smashed potatoes, and collared greens, all of which
he loved (I especially liked his smashed potatoes). Terry’s been to Harry’s a
few times, so we give it an overall thumbs up.
On Sunday, Terry got word that he would have
the whole day off! I practically cried
at the news, and we really took advantage of the day. Despite the traffic from
the St. Augustine Half-Marathon, we headed into downtown for breakfast at the
Sandcastle Café, owned by the same
group that owns
Fudge Buckets, our
little dessert place from the other night. The wait staff was unbelievably
sweet, and we loved seeing runners come in, all exhausted from their race. I
had the veggie omelet and Terry had the crab cake eggs benedict; we loved them
both. The portions were perfect and the prices very fair.
We wandered around downtown some more, venturing around the
outside of the local fort. St. Augustine has an interesting history because it
was the first official city in America, colonized first by Spain and then by
Great Britain. We even got to watch a canon fire! We skipped the paid tour
inside the fort, but it was interesting just to check out the grounds and the
bay. It turned out to be a hot morning, so we stopped for a popsicle at
The Hyppo, which specializes in unique
popsicles. We shared the blackberry cheesecake—oh, man, talk around refreshing
and delicious! The flavors were incredible together, perfect for a warm
morning.
Next up, since we weren’t sure until about this point that
Terry would have the day off, I suggested we work up an appetite for our lunch
with a workout. The truth is, even though he does a great job of trying to
exercise while on these trips, Terry’s schedule is often so demanding that
waking up early or working out after work is just too exhausting. So I figured
squeezing in two workouts while I was there would benefit both of us, and we
just completed Tina’s quick 30-minute
10sand 50s Bodyweight Workout, a fantastic option for travelers (instead
of inverted rows, since we didn’t have the equipment, we did dips, which I
realize work triceps instead of biceps, but oh well). It wasn’t too bad, and
after a quick shower we were back on the road for lunch at
Burrito Works, recommended by
PeanutButter Fingers, who lives in Florida. This place was mighty tasty! We
are pretty picky about our Mexican food, coming from Southern California, but
Burrito Works did not disappoint. Terry got the UFO (essentially a burrito in a
pocket and then grilled) and I went with the burrito bowl, both with carnitas.
We loved it all! Terry said he can’t wait to go back with his coworkers.
Next up: a quick round of mini-golf at
Fiesta Falls Mini Golf, which was so fun. I was impressed by the variety
in the different holes (you get to putt
on
a little ship!), and I even got a hole in one. Dad, are you proud?
We also checked out the
St. Augustine Lighthouse, which was surprisingly fun and informative. We climbed all 219 steps to the top and loved following the self-guided tour. I recommend it!
Finally, we headed back to downtown one last time for an
evening of window shopping, a beer at
a
local bar, and dinner, this time at
The Floridian. Guys, we need to have a serious talk about this
dinner. Honestly, if you live or travel within 60 minutes of St. Augustine, it
would be well worth your time and gas money to find a way to get to this place
for a meal. We absolutely
loved
everything about it, and we overheard our fellow diners raving about their
meals, too. The menu is fairly limited, but they clearly execute all the meals
very well, so you can’t go wrong. Terry ordered an amber beer, which perfectly
complemented his BBQ pulled pork and waffles. Yes, my friends, that’s right:
pork and waffles. I had heard of (and love) fried chicken with waffles, but the
smoky flavor of the tender pork, baked apples, crunchy pecans, and buttermilk
waffles all worked together wonderfully. He devoured the entire thing (I think
I had to warn him to slow down at one point—mostly because I wanted another
bite). For my meal, I chose the Seafood Zucchini Linguini, and I’m going to
dream about that meal for years to come. It normally comes with shrimp and
clams, but I’m not a clam girl, so they happily subbed in all shrimp. Perfectly
cooked and delightfully flavorful
local
shrimp. And lots of it, too! I had leftovers, and there were at least ten
shrimp still in there. Instead of pasta, they use zucchini “noodles”, finely julienned
to absorb all the flavor from the broth of garlic, butter, white wine, and
magic. The cherry tomatoes absorbed all that flavor, too, as did the two pieces
of garlic toast on the side. I told Terry that each bite kept getting better
and literally could not stop myself from eating more, even when I was full. No photos--it was too dark--but they wouldn't have done these meals justice anyway.
Have I convinced you to go to The Floridian, yet? No? Well,
the lovely outdoor patio is also lovely, right beside a quiet street in
downtown, very Southern and charming. And the wait staff could not have been
more polite or accommodating. Ben was our server, and I felt like we should be
friends (that could have been the effect of the delicious meal he served me,
but who’s to say?). So you should go. And let me know what you try, because I
wish I could have ordered everything on that menu.
We ended our night with another stop at The Hyppo for
popsicles—dark chocolate sea salt for Terry and chocolate cheesecake for me—because
apparently one isn’t enough for one day. This morning Terry dropped me off at
the airport, and now I’m in Nashville awaiting my next flight. Here’s hoping
the 30-minute delay doesn’t get worse!
We had a great time in St. Augustine. I suppose that’s the
silver lining of Terry’s crazy long work trips—we get to see places we likely
wouldn’t have traveled to on our own, like
NiagaraFalls and
Toronto. Of course, I’d rather have him home, but at least we had a good time!