Summer in Florida…

Well this has been an interesting, even though uneventful, summer.  My time has been spent wedding planning, adjusting my course of study for my Masters degree, visiting my parents and working.  With the hot/rainy weather of North Florida in the summer months, there haven’t been many trips over the weekends.  Part of that is also due to the imminence of our upcoming wedding (T-minus 2 weeks and 2 days!).  Trips that would have normally lead to the beach, fishing, camping, or hiking have instead taken us to Target, Sam’s Club, etc.  I did make 3 trips to visit my parents in Bradenton though.

Erin had to do some work on her thesis equivalent on the east coast of Florida, so my parents met us halfway and took me home with them.  This happened twice in the course of a month.  The second trip happened to fall over the weekend of July 4th.  I went to see the Rays play the Royals in St. Pete (Rays won 11-2) and then went fishing with my dad.  The fishing excursion was fruitless, except for seeing our first manatee in the wild, near the pier at Holmes Beach.

A few weeks later, Erin and I made the trip back down for my dad’s birthday.  We went to a Rays game again, this time to see them play Toronto.  Afterward, there was a post-game concert by MC Hammer.  Yes, it was Hammer Time at the Trop. 

The game was a lot of fun, with the Rays beating the Jays 6-4 and seeing Evan Longoria hit his first career grand slam.  The MC Hammer concert was entertaining, but for the wrong reasons.  It was ridiculous and everyone that stayed for it, stayed to laugh.  We left shortly after it started.

So, next comes the serious stuff.  In two weeks, I’m going to be married here in Tallahassee at the University Center Club (at Doak S. Campbell Stadium…GO NOLES!).  Then its off to Lake Tahoe for 5 days for our honeymoon.  When we get back, we’ll be greeted with the start of a new semester and a new college football season.  It’s going to be whirlwind month and I can’t wait!

Forbes names America’s Best Cities for the Outdoors

Florida has two of the top 5 with Jacksonville at number 4 and Tampa tied with Phoenix at 5.

Get out there and have fun!  Especially before it gets ridiculously hot and humid.

America’s Best Cities For The Outdoors

Anna Maria Island, Florida

When most people visit the Gulf Coast of Florida, they are most likely headed to the beach. The beaches on the islands just off the coast of Sarasota and Bradenton are hard to beat. Siesta Key has been rated as one of the top ten beaches in the nation. Longboat Key and Lido Key are also well known. But my favorite is Anna Maria Island.

Anna Maria Island is located at the southern edge of the mouth of Tampa Bay. The reason that I like this island so much is that it’s so…well…normal. It’s a place you would live as opposed to the next island south, Longboat Key. To live and play on Longboat, you have to have ridiculous amounts of money. I’m not saying real estate on Anna Maria is cheap, but it’s not quite as astronomical as it’s southern neighbor and the feel is much more real. There aren’t gates and guards at the entrance of each neighborhood. There are tons of restaurants and shops. There are public beaches and piers and you can actually go fishing without owning an overpriced 600 square foot condo.

While visiting my parents last week, we made the short trek from East Manatee County, (Lakewood Ranch area) where my parents live, out to Anna Maria for dinner and sunset. We had dinner at the Sandbar Restaurant which is one of the only restaurants right on the beach on the Gulf Coast and is amazing for sunsets. The outer edge of tables are literally in the sand, about 30 yards from the water. It was a great evening with my parents, Erin, and my grandmother who came down from Missouri for a visit.

So walked up and down the beach, watched the sunset and had dinner. It was really nice and relaxing. I’ve been realizing how far past my undergraduate days I am. Relaxing to me a few years ago was blowing off steam out at the bars with friends or going on some trip that involved trying to cram as much as possible into as little time possible. Now, I enjoy taking it easy. Granted, this past week was no vacation for me since I worked all week, but when I had down time, it was used to watch baseball with my parents, talk with my parents, or to read. The part of Florida that I hated so much when I lived there really grew on me this week. Now I don’t mind that there aren’t a bunch of young 20-somethings around. Instead, I’m relieved. I don’t like going down to Siesta Key because of the people. I’d rather be able to enjoy myself and have a good portion of the beach to myself. Most of that is due to Erin, but the rest is due to the fact that I’m getting older and maturing. That is my revelation for the week leading into my 26th birthday. Not profound in any way, but true.

Anna Maria Island

The Sandbar Restaurant

Away…

Right now, I’m visiting my parents in Sarasota.  My Grandma flew down from Missouri, so Erin (her parents live down here too) and I made the trip, and are going to combine Mother’s Day and my upcoming birthday into the week.  Erin just finished her second full year of her PhD program.  She has 2 more years of class/practicum and 1 full year of internship before she’s done (assuming she finishes her dissertation on time). 

I haven’t done much of anything this week outside of work and go to the gym.  Tonight we’re taking my Grandma down to Anna Maria Island for dinner and to the beach before she heads back to the Midwest tomorrow morning.  Friday night, we have tickets to see Gerry Dee at McCurdy’s Comedy Club in Sarasota.  He was a finalist in NBC’s Last Comic Standing.  He’s Canadian, very funny, and you should check him out if you haven’t seen him! 

Saturday is Derby Day, which is always fun.  It means a bunch of stupid  $1 bets and mint juleps which inevitably turn into straight bourbon, because juleps take too long to make, especially after 2 or 3.  Then Sunday, it’s brunch with the future in-laws and then back to Tallahassee.  It doesn’t sound like much of a vacation, mainly because I’m working all week, but any time I get to spend with my parents is much appreciated and doesn’t seem long enough.  I’m really thankful that I have such a good relationship with them.  And that their ideal night in is similar to mine…going to the gym and then watching baseball (especially when the Rays are over .500 at the latest point in a season ever):) 

Gerry Dee

Tampa Bay Rays

Anna Maria Island

Voice-over

My friend Micah recently asked me to help him with a project. He’s teaching a course at Florida State University on Underground Music in America from 1980 to the present that he created and wanted to make a video summarizing the class. He taped a bunch of student testimonials, did an intro featuring himself and then created a slide show of album covers, band pictures, etc. that he wanted me to do a voice-over for. So, it’s complete now and I think it represents his class well, although I think I sort of sucked…a few mess-ups here and there. It was my first time ever doing anything like that though, so I guess thats alright. There is a testimonial at the beginning of the video, then Micah describing his class, then 3 short testitmonials, then my part, and finally more testimonials. Here is the link:

Underground Music in America: 1980-Present

And here is the course listing.

Worm Gruntin’ Festival - Sopchoppy, Florida

Well, thanks to Comcast and their terrible service for my apartment complex, I’m in Panera working and writing this afternoon. This past weekend, my friend Micah and his wife Abby invited us down to her parents’ place in Sopchoppy for a BBQ for her birthday and to attend the Worm Gruntin’ Festival. I love going to festivals in small towns. There really is nothing like it. When I was young, every summer my family would go to Cowgill Days in Cowgill, MO (where my dad is from). Everyone knows everyone else. There’s always lots of good, home cooked food. It’s just a really relaxed, enjoyable atmosphere.

The Worm Gruntin’ Festival was no different. Erin had a rough go of it last week with tests and papers and was preparing for another such week, so we ended up sleeping in and not getting to Sopchoppy until around 1:00 pm, just in time for lunch at Abby’s parents’. It was also pouring by the time we got there, so we weren’t missing a whole lot.

The rain finally stopped just after we finished eating, so we strolled down to the festival. Worm grunting is the process of using a wooden stake and a piece of metal (like a leaf spring off a car) to create vibrations to send earthworms up to the surface. The worms are collected and sold off for fishing bait. Unfortunately, by the time we got there the demonstrations were done and some of the vendors were closing up. We did get to see some people attempting to worm grunt though.

There was a performer named Slim Fatz playing a steel guitar. He’s apparently on the record label that is located in Sopchoppy. I was a little surprised when I found out there was a recording studio there, but Micah pointed it out to me as we made our way to the festival. It’s called From the Heart Recording Studio and has a neat little place right on the main drag through town.

After Slim Fatz was done, a band called One of Many came on and started to play when they began the Hula Hoop contest. Erin, Abby, and a few of the other people we were there with got roped into…Abby’s sister-in-law won the 19-35 year old age group! She was excited…much more excited than her husband who was actually a tad embarrassed.

After that was over, we headed back to Abby’s parents’ house. We sat and talked for awhile and just had a really nice time. Sopchoppy exceed my expectations by quite a bit. It really is a neat little town and I’m looking forward to going down there for the 4th of July with Micah and Abby again. Last weekend got Erin and I on a festival kick, but festival season is just about over. We’re going to head up to Thomasville, GA next weekend for the Rose Festival, but that’s the last one we’ll get to. We’d like to go to the Blue Crab Festival in Panacea, but we’ll be home visiting family that weekend (May 3rd).

Sopchoppy, Florida

Worm Gruntin’ Festival

Florida Festivals and Fairs

From the Heart Recording Studio

Lately…

Not much has been going on. The pollen has been so bad here that I’ve been out of commission for about two weeks, so I haven’t really done much of anything other than cough, sniffle, and feel generally terrible. But thankfully it rained this past weekend and washed most of that stuff out of the air, so I am starting to improve! Friday night was spent at the FSU baseball game, as the Noles took on Virginia and won the first game of a 3 game series they would eventually sweep. And that is really all that we did this weekend. Erin is coming up on the last two weeks of her semester so she’s hit the final run of papers, tests, and projects. This coming weekend, we are planning on heading down to Sopchoppy for the Worm Gruntin’ Festival. Hopefully I’ll have some pics up early next week.

The Tallahassee Democrat has a photo gallery up of a kayaking trip on the Wakulla River. Florida has some of the best flat water kayaking around, so take advantage if you are in the area.

Here are a couple of pics taken in downtown Tallahassee on Erin’s birthday. We went to dinner at Food Glorious Food (which was great) and then headed down to the Chain of Parks to visit the bench where I asked Erin to marry me.

Have a good first full week of April! Spring is here in full force so get out and go see some new places.

Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is one of my favorite cities to visit. It’s just a unique and beautiful place to be with history, culture, and picture perfect scenes around each corner. The first time I visited was for my friend Josh’s graduation from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2005. After leaving Tallahassee Friday afternoon, we got there with enough time to drop our stuff off at my buddy’s place and then head down to Forsyth Park for the James Brown concert that night. It was an awesome weekend, with most of the time spent walking around the historic district, hanging out with good friends, and experiencing the Ultimate Hashbrowns at the Pancake Palace.

When Erin and I started seeing each other, it seemed to be the perfect place to spend our first weekend away together. Savannah is incredibly romantic as well, so we planned out a few things to do, leaving most of our time open to just walk or explore. The hotel we picked was the Thunderbird Inn, an old motor hotel that had been renovated into a really modern, comfortable place to stay. It was near the bottom end of the price ranges in the historic district at about $120 a night. It is a few blocks west of the district on Oglethorpe Avenue, and the neon sign out front is original. It was a really great place to stay…very clean, comfortable beds, completely up to date.

We got checked in and dropped our stuff off, then we headed down to the district. Erin was completely taken with how pretty everything was. We walked around and scoped out what we had planned to do: Eat at the Lady & Sons, go to the Telfair Museum of Art, and the rest was pretty much open to whatever we decided to do on a whim. We then cruised down Broughton Street where I snapped this little beauty:

It was starting to get late and we hadn’t had dinner yet, so we went down to River Street and ate at Fiddler’s Crab. We shared a Low Country Boil that was just awesome. Needless to say, we ate well in Savannah. Then we headed back to the hotel.

The next day, we got up early and started exploring again. We walked all over downtown Savannah, through all of the squares, parks, and markets. They were everywhere. Art shops, antique shops, bookstores, and other little specialty shops lined the streets and squares. We ate at a little cafe in a market and then braved the line to get our names on the list at the Lady and Sons. We got in line at 3:00 and waited for 45 minutes to get our reservation, which the earliest time at that point was 9:30 pm. You have to stand in line to get your name on the list if you want to Paula Deen’s restaurant, so get there early and be prepared for a good, long wait. Once we realized how much time we had until dinner, we tried to figure out what to do. There was plenty, but ultimately we both decided a good nap would be the best thing. Erin had just had around of tests in her PhD program and I had just returned from a trip to Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic and was still recovering from jet lag. So we headed back to the hotel for a couple of hours before heading out again. Here are a few pics from our morning. They’re of the Lady and Son’s with a trolley out front, Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Lafayette Square, Forsyth Park Fountain, and River Street:

Dinner at the Lady and Sons was awesome. I, unwisely, chose to eat healthy, while Erin took the plunge. My food was really, really great, don’t get me wrong, but my plate of broiled seafood was nowhere near as good as Erin’s crab stuffed shrimp wrapped in bacon. My God, that stuff was just amazing. We ended dinner by sharing a piece of Key Lime Pie and then headed out to walk it off. We walked up to Forsyth Park again and just sat on a bench, watching people stroll by. After a while we headed back to the hotel.

The next day, we went to the Telfair. It was really enjoyable and had a lot more than I expected. We went on a Sunday though, and some of the exhibits were closed for one reason or another on Sundays, so if you go, do it any other day of the week. After all, this is a southern city and most people are in church. After the Telfair, we headed down to find some food and hit a cajun restaurant on Bay Street. It was really good. Everywhere we ate in Savannah was really good. After lunch, we packed our car and headed down to Tybee Island before trekking back to Tallahassee. It was a pretty little island that reminded me of the ones off of the North Florida coast. It was glitzy or uncomfortably rich like in South Florida. It was just a nice island community. We went down to the lighthouse and walked near the beach for a while before heading home. It was a nice way to cap off the weekend.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Savannah, do it. It’s such an amazing little city. I’ve been twice. Both experiences have been completely different, and I know that I’ve barely scratched the surface of Savannah.

Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Lynchburg, TN

I love whiskey. Not in an unhealthy, addicted manner, but I just enjoy a good whiskey every now and then. For me, it’s just a lot more enjoyable than a beer or a glass of wine. I’ve had Irish Whiskey in Dublin, Scotch in Edinburgh, Bourbon in Kentucky, so when I drove up to Paducah, KY to visit my sister with my parents awhile back, I figured that I should stop in Lynchburg, TN to visit the Jack Daniel’s distillery. After all, my first (legal) drink was with my dad and we enjoyed some Jack together.

Lynchburg is a little town about half an hour or so off I-24. It’s a pretty little town nestled into the Tennessee hills south of Nashville. The Jack Daniel’s distillery and visitor’s center are both really nice and and the tour was well done. They take you in a shuttle from the visitor’s center up to where the process begins. Then you’re led through the entire process from cave spring to finished product.

It’s very interesting but bittersweet, because unfortunately Moore County, where Lynchburg is located, is a dry county. So instead of a wee dram of Jack, you are offered lemonade at the end of your tour. I have to say, after moving through the distillery with all the whiskey smells, the lemonade was a pretty big letdown. Still, the process is always interesting, especially after having been to the Jameson distillery in Dublin, a few Scotch distilleries in Scotland, and Maker’s Mark in Kentucky and seeing the differences.

Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey

Leon Sinks Geological Area

Erin’s birthday was this past weekend, and I ended up having Good Friday off, so we had 3 full days to spend together.  We originally had planned to go to Jacksonville on Friday, but with the lack of sleep Erin had due to midterm school work.  So instead we slept in on Friday and then spent part of the afternoon at Leon Sinks Geological Area, about 7 miles south of Tallahassee.

By the time we got down there, with traffic and dropping by Publix to get some picnic supplies, it was nearly 4:00 pm.  We hopped out of the car and hit the trail right away.  We chose to follow the Sinkhole Trail (there are three trails, all connect to each other) and go as far as we could before we turned around to head back due to the gates being closed at 6:00 pm.  Initially, the trail was underwhelming as it was a flat, white sand trail through a sawgrass field, but once we were past that and started into the hammock, the trail and the scenery improved.

We stopped at Hammock Sink to have our picnic, since there was a boardwalk with bench along the sink and we were both starving.  The water was amazing…it was crystal clear with shades of deep blue and green depending on the light.

After we finished eating and enjoying Hammock Sink, we headed on down the trail, which took us up over a small ridge through a grove of young Longleaf Pines.  The sunlight was coming down in such a way that it seemed everything was illuminated in neon greens.  Unfortunately, I’m a terrible photographer, so the picture doesn’t do the scene any justice at all.

Then we came across Big Dismal Sink.  Big Dismal is surrounded by steep walls shrouded in a variety of trees and plantlife.  It was later in the day, and the shade made the water in Big Dismal appear to be black, so it looked like it was filled with oil.  Again, the picture does no justice to Big Dismal.

After checking out Big Dismal, we headed back to the car.  We made it about 1.5 miles down the trail due to our stop for lunch, but we found out that Leon Sinks is a great little getaway near Tallahassee that doesn’t require a lengthy drive to enjoy.  We’ll be back soon!

Leon Sinks Geological Area