Part 1 Family Visits

My Sister Decided I should not drive by myself.

This accomplished two things. I didn’t drive alone and we stopped to be tourists along the way. But first we visited family.

First Stop. Brother.

His wife had just had surgery for a knee replacement. Due to medical concerns, including COVID this surgery had been delayed for over 2 years. Five separate Doctors needed to approve her condition prior to the operation.

So far success. She was in good spirits and in a rehab facility for conditioning. My brother was glad to see us. Good conversation, chinese food and breakfast a favorite spot. This was a quick visit in Massachusetts prior to taking off for Virginia.

Second Stop. Sister.

My oldest sibling has been in assisted living for an extended period. Visits are few and far between. We planned two nights, expecting multiple visits to my sister with an extended tourist visit to a civil war battlefield as well.

The first visit was to see our sister. We were concerned by reports of her declining mental abilities and while she is not as sharp as she once was, she definitely has sometime left. Because of COVID and changes in life of her children and grandchildren, many have moved away she has not left the facility often.

Change in management and budget have also changed the quality and variety of her meals. She was excited to see both of us after such a long time.

A change in plans for the better.

It soon became clear that she had aggressively approached the rehabilitation suggested by her daughter. She was ready for a day out on the town, and without any discussion we decided to spend the day with my sister.

First stop was for food and my sisters desire for a hamburger. We found a drive through, picked up lunch and settled into a park for lunch. While it was warm there was a pleasant breeze and we enjoyed just being together.

After lunch we asked our sister what she wanted next and got an enthusiastic response of ice cream. The store was directly across from the park and we walked over, got ice cream. The next decision was what about supper.

It was time for a nap, for me at least, and we dropped my sister off with instructions to call after her nap. We went over to Walmart, for Tums and bottled water for our trip. We also found a Japanese Steak House and determined they do take out. Evening menu settled on veggie dish and steak dish. We figured two meals would be enough for the 3 of us.

Supper. Great Choice.

My sister called that she was ready anytime we were shortly after we got back to the motel. We ordered and picked up supper, our sister and returned to the park for our 2nd picnic of the day. The selection was perfect.

After supper we made contact with a nephew and arranged for the 4 of us to meet for breakfast the next day. Breakfast was a good visit, interrupted by the typical family feud over whether masks work. Oh well!

In summary, it was a great visit and we were off for our next stop.

Stop 3. Savannah, GA

I had been to Savannah on several occasions for work, but work seldom included sight seeing, so it was a city I always had wanted visit more. I chose a motel on the River, so we would be close to food and the action.

Upon arrival (well past supper time) we went to a local restaurant across the street for dessert and drinks. We shared a small pecan pie ale mode. While not the best I’ve had, it was good.

Breakfast.

The recommendation from the front desk was “Two Cracked Eggs” next door. We were able to sit outside and ordered, me egg white crepes, my sister fruit cup and biscuit. The biscuit was the size off a small fry pan. The crepes were excellent.

Sight Seeing.

How to see a city in 4 hours? We decided on a trolley tour and found one run by locals. By now it was clear we would not be able to get through the morning without rain. Savannah is a southern city steeped in history.

The trolley ride provided us background on this history.

It was the city founded by James Oglethorpe to provide a fresh start for the working poor. It was also a planned city, with the streets set up in grid with many squares set up for meetings and militia drills. The original charter prohibited slavery, and was quite liberal so long as you were not Catholic or Jewish. The charter was modified, starting with the arrival of a Jewish community, with a doctor and occupation the original working poor needed.

The king tasked Oglethorpe with creating a buffer between Spanish Florida and the colonies of North and South Carolina which provided the riches of cotton and tobacco to England.

Upon arrival, Oglethorpe befriended the local Indian chief and were granted permission to settle Savannah on a bluff. This agreement allowed Savannah to thrive peacefully.

Savannah Today.

Is a busy city. The Port of Savannah provides a safe haven for loading and unloading cargo. It retains a downtown with historic charm, with tree lined streets and hanging Spanish moss.

Last Stop St. Augustine, Florida

The next stop was St Augustine, Florida. This time we arrived early enough in the evening to have supper. We asked the clerk who checked us in where we should go if we wanted one meal in St Augustine and got an immediate response of Harry’s.

Harry’s Seafood is a Florida chain of 5 restaurants serving a New Orleans style cuisine. We were seated outside on a patio with a breeze, with pleasant lighting and a soloist guitar playing popular folk music. He had a good voice and provided a pleasant background.

We ordered a salmon dish and red snapper topped with a crusted meat. The red snapper and crab was sufficient for both of us and it was delicious, but so was the salmon. Harry’s turned out to be an excellent choice.

Sight Seeing.

St Augustine is The oldest European settled city in the United States. St Augustine was settled by the Spanish, built around the fort. The Spanish used the fort and natural harbor as a shuttle point for gold. Because of these riches, St Augustine thrived.

The trolley tour was such a success in Savannah, it seemed the proper choice for St Augustine. Both tours were organized as on and off again. In Savannah we did not use this feature due to the weather. In St Augustine the weather was hot, but also sunny blue skies. We made several stops.

The Pirates Museum.

A small museum chronicling the exploits of the pirates, including Thomas Tew the Rhode Island Pirate. Growing up in Rhode Island, I had not heard to Tew. Turns out as with many of the New England sailors, their goals were often less than honorable.

Many of the pirates were commission as privateers by the British government. The purpose was to disrupt trade with the American colonies of the French and the Spanish. History shows us that it was the privateers who helped the British engineer the defeat of the Spanish Armada in the British Channel.

It was a fun diversion, improved by the air conditioning.

Henry Flagler and Hotels.

Henry Flagler decision to build hotels is significant on today’s St Augustine. He either built or bought 3 hotels in the late 1800’s. The hotels provided warm winter destinations for the rich. Flagler and his architects developed many new luxuries for his quest.

Today his first hotel houses Flagler College. Another houses the LIghtner Museum. Only one of the Hotels still serves as a Hotel. It also happens to be the only hotel still serving as a hotel.

Henry Flagler and Churches.

The other thing Flagler build was churches. He had the following churches built in St Augustine.

• Memorial Presbyterian Church. Built as a memorial to his daughter
• Grace United Methodist Church. Built in exchange for a property Flager wanted adjacent to one of his hotels
• Ancient City Baptist Church. Built as response to Flagler building the Methodist church

The Fort.

We stopped at the Fort, climbed the stairs and looked out at the water toward the Atlantic Ocean. This is a national park and designed to prevent entry from forces from mid-evil times. The structure is made of coquina (seashell) stone which easily withstood a 27 day bombardment.

Next Stop. Lunch and Ice Cream.

We didn’t stop at any Henry Flagler’s creations. We did however need sustenance and stop on St George St for lunch and ice cream. Lunch was at a non-descript almost empty deli. Salads and sandwiches. Ice Cream was from Kilwins and very good. I recommend it to anyone with a sweet tooth, i.e. everyone in my family.

The Fountain of Youth.

I can now say I’ve sipped the water from Ponce de Leon’s fountain of youth. I may not live any longer, but it is not without trying.

Back to Palm Beach County.

We were not done sight seeing once we got back to Palm Beach County. But we did take a day off for laundry and rest.

The Beach.

The first day we went to the beaches. We started with a drive past the Mar-a-Lago compound. It is a nice spot along as seen from the bridge over the intercoastal waterway and the coastal island chain.

We continued down A1A alternating between ocean and intercoastal water views, stopping to visit a beach on the way. My sister ventured out to put her feet in the water. I made the mistake of taking my sandals of to walk on the sand. The sand was every bit as hot as a sun drench asphalt. I quickly put my sandals back on and enjoyed the view from off the beach.

Lunch.

Lunch was a Tark’s along route 1 we shared a seafood steamed sampler. The steamed little neck hard shell clams tasted fine but were tough and chewy. The crab and shrimp were delicious. I would go back to Tark’s again, but would avoid the large clams.

Hollywood Beach.

Our main destination for the day was the boardwalk at Hollywood Beach. Early September is not the time to visit South Florida. The weather was hot. The view of the expansive beach was gorgeous.

Ice Cream.

Jaxon’s ice cream parlor is a full service restaurant that features ice cream. I had heavenly hash which lived up to its name.

We ended the day…

With a visit to IKEA. Talk about retail to the extreme. Once you get into an IKEA store the way out is past all its products. I’m in the early stages of renovating my condo and am always interested in ideas. I also like there selection of food storage bags, so I did have a goal of replenishing by supply.

Mission accomplished.

Wakodahatchee Wetlands

Our finally day was a visit to Wakodahatchee Wetlands to see the birds and wildlife natural to South Florida. It was a pleasant though warm walk through the park. To me the best part of the day was watching a young bird nearing fledging. We did not get to see it fly, but it was fun to watch it spread its wings.

We saw turtles, fish, one baby alligator, and lots of birds.

A fun day and a quiet end to an eventful week.