The Invasion: Another Belated Holiday Post

My school district plans "weather days" into the calendar to compensate for time that might be lost to hurricanes during the year. These day are strategically placed around the holidays for dual purposes: for one, the days can be made up before state testing in the spring and, secondly, if there are no days lost to hurricanes we get an extended Winter Break. Since this year was lite on hurricanes in our area, we had the extended break! :o) All of this meant that I got out of school a week and a half before Christmas (I'm currently knocking on wood that next year we will be so lucky). That extra time came in handy because, as my mom said, "The Invasion" was set to begin on Christmas Eve (I mentioned before, our house is in-between my parents and my sister so to save on everyone's travel time this year we hosted Christmas).

We spent the week before Christmas having a non-stop cleaning marathon. The result was that our house was just as spotless as when we moved in almost four years ago. We were as ready as we could possibly be for The Invasion. My parents and Josh arrived on Christmas Eve (complete with an entire grocery store's worth of food packed into their truck - SCORE!). I gratefully turned my kitchen over to them for holiday cooking - have I mentioned that parents are the best? Sara and Dan arrived Christmas day (complete with an entire closet full of clothes for me to go through and "shop" - DOUBLE SCORE!).

Christmas was great. We visited, played games, and generally lounged around. It was awesome!! The day after Christmas we loaded up and headed to Fort Clinch for a little family excursion.

Calling all Fernandians

The Fernandina Farmer's Market has made #4 on a list of the top 100 farmer's markets (here). The farmer's market is the only one of the few things that can get me out of bed early on a Saturday morning in the summer. Being at the top of this list is quite an achievement seeing as we're not that big of a town, but they need more votes!! If you're local & enjoy the market, vote for it by clicking below:

Trainspotting

I caught sight of this train while I was out & about...
a lone, little engine chugging along all by itself.

Festivities for the Fourth

Tim & I spent the better part of last week fighting off colds, but we were both well enough to go out and see some fireworks on Saturday. We headed to Fernandina to catch some of the Fourth of July festivities! They had a band and choir set up at the foot of Centre Street and fireworks were set off over the water. The fireworks were good, however we were in too much awe to catch the finale on camera. Oops! :o) The history of Fernandina makes it quite an interesting place. It's known as the 'Isle of Eight Flags' because it is the only place in the U.S. to have been under eight flags (France, Spain, Great Britain, Spain (again), the Patriots of Amelia Island, the Green Cross of Florida, Mexico, the Confederate States of America and the United States). It's also home to Florida's oldest surviving hotel (the Florida House Inn) and Florida's oldest continuously operating pub (the Palace Saloon).

A Little Taste of Fernandina

This is a really cool video that talks a little about the history of Fernandina. By the way, we've never been to Moon River Pizza & I'm not sure that I'll be stopping in any time soon (Earl breathes all over the pizza.... eww!).

I Heart Florida

This picture was taken at the entrance of Fort Clinch State Park in Fernandina. I've lived in Florida almost all my life & fondly remember visiting many, many State Parks growing up, but somehow I've managed to avoid them almost entirely since college. When we stumbled upon this place, I was reminded of my childhood. By the way, if you didn't know... Florida is the first two-time Gold Medal winner for The Nation's Best State Parks. Go Florida! :o)

Little Piece of Heaven

Tim & I stumbled on to a new favorite place last week. It's called Cafe Karibo & it's tucked back off the main road in Fernandina. They have an indoor area, but as soon as you walk into the garden patio, you know that's where you want to be... I could try to describe it, but nothing I say will do it justice - the atmosphere was perfect; the staff was friendly; and the food was fresh and incredibly tasty!! There was even a little kitty named Pointer... seriously, I was in heaven.

Poll Results: The Beach

A few weeks ago, I put up a poll asking what Tim & I should do for our next day off. To be honest, the poll was a slight disaster. A total of 6 votes were split between going to the beach & seeing the Dark Knight in IMAX... the earliest possible "day off" we had turned out to be several days after the end of the Dark Knight's IMAX run. Needless to say, we went to the beach... & it was great fun!!

Fernandina in Photos

On the Way Home

Tim & I went all over Fernandina this weekend...
more pictures will be coming soon.

These were my favorites...
you couldn't pose those cats any better!

Family Fun

Tim's parents & our nephew, Will,
arrived last Thursday for a visit.

Friday was perfect springtime weather,

so we spent part of the afternoon at Fernandina Beach!

I learned about the strong magnetic
forces that radiate from the ocean...

They attract 4 year olds instantaneously.

For those of us with double-digit ages,
it was a great chance to enjoy the weather & chat!