Brandy and Ryan are moving!

It is official. We are moving to Orlando at the end of December until we are able to move to New Smyrna Beach. I hate to jinx it, but we are in the process of buying a house (our very first house) and if all goes well, we'll be less than a block from the beach!!! I'll be creating a new page for things to do in New Smyrna Beach and the surrounding area just as soon as we begin exploring and adventuring :) The blog will continue to chronicle our adventures and we will keep trying to entertain ourselves and all of you! (I'll try to post more often and stop being a lazy bum)

3rd Wedding Anniversary, Days 3 & 4: Folly Beach and Beaufort, SC

On the third day of our trip, we checked out of the Notso Hostel and made the 20 minute drive to Folly Beach. It is a very cute little beach town with an amazing fishing pier, several restaurants and a few shops. There is a gift shop on the pier where you can pay to fish or you can just walk the pier, like we did, and enjoy the view.  

We had breakfast at Black Magic Cafe and after a short walk on the main street, we decided that we had seen all that Folly Beach had to offer! It would be great on a warm day to visit the beach and the bars in the area, but it was pretty cold and windy that day so we decided to make the 2 hour drive to our B&B in Beaufort.

I have always wanted to stay in a bed and breakfast and so, for this trip, we decided to spend one night at the Rhett House Inn in Beaufort. We were greeted with lemonade, iced tea and cookies before being shown to our room. After we had settled, they had complimentary champagne to enjoy on the expansive front porch. The view is slightly marred by a parking lot and Best Western directly in front of the Inn, but it was nice to relax anyway. 

After our relaxation, we used the bicycles provided by the Rhett House (AWESOME perk for us) to see all the beautiful old houses and views of the water. Our bike rides always seem to end in a drink or snack somewhere and this one was no exception! In no time we found ourselves at a free barbecue put on by Hemingway's Bistro. They offer the grill to drinking customers on Sundays so we helped ourselves to some food while we sipped white wine spritzers (I can't help myself) and Jameson's on the rocks (definitely Ryan) and played a little bit of cornhole (Ryan won!).

(View from our table at Hemingways)

(Biking in Beaufort)

While it was nice to be in such a slow moving, relaxing place after the hustle of Charleston, I have to warn you that Beaufort is not for adventure seekers! After biking around for about an hour, we had pretty much seen everything, including a neat old church and cemetery, The Parish Church of St. Helena.

The Rhett House provides appetizers (several cheeses, olives and crackers) and desserts (pecan pie, chocolate cake, key lime cake) in the evening, which was delicious, but by the time we were ready to head out to find dinner, it was 8:30 pm and the sleepy town of Beaufort had fallen asleep.

Handy tip: DRIVE in Beaufort at night. There is no shortage of parking! If you walk, you may find yourself rushing to make it to a Thai restaurant before they close at 9, you'll order your food to go because you feel badly that they close in 10 minutes and the restaurant is deserted. Then you'll end up eating your last romantic dinner of your trip on the bed in your room. 

 The next morning, we really were looking forward to the 2nd B of our B&B, but we were sadly disappointed by the lackluster breakfast offered at the Rhett House Inn. Maybe our expectations were too high but it was a let down to be offered something as boring as eggs, french toast or raisin bran. Maybe I could give their kitchen some handy tips like: provide fruit or add some creativity to your menu ;)

All in all, our stay in Beaufort was a lovely experience and I would highly recommend a short trip there to anyone looking for a short getaway from Jacksonville or anywhere else. Where should we go next year for our Anniversary Trip? The only rule is that is has to be somewhere we've never been before....

3rd Wedding Anniversary Trip Days 1 and 2: Charleston, SC

(Sign in a cemetery frequented by ghost tours..hilarious)

This past weekend Ryan and I drove the 4 hours from Jacksonville to Charleston, SC to begin our celebration of 3 years of marriage.  Our trip was to be 2/3 adventure and 1/3 luxury and relaxation. It was a beautiful and peaceful drive and we arrived at Charleston’s Notso Hostel ready for a weekend of history, good food and live music.

We stayed for 2 nights in the Hemingway room of the Notso Hostel’s annex building just a few blocks away from their main building. Having stayed at The Beehive’s annex building in Rome, we remembered that this was the best way to take advantage of the price of a hostel without having to put up with the sometimes frat house atmosphere J Both the hostel and the annex were beautiful old Southern houses in an eclectic neighborhood near King Street and they were clean and decorated with modern touches. Our room was on the small side (room only for a bed, bookshelf and closet) but this turned out to be a blessing as it kept us out of our bedroom and out and about in the city. I would recommend this hostel to anyone looking to spend about ¼ of what you’d spend on a hotel this close to the main downtown area. (Tip: You can feel the springs through the thin mattress but if you put the down comforter under the fitted sheet, it is perfectly comfortable for a few nights if you’re not too particular. We meant to bring our own pillows and forgot…you may want to remember as their pillows are quite flat…but for $70/night, who’s complaining?)

There are two people who live at the annex and care for it, both were extremely hospitable and kind and their little dog, Saatchi, was the sweetest, most friendly dog! She greeted us at the door like the little ambassador of the Notso Hostel and showed us to our room to make sure we were comfortable. The other guests of the hostel were considerate and quiet…I have yet to have a bad hostel experience and part of this might be research but mostly I think that hostel people are generally good people.

(Closed for Business by the "fireplace")

After changing clothes, we made our way over to King Street to explore Charleston. There are several very expensive restaurants catering to a wealthy clientele, but if you’re looking to make your vacation budget stretch, there are several options for that as well. We started at Closed for Business restaurant/bar for a drink and some fried potato skins. It has a quirky atmosphere similar to The Lodge in downtown Orlando and filled to the brim with hipsters. Ryan tried a new gluten-free beer called “Omission” that he loved and I had a Crispin cider on the rocks…never tried it on ice before but that’s how they served it and it was very refreshing.

(Salut!)

We then wandered all the way down King Street and over to Market Street for dinner and drinks at the bar of Mad River Bar and Grille. They had live music and while the food wasn’t amazing, it was decent and inexpensive for the area. The bartenders were friendly and one in particular befriended us and made a number of tasty shots for us in honor of our anniversary. I wasn’t appreciating those shots the next day but at the time it made our night special.

(Biking in Charleston)

The next day we rented bikes from the Notso Hostel for $15/bike/day plus a $5/bike deposit for the bike lock. If you rent a bike from Notso, don’t be turned off by the rust and general un-prettiness of these bikes…they work just fine and for $15/day, right by your lodging….it is a pretty good deal! There are other options for bicycle rental in Charleston if you’d rather but these ones worked just fine.

On our bikes we were able to visit the Saturday Farmer’s Market, which is HUGE and has vendors selling everything from local produce to gluten free gnocchi to local brie and handcrafted items. From there it was a short bike ride to the Historic City Market, which is filled with vendors selling benne wafers and sweetgrass baskets in addition to the usual artsy items. Since we weren’t interested in paying $50-500 for a sweetgrass basket, it wasn’t long before we made our way through the City Market and on to The Battery, a seawall and walking area that overlooks the Charleston harbor and is bordered by “stately antebellum homes” (according to Wikipedia).

 (Stately antebellum home)

Adjacent to The Battery is Waterfront Park, which has a lovely pier and several benches and gardens that provide the perfect background for a picnic or some gelato from Belgian Gelato. Try the pistachio!

(Sugar+Brandy= JOY)

If you have rented bikes from the main house of the Notso Hostel, on the walk back to the Annex, there is a really cool restaurant with a courtyard area, live music and delicious food called Fuel. The musician they had while we were there sounded like the guy from Blues Traveler and the service was great.

If you bring a bottle of champagne (our tradition is a bottle of Veuve Cliquot, since that is what Ryan brought when he proposed to me on the beach), you can enjoy a glass of it on the front porch swing of the Annex and enjoy people watching as you watch college students, families and couples strolling by on their way to the busy King Street.

Later on, if you’re looking for live music, it’s a pleasant walk to The Brick, which usually has live music starting at 10:30 pm. We saw the Swingin Richards and were singing along with them as they covered everything from Adele to Johnny Cash.

The next day, we enjoyed a cup of coffee in the living room before checking out and hitting the road…..that will be in the next post! 

Raise $280 for Brandy's 28th Birthday

Hello fellow adventurers! For my 28th birthday, I have set a goal to raise $280 for water.org to provide safe drinking water for life for 11 people. Will you help me change the lives of 11 people?
www.give.water.org/f/brandy28

Rest in Peace Chubby!

This past week we lost a really good man, my grandfather Clarence "Chubby" Antilla. He taught me that the Chicago Cubs is the only baseball team worth caring about (I don't really ever watch baseball, but if you ask me which team I like, there's your answer), coffee is delicious with a little Trenary Toast, private swimming holes beat out crowded beaches, a walk in the woods is always a good idea, to love trees and nature, when I'm feeling good: I'm fine as frog's hair, and that if you're looking for a good place to eat on a road trip, go where all of the trucker's are. I am so lucky and proud that this man was my grampa and I'm so glad that Ryan got to meet him before his Alzheimer's got bad. We will miss you so much Grampa but I'm comforted in knowing that you no longer have to suffer this awful disease and I really, truly hope they have baseball in heaven :)


If you'd like to donate towards Alzheimer's Research in his name, here is the link.


*This has nothing to do with adventure, but I don't care and I don't think anyone else will either.

Beacher's Lodge in Crescent Beach, FL

Ryan and I recently took a mini-vacation to Crescent Beach, about an hour away from Jacksonville and about 10-20 minutes south of St. Augustine. We stayed at a condo hotel called Beacher's Lodge where, for just over $100/night plus $50 total for our dog Romeo to join us for the weekend, we were able to wake up to sunrises on our balcony with a nice cup of coffee and cook our own food in the little kitchenette. It's definitely not as big as a real condo, it's hotel room sized but unlike a real condo vacation rental, there are no housekeeping fees or minimum night stays. It was a perfect little getaway for the holiday weekend and we were able to relax on the beach and walk to the nearby restaurants, South Beach Grill (delicious fries but didn't like the veggie burger) and Paula's Beachside (cute dogs visited our table, there was live music and sweet potato tots and clam strips were pretty good).

We are accustomed to busier beaches like Atlantic, Jacksonville, Cocoa and even New Smyrna is busier than Crescent Beach but it was just what we were looking for! The sand is white and smooth and the dunes are amazingly healthy with plenty of wildlife: we saw bunnies, a gopher tortoise and lots of birds and flowers. Make sure to take out any trash you bring with you to keep these dunes beautiful for everybody else :)

The waves weren't awesome but Ryan caught a few small ones and if his bike tire hadn't been leaking, we would have worked in a few bike rides! There is a Publix, a Winn-Dixie and a bike rental place just up the road so you can pick up things when you arrive.

Overall, I liked Beacher's Lodge! It's an older place and depending on the room you choose (they are separated by size and by Bronze, Silver and Gold levels depending on the upgrades, etc) they can be a bit run down, but it was clean and seemed to be fairly well maintained. The only issues we had (curtains fell down and there was a mildew smell from the wall unit a/c in the bedroom) were quickly remedied by the maintenance staff who were very friendly and courteous. In fact, all of the staff that we encountered were so kind and accommodating.

Definitely check out Crescent Beach, if only for a day trip to try out a new beach! You will not be disappointed :)

Little Talbot Island State Park

Little Talbot Island State Park is just a short drive from downtown Jacksonville and it is absolutely stunning. For $5/car, you can enjoy 5 miles of pristine white sand beaches. It isn't nearly as crowded as the beaches from Neptune to Jax Beach and parking is a lot easier to obtain :) Make sure you bring the following: loads of sunscreen, even more water, snacks, and bug spray! I didn't see any mosquitoes on the beach, but when we tried to go to the trail at the entrance of the park, I was quickly bitten by about 7 in 30 seconds....and these ones hurt!! There are a few vending machines and a restroom in the park, but other than a few pavilions it is pure, unadulterated wildnerness! Switch up your normal beach routine and check it out.

***Make sure to pick up any trash you bring with you...there are bins for trash and recycling!  If you're feeling extra nice, you could also pick up a few pieces of trash that inconsiderate past visitors left behind***

St. Marys, Georgia

(Mr. Freezes and parades...yeah summer!)

This 4th of July all that I wanted to do was to see a parade in a small town.  Growing up in the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan (practically Canada), I get nostalgic and misty eyed during the summer months, which were my absolute favorite in the North. Summertime in the UP is amazing for several reasons: 1. No snow!; 2. Many families have cabins or "camps" on lakes and rivers and even if you don't have one, there is no shortage of hospitality in the UP! Sooner or later, an invitation to a BBQ and swimming or jet skiing/boating in the river/lake is sure to come; 3. Each town has their own festival and  they are usually during different times in the summer so you can attend all of them...they usually have fireworks too; 4. and last but certainly not least PARADES. I don't think I appreciated parades until recently but, especially in a small town, they are a shining display of a community's pride and sense of togetherness that can be hard to find elsewhere.

St. Marys, Georgia did not disappoint! We arrived about 20 minutes before the start of the parade, parked along the side of Osborne Street and walked a few blocks to a shaded area along the parade route. They really went all out for their parade and it was awesome! I kept saying "I'm so glad we came here" to Ryan and he just nodded and smiled and kept his thoughts about how crazy I am to himself. After the parade, they had a street festival and if we had stayed until evening, we would have seen the fireworks show after dark.

Swinging on the porch swings by the water

Even though you may not be able to recreate my perfect small town 4th of July parade and experience, you can still visit St. Marys! While they have been hit by the recession just like everybody else, it seems as though efforts have been made to keep the immediate downtown area looking very nice. There are many well kept Victorian style houses and B&B's, restaurants and a charming park near the water with porch swings that overlook the river. We went to Captain Seagle's outdoor patio area and enjoyed a delicious shrimp basket with hush puppies and seasoned fries....the drinks were inexpensive and it was lovely to sit out there and enjoy the view.

I highly recommend taking the short (45 min-1 hr) drive from Jacksonville to St. Marys, GA to take a break and get a taste of small town life!

Walking the pier in the only red, white and blue shirt I own...thanks Bex :)

Budweiser Tour

This weekend we had a friend in town and after a sailing expedition failed (engine and wind trouble) we realized that the very thought of doing anything else outside in the 700 degree weather made us very depressed. We decided to finally take a tour of the Budweiser Brewery in Jacksonville (Ryan has been wanting to do this tour forever and insisted that I was keeping him from his delicious beer).  They offer complimentary tours every 45 minutes and there are also two other, more in depth, tours that you can pay for. The complimentary tour was just fine for us though and we were able to see the various stages of their brewing process and finally end with two free beers in their Hospitality Room, which was pretty nice. They also offer free pretzels and soda for those, like me, who don't drink beer :) 

It was an interesting way to spend a few hours and here's the best part: it was FREEEEE (pronounced like you would say "wheeee"). Sorry for the crappy quality of the photos...I never bring my camera with me because I constantly forget that my cell phone takes terrible pictures...but you get the general idea...now it's your turn to head out there and take your own terrible photos!  

3 F(x) Ice Cream and Waffles

I took these pictures with my cell phone, so they're not great, but the ice cream at 3 F(x) Ice Cream and Waffles is! (See what I did there?) This place takes milk and your choice of flavor (we chose fresh raspberries) and changes it from this: 

                                                  to this-------------------->


and then finally to the delicious ice cream at the beginning of this post! You can add up to two toppings for free (we chose chocolate and white chocolate chips) and it all is frozen by the freezing hibachi like thing you see above. They also make filled fish shaped waffles and fresh coffee. The people behind the counter were super friendly and (I think) the owner even joked with us while he made my sister in law's mango ice cream.  I highly recommend that you check it out if you're in Jacksonville!!

Walking the Main Street Bridge

One of my favorite things to do from time to time is to experience my city as a tourist...it helps you to see things in a new light and to appreciate the majesty and beauty of our surroundings! Alright, now dialing back the pretentious bs talk: there are always cool things to do in your city...enough so that an outsider would pay money to visit where you live and that goes for everyone!

In Jacksonville, we take for granted the fact that our downtown is right on a river and it's gorgeous. After a few drinks and dinner at Fionn Maccool's at The Landing, we took a leisurely stroll across the St. John's River on the Main Street Bridge to the Friendship Fountain which has recently been reopened after a $3.2 million renovation. It's really pretty at night because the bridges and fountain are lit up. Makes for a romantic ending to a wonderful evening :)

Last day in Rome

For our last day in Rome, we all decided to hit the beach! We were so excited to visit the Mediterranean Sea that we were fully unprepared for what we would find in Ostia Lido (Lido is Italian for beach)....the worst beach of all time! Okay, that's maybe not entirely fair because it might have been quite a bit nicer if we had paid about 10 Euro for the private beach (includes chair and towel) but we didn't and we ended up sitting on a tiny, crowded patch of beach that just seemed kinda skeezy and we only stayed for about half an hour before heading back into the city. I'm glad that we went because now we can say that we have been there and it was kinda nice to see but other than that, I'd say save your day trips for another place! Our first choice was Florence but we were told they were getting a lot of rain that day so we settled on the beach. If you have time, Ryan says that Cinque Terre is amazing, but we just didn't have enough time during this trip.

Even though the beach was a bust, we were able to get a picture in front of the Trevi Fountain (above) that doesn't have 8 million tourists in the shot! I also had an authentic Roman breakfast standing at the bar to enjoy a cappuccino and pastry. Handy tip: many Roman restaurants and bars (coffee shops) charge less if you eat at the bar. It can be up to a few Euro more to sit down and can be even more to sit outside.

After we left the beach, we said goodbye to our London friends who had to catch a flight home that afternoon. The rest of us did a little souvenir shopping and met up that evening for a final Italian dinner and a walk to Mamertine Prison which gave us the opportunity for a last look at the Colosseum and Forum lit up at night. Our trip to Rome was coming to a end but we had an amazing time and I can't wait to go back to Italy! 

Roma not Rema

On our third day in Rome, we took a guided tour of the Vatican with Italy With Us. Our tour guide, Kathy, was from the US and she was hilarious in addition to being very informative about the history of the Vatican and it's popes, artists, etc. She even threw in the story of Romulus and Remus and said that Romulus killing Remus is the reason why Rome is now "Roma, not Rema". We made our way past beautiful and priceless works of art and stood in awe of Michelangelo's work in the Sistine Chapel. 

On our way out of Vatican City, I stopped to mail some postcards from their post office after our tour guide told us how remarkably efficient they are compared to the Italian post office(she was right! One of them made it to Michigan in 2 or 3 days). We also "cheesed some bread" near the entrance of Vatican City which is Ryan-speak for putting cheese on bread. We were able to refill our water bottles (at one of the many public drinking fountains that can be found throughout Rome) and enjoy our cheesed bread, apples, snacks and the purest water you will ever find in a public fountain in an area that would have been jam packed if the Pope had been scheduled to speak. 

We then took to the metro to the Spanish Steps and from there walked to Villa Borghese Park where we saw the Italian version of our cat Tiny Paws of Fury!

That evening, we headed back to our hostel to cook dinner and everyone joined us for fresh pasta, caprese salad and lots of wine :) This was my favorite part of our trip, it was just so nice to hang out and enjoy each others company in one of the best cities in the world!

After the family left for their hotel, we went to an Irish pub, Druid's Rock,  with our London friends for a few pints of beer (Strongbow for me!), Irish car bomb shots and "Italian shots" which were Absinthe, grenadine and some white liquor, I can't remember what it was...the colors of the Italian flag. We didn't stay out too late though because wanted to be rested for our next day at the beach...

Random Photos

The Swiss guards at the Vatican

Vatican City

Cheers to Rome!