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 :)