Around the State (and what we ate) - A Florida road trip report-COMPLETE 9/23

[mickey916]

Those nachos peaked my interest and then I saw both ice cream sandwiches

It was a pretty great eating day!

 

[pweyl36]

Do you mean Shady Maple? If so, (spoiler alert) we did!

omg,yes

 

[mickey916]

I hope he is doing well

Wishing him well and a speedy recovery.

Just heard from the doctor and all went well. He needed quadruple bypass but didn't need a valve repair. Dr. said his heart is already functioning much better. Pretty scary stuff at the age of 80 especially. Thank you both!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Just heard from the doctor and all went well. He needed quadruple bypass but didn't need a valve repair. Dr. said his heart is already functioning much better. Pretty scary stuff at the age of 80 especially. Thank you both!

I'm glad the surgery went well. Best wishes to him for a speedy recovery.

 

[Dashzap]

Just heard from the doctor and all went well. He needed quadruple bypass but didn't need a valve repair. Dr. said his heart is already functioning much better. Pretty scary stuff at the age of 80 especially. Thank you both!

I am glad the surgery went well. I hope he has a speedy and comfortable recovery.

 

[mickey916]

April 15 - A Bumpy Start then Exploring St. Augustine​

We started our morning with the first "glitch" of the trip. When I woke up my DH informed me we had no water in our room at the Towneplace Suites Jacksonville East. Fortunately, we had both showered the night before, hoping to get an early start that morning. We brushed our teeth with bottled water and packed up. When we got downstairs there were very limited breakfast options since evidently the entire hotel was without water. I felt so badly for the poor young woman at the front desk who was being yelled at by a woman who "needed to take a shower!"...That poor employee was in for a long morning. We checked out and wished her luck. She ended up comping us $50 for our stay which was very appreciated. Overall despite the no water thing it was a very nice hotel.

We headed in search of something delicious and nutritious for breakfast. Okay, maybe not nutritious...but it was delicious!

Before our trip we had watched a lot of Chad Gallivanter as well as Off Our Couch Vlogs on YouTube. Both of them recommended Island Donuts so we headed to their Atlantic Beach location.



Based on YouTube recommendations, we got the pineapple coconut fritter...



and the gigantic cinnamon roll.



The pictures don't do these two treats justice. They are absolutely huge and were extremely fresh and delicious. We both agreed that these were the best "doughnut" type thing we had the whole month. So very good!

We drove to St. Augustine and parked at the Castillo de San Marcos fort. We opted not to pay the $15 per person to tour the fort but we enjoyed walking around the exterior of the fort. It was yet another spectacular weather day.



As we were walking around we heard some sort of parade and saw that there was a religious procession. I believe it was Hari Krishnas. They ended up processing down to a park in downtown St. Augustine and had a day long celebration there. It was interesting to see.



We toured the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine. It was absolutely beautiful.



And then we went on a search for the oldest street in the oldest city, Aviles Street. It took us a while to find it.



We wanted to see the street but the real reason we wanted to find it was because Chad Gallivanter and Off Our Couch both recommended Peace Pie, located on that street. For those who are unfamiliar, Peace Pie makes ice cream sandwiches with cookies, ice cream, pie filling, and topping. So, we decided to continue our nutritious day and have Peace Pie for lunch.

We ordered two to share. First, we got the Salted Caramel Apple: Cinnamon Cookie, Apple Pie Filling, Caramel, Vanilla Ice Cream.



This was really delicious. The cinnamon cookies were so flavorful as well as the apple filling, caramel and ice cream.

The second one was Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie: Chocolate Ice Cream, Brownies, Peanut butter sauce, Chocolate Cookie



This was also excellent! My DH preferred the apple one but I preferred the chocolate peanut butter one.

After our delicious snack we drove over the Bridge of Lions to check into our first non-Marriott property, the Historic Inn of St. Augustine. I originally had booked the Fairfield Inn & Suites St. Augustine but it was quite expensive and not within walking distance so we would have had to pay for parking each day in the city. I found the Historic Inn on Priceline for a reasonable price and it had good reviews. TripAdvisor reviews were terrible but recent posters had left comments that the property had been renovated so we gave it a shot. We discovered that the property had in fact been renovated. Everything was freshly painted. It was a motel style room but it was clean and comfortable. The A/C unit was pretty loud but that was our only complaint. The best thing was that we were able to walk across the Bridge to/from the historic district.

After we checked in, we walked over the bridge and continued walking around the historic areas. Flagler College was beautiful. We didn't know we could go inside to tour it so we'll have to do it next time.

We decided to grab something quick for a late lunch/early dinner and went to another recommended spot, A1A Burrito Works Taco Shop. We ordered two UFO burritos to share, one with chicken and one with pork carnitas. Here's my plate with each half:



These were both warm, fresh, and flavorful. We also got a side of chips and salsa, which were just your standard chips and salsa.

After dinner we walked around for a bit and then went to Mass in the Cathedral. After Mass we explored a little bit more and then walked back over the bridge to our motel.

22,201 steps later we hit the hay after a beautiful day in St. Augustine.

 

[mickey916]

April 16 - Exploring the Surrounding Area​

Since there was no breakfast provided at the Historic Inn, we started our day by finishing off the coffee cake from my sister-in-law. It was still pretty good after 5 days of transporting around. We then took a drive to the Washington Oak Gardens State Park. We enjoyed walking through various gardens and nature paths. We wanted to go to the coquina beach but it was closed, presumably due to hurricane damage. We did however walk along the Matanzas River and there was a beautiful bald eagle in one of the trees that some fishermen pointed out to us.



Just beautiful! I don't think I've ever seen one so clearly except in a zoo.

We then drove to Fort Matanzas National Monument and arrived just in time to take the free ferry over to the fort. As we were taking the very short ferry ride, there were dolphins feeding and jumping out of the water near us.



The park rangers stopped for us so that we could take pictures of these beautiful creatures. The park ranger gave us a guided tour of the fort which was very interesting especially when he pointed out that the cannon is now aimed at the shore instead of the mouth of the river, due to erosion actually moving the mouth of the river over the past couple hundred years. This was a great free activity that I highly recommend. Just note there is no ferry ride on Mondays or Tuesdays.

After we took the ferry ride back, we made sandwiches and ate them at the picnic tables near the parking area. Next we headed to the St. Augustine lighthouse & museum. We made the long walk to the top. It actually didn't seem that bad. It was a good way to get our steps!

We then headed back to the motel and walked back over the bridge to reward ourselves for all our exercise with dessert at Peace Pie!

This is my half of the Chocolate Covered Strawberry: Strawberry Ice Cream, Chocolate Chips & Chocolate Mousse,
Chocolate Cookie



I thought this was really good. It earned my #2 spot in ranking of the four we had, second only to the chocolate peanut butter. DH however put it as his #4.

This is my half of the Banana Cream peace pie: Vanilla Ice Cream, Banana Butter & Custard, Graham Cracker Cookie


I thought this one was very good but probably my least favorite. My ranking (best to worst): Chocolate Peanut butter, Chocolate Covered Strawberry, Salted Caramel Apple, Banana Cream. My DHs ranking: Salted Caramel Apple, Banana Cream, Chocolate Peanut butter, Chocolate Covered Strawberry. Funny we're almost exactly opposite...I guess opposites attract! They were all really good however!

EDIT TO ADD: The previous night we had purchased a chocolate tour at Whetstone Chocolates. We originally had a morning appointment but they called the morning of and switched us to the afternoon, which ended up working out great. The tour was very well run and we enjoyed trying the "free" samples of different types of chocolates. Our only disappointment was that since it was a Sunday, the factory wasn't actually working. Our tour guide demonstrated how some of the equipment worked but I think it would have been more interesting to see it all in action. There were a few others on the tour that expressed disappointment that the factory wasn't up and running. I do think they should probably mention that on their site. Overall, our tourguide was great and the chocolate was excellent. We were not allowed to take any pictures (hence I forgot to include this review when I was making this post). Definitely worth doing at least once.

We walked around St. Augustine a bit to see what we felt like for dinner. I was looking for a kebab place I had seen on Off Our Couch's Youtube channel but couldn't seem to find it. It was an older vlog so I fear they may have closed. Nothing really appealed to us too much so we walked back to the hotel and decided to see what we could find on Anastasia Island. We settled on the Conch House, which had beautiful outdoor seating.



We actually didn't share this time, as I wanted seafood and my DH was craving jerk chicken. He ordered Jamaican Jerk Chicken (Bone-in baked jerked chicken with Jamaican gravy and fresh pineapple salsa with sweet plantains and coconut rice).



He loved the plantains and thought the chicken was very good but not actually jerk chicken as advertised. Apparently the "Jamaican gravy" is in fact barbecue sauce. He said it was good barbecue chicken but didn't seem to have any jerk seasoning. Also the coconut rice tasted like regular white rice. It was good but not coconut.

I ordered the shrimp and grits: sauteed shrimp, smoked tasso ham, shallots, roasted corn, red peppers, and scallions in a Cajun cream sauce over cheddar grits.



This was excellent! As you can see it was loaded with fresh grilled shrimp and was in a tasty stew of vegetables. I very much enjoyed my meal.

After our dinner, we headed back to the motel. Overall, we had a fantastic day! We realized that we are more "country mice" than "city mice". While we enjoyed walking around St. Augustine, we much preferred our walks around the natural areas. We liked St. Augustine but it's probably a place we'll visit for a day, not a place to stay for a longer visit.

Up next: Heading to the Palm Coast for one night.

 

[hrhdhd]

I've had a couple of those Peace Pies: they are terrific! Glad you enjoyed your stop in St. A.

 

[footballmouse]

What an awesome road trip! I'm not sure how I would eat a Peace Pie though, like an ice cream sandwich or with a fork & knife? They look too big to fit in someone's mouth!

 

[mickey916]

What an awesome road trip! I'm not sure how I would eat a Peace Pie though, like an ice cream sandwich or with a fork & knife? They look too big to fit in someone's mouth!

It was a great trip! The ice cream sandwich is really frozen solid. We had to have the employee cut it in half with a huge knife. I don't think a plastic fork or knife will even work, unless you let it melt for a bit. You just have to open wide! My husband actually developed a sore jaw right before we went on the trip so it was challenging for him but so worth it!

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

I love your trip report and all the food photos. It's so cool that you recorded all of the places you ate!

We love St. Augustine, but really I like St. Augustine beach more than the old town. I mean the old town is neat, but it's very crowded and has gotten more and more touristy over the years. We like to go there for just part of a day, and then we're good. I think some in our group may have eaten at Conch House last trip and loved it. We love a place called Mango Mango at St. Augustine Beach.

I can't wait for the next installment!

 

[Breezy_Carol]

This is fun! DH and I retired during the pandemic and can now travel and are taking advantage of it.

Do you mean Shady Maple? If so, (spoiler alert) we did!

We live about 45 minutes from Shady Maple and finally went last month. It was an adventure.

It was a beautiful day as we crossed the Chesapeake Bay bridge.

I assume you mean the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel between Cape Charles and Chesapeake, not the Chesapeake Bay Bridge near Annapolis. (I've lived in this area all my life.) Cape Charles has a brewery with great food. And before the construction there was a nice restaurant at one of the islands where tunnel goes to bridge.

 

[mickey916]

I love your trip report and all the food photos. It's so cool that you recorded all of the places you ate!

We love St. Augustine, but really I like St. Augustine beach more than the old town. I mean the old town is neat, but it's very crowded and has gotten more and more touristy over the years. We like to go there for just part of a day, and then we're good. I think some in our group may have eaten at Conch House last trip and loved it. We love a place called Mango Mango at St. Augustine Beach.

I can't wait for the next installment!

We feel the same way. One day in old town is good. We were saying if/when we go back we want to spend more time at St. Augustine Beach. That's funny, Mango Mango was my original plan for dinner but we opted to go to the Conch House 'cuz it was closer. Next time we'll have to go to Mango Mango!

 

[mickey916]

This is fun! DH and I retired during the pandemic and can now travel and are taking advantage of it.

We are just starting to take advantage of being able to travel even though my DH retired last June. I worked until November and we were so busy with the holidays, etc. that I didn't start planning anything until the winter. Already planning next year and actually going to South Dakota this Saturday with our DS-24 for a week.

We live about 45 minutes from Shady Maple and finally went last month. It was an adventure.

It is quite an adventure! When our boys were young we went to Hershey Park and Lancaster almost every summer and stumbled upon this one year and it became a tradition to go whenever we were in the area.

I assume you mean the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel between Cape Charles and Chesapeake, not the Chesapeake Bay Bridge near Annapolis. (I've lived in this area all my life.) Cape Charles has a brewery with great food. And before the construction there was a nice restaurant at one of the islands where tunnel goes to bridge.

I probably do! I thought it was odd the bridge was a tunnel...lol. We were both saying we don't think we've ever driven that route before.

 

[mickey916]

April 17 - Exploring the Ormond Loop
​

We checked out of the Historic Inn and headed to Parlor Donuts' St. Augustine Beach location. We wanted to try some of their filled doughnuts. First, we ordered the coconut cream donut.



We also ordered the turtle donut.



We really liked both of these donuts. We liked the light, flaky texture and the unique flavors. Both were very good!

We then drove toward Ormond Beach and stopped at the Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park. A park ranger greeted us and pointed out where the various walking paths were. We walked around a little and another park ranger named Isaac approached us and asked if we wanted him to orientate us. I didn't really know what he meant and was about to say No when my DH said "Yeah sure". Well, I'm so glad he did! This Ranger proceeded to talk to us for about 20 minutes about the history of the area, the various plants we could see and special things to pay attention to as we walked around. It was our own private history and nature lesson and was fascinating.

Here's a picture of the sugar mill ruins located here.


We had a picnic lunch at the Bulow state park and then stopped by the Fairchild Oak.



This is a massive live Oak tree that's withstood numerous hurricanes and other challenges. The long branch on the ground is still connected to the tree and leads to the branches to the far right.

We then walked around the Tomoka State park which was once an indigo plantation. We observed this interesting 45 foot tall sculpture of Chief Tomokie.

​

We then headed to the Ormond Garage Restaurant for an early dinner.



We ordered two burgers to share. First, the BBQ Pork Belly Burger: Angus beef, pork belly, fried onions, BBQ sauce, American Cheese, Martins potato bun with a side of fries.



We also shared the Garage burger: Angus beef, spicy fried pickles, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, OG sauce, Martin's potato bun with a side of onion rings.



These burgers were fine. Nothing really special. We also ordered a coke and diet coke which came in a bottle, not a refillable glass which was kind of a bummer. Cool place to see but not a must-do next time.

Up next...continuing down A1A with some beautiful views before checking into our Palm Coast hotel.

 

[mickey916]

April 17 continued...Making Our Way to the Palm Coast​

We continued our journey down A1A on our way to our hotel. We stopped at North Peninsula state park


We also stopped at the Smith Creek landing and watched fish jumping out of the water. We next stopped at the Dummit Plantation Mill Ruins.


We then stopped at Flagler Beach and went to Sally's Ice cream. We ordered Almond Joy and Salted Caramel with Pralines. This ice cream was so creamy and delicious. It was the best quality ice cream we had the entire trip.



We walked along Flagler Beach and then checked into our hotel for the night, Hampton Inn, Palm Coast. When I was reserving hotels, there was a Fairfield Inn & Suites Palm Coast but it was more expensive and not rated as well on TripAdvisor, so I decided to go with the non-Marriott property.

The pros of this hotel was that the staff was very friendly and the breakfast the next morning had some nice selections. However, that's where the pros ended. The room was really dirty and disgusting. The bed skirt had chunks of some brown stuff all over it. I chose to assume they were dried up Cocoa Krispies and not bug or fecal matter. In addition to being dirty, the room was really rundown and broken. The bathroom fan made a very loud whirring noise as one of the blades scraped, the toilet leaked so it would come on and fill itself every few minutes all night long, the shower knobs were falling off, the mopboards in the bathroom weren't stuck to the wall and the bathroom sink dripped. This was by far the worst place we stayed. Neither of us slept well as we both had the creepy crawlies all night. No bed bugs thankfully but was definitely a concern of ours.

Lesson #3: Stick with Marriott properties.

NOTE: We're heading with DS-24 to South Dakota tomorrow so I may not be able to update until we return on June 17. But I have lots more to cover!

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

I so would’ve left that hotel and straight to Marriott. Yikes

 

[mickey916]

I so would’ve left that hotel and straight to Marriott. Yikes

We probably should have but we didn’t know the extent of the issues until we were heading to sleep. Definitely wouldn’t have stayed a second nighf.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I definitely would have asked for another room, but I understand not leaving the hotel. DH & I have arrived at hotels so tired that we didn't even notice the room, until the next morning. We just wanted to go to sleep. Looking for a new hotel was the last thing we wanted to do. It would be a different story earlier in the day.

Enjoy your trip with your son. Vacations with adult children are priceless.

 

[mickey916]

Enjoy your trip with your son. Vacations with adult children are priceless.

Thank you! Our DS-26 was able to join us for part of our roadtrip but our younger son wasn’t due to work. We asked him where he wanted to go he picked Black Hills Central Railroad. So here we are!