Day 3 - Thursday the 5th - Part 2: Kona Skatepark!
So, it was about 1:45pm when we got back to the car from the beach. We had been eating snacks so we weren't starving, but everyone was more than ready for lunch. We decided to get some fast food since it was getting a little late for lunch. We looked on Yelp and found the typical fast food chains, but we hoped to find something more local. Turns out there was a mom & pop hot dog restaurant down the road that had outstanding reviews on Yelp. Not the healthiest of meals, but it sounded fun, so we decided to give it a try.
It was called the "Hot Dog Hut". The place had a fun an old school, hole in the wall vibe to it. Interesting!
So we walked up to the counter to place an order. They had more hot dog variations than I've ever seen! I like a good Chicago dog, but for some reason the foot long hot dog was calling my name. (I haven't had one of those since I was a kid.)
Cooked on the griddle with mustard and onions. Oh yeah!
Dude, it was awesome. Best hot dog experience I've had in years!
Stephanie went with a chili dog and enjoyed hers too.
No chicken tenders or pizza for Buddy, so he went with his stand by - a hamburger. He said, "I didn't like it.... I loved it!". He was stingy with the onion rings so I didn't get to try one, but they looked darn good!
Pickle went plain with ketchup. She didn't really say much about it and ate it quietly.
And finally, Princess went with a corn dog. She said it was pretty good too.
All and all, it was a fun experience. We love taking risks on places like this, and this one really paid off. Yeah Hot Dog Hut!
After lunch, we headed back to the hotel to get out of our bathing suits and grab our skateboarding gear. We hopped back in the van and took the 20 minute drive over to Kona skatepark.
http://www.konaskatepark.com/
Established in 1977, Kona is the longest surviving private skatepark in the world. This place is legendary, a
Disneyland equivalent for skateboarders! Serious history and fun has been had at this place through the years. Now that the kids are getting into skateboarding, it was time to make a pilgrimage!
When we got there, it was pretty hot. Princess was excited to go skateboarding. Pickle was on the fence due to the heat, and Buddy decided that he was too tired from swimming. Oh well, let's go inside.
First we had to sign release waivers before we could skate. Loved looking at all the vintage skateboards hanging on the wall. Sort of like a museum!
We looked around inside before paying our session fees.
Much of the "epicness" of this place comes from its history in the 70's and 80's, but it's still a popular destination. It was fun to see this skateboard (the pink one) signed by two of my childhood heroes. Tony Hawk and Christian Hosoi from 2007!
After that, we headed back into the heat. It was crazy hot. Almost too hot, actually. Oh well, let's make the most of it!
Pickle likes to "butt board". She's pretty fearless when she rides sitting down and was zooming down some pretty steep inclines!
Most of the park is a bit too advanced for the girls, but they had fun anyway. Especially on the old school snake run!
I was even more jealous at this point! Next time, that snake run will be mine!!!
After 30 or 40 minutes we needed a break from the heat and sun, so we went inside to cool down with slushies!
And then we headed out to explore some more...
Look at the size of that vert ramp. Crazy!!!!
After another 30 or 40 minutes, everyone decided it was just too hot to stay outside, especially after wearing ourselves out at the beach. Kona was really cool. I was bummed to not get to skate myself since my wrist was freshly broken, but at least I got to see my kids have fun skating there. I'll be back to ride that snake run someday!!!
It was now about 6pm anyway, so we decided to head out for dinner and then go back to the hotel and swim. We had found out about an awesome seafood restaurant by the beach with ridicuoulsy good reviews on Yelp, so we planned to go there for dinner. I went to get the address and realized that they closed at 6pm. What the heck!?!?! (It was a seafood market and restaurant, I guess the restaurant closes when the market closes. Bummer!) Oh well, back to Yelp. There was another highly rated restaurant not far from Kona, so we decided to try that instead.
We made the 10 minute drive over to Sid & Linda's Seafood Market & Restaurant. It was hopping, but luckily we didn't have to wait too long for a table. So yeah, we thought that last night was good, but this place was off the hook. (Bah-dump-bump.) Outstanding meal.
Stephanie had the blackened seafood salad with miso ginger dressing. She shared a scallop with me, and we both agreed that this tops our previously favorite scallop meal from none other than the California Grill itself. These were "that" good.
I couldn't make up my mind and went with grilled scallops and fried shrimp (over a fish dish). The scallops were hidden in the back. They were awesome, but I should have had them blackened instead of just grilled. See that yellow ball of goodness on the right side of the plate? It was some kind of garlic butter. It was out of this world! Amazing dabbed on a hush puppy!
Princess went with the grilled mahi sandwich. It had a dab of that garlic butter melted over the fish. Oh. My. Gosh! Yum!!!!
Pickle ordered fish off the kids menu. Are you kidding, that serving is HUGE!
And guess what Buddy ordered? Chicken. LOL.
We took our time and enjoyed our meal. You gotta love good local mom & pop establishments, and Yelp for helping us find them!
After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to swim. Princess stayed back in the hotel to have a shower and just relax after an exhausting day of surfing and skateboarding. The rest of us swam for an hour or so and then headed back for a good nights sleep before heading to WDW.
Mickey Mouse, here we come!
.
seems like you guys had a wonderful morning at Jacksonville Beach. I have never been there before but it looks beautiful!! Excited to hear about the rest of your day!
my cousin lives in mexico and he pretty much lives for surfing and i have yet to go see him so he can teach me haha
I'm pretty sure I would be majorly injured if I tried any of that after all these years of not boarding but I was dying looking at those pictures. I want to go! Snake run looks like so much fun. 
