Key West - Dec 2024 and Jan 2025

We met up with the NC crew (John, JoAnna, Phil, Joyce, Kim, Jonathan, Keith, Kate, Phoebe and Ruby) in Key West for a week to celebrate New Year's.  We had gone to Key West a couple of times in the past with this group and decided to do it again.  

The gang at Mallory Square watching the sunset

Accommodation:

Since we could not find a house that would fit all of us, we rented three houses in the Truman Annex.  We shared a house with John and JoAnna and our house was called Dancing Palms.  It was clean and comfortable but not ideal for hosting everyone so we all tended to congregate at the Antoine/Botha house as their downstairs was larger and could fit all of us sitting down.  If we come back, we should book direct with Compass Realty to save some money.

Pathway between our houses in Truman Annex

Activities:

We worked out each day with long walks and runs and we played various games at the Phil/Joyce/Kim/Jonathan house.  Joyce cooked for us one night - making roast chicken, roast pork and potato gratin.  And Keith/Kate cooked for us the last night - making chicken and shrimp tacos.  And for New Years Eve we ordered in pizza and key lime pie - as we did on a previous trip.  

We also did the following activities:

Dry Tortugas National Park - We treated ourselves to the seaplane trip over to Dry Tortugas and then spent 2.5 hours on the island.  The seaplane ride was very cool, flying at 500 feet so you can spot turtles and sharks in the water as well as a couple of shipwrecks.  On the island, we walked around the fort which was quite cool and then we snorkeled which was not that great - visibility was hard and the fish were not plentiful.  That said, it was an amazing trip.

View of Dry Tortugas from our plane

Our group on the wing of the seaplane

Entrance to the fort

Sunset Sail - Did a two hour sunset sail with Sebago Watersports.  The views were really nice.  We had drinks included and they passed around some appetizers which were good but not plentiful. 

Sunset sail

New Year's Eve - After having dinner at one of the houses (we ordered in pizza and key lime pie), we went to Duval to watch the red shoe drop at the request and urging of Ruby who got all the oldies to stay out past midnight! We watched the drag show and then the shoe drop which was fun!

Shoe drop on Duval St - New Year's Eve

Kayaking - We did a two hour kayak tour in the mangroves with Geiger Key Paddle.  It started out to be a nice tour - paddling through tiny channels of the mangroves and learning about the jelly fish.  But then we all got really stuck in one channel where the water was way too low.  The guide had to get out of her boat and pull many of us until we could paddle again.  It was quite hilarious but bummed we could not really see much more as this process took quite a while! 

Kayaking

Sunset at Mallory Square - Watched the sunset on our last night along with many other people!!

Restaurants / Bars:

Frita's Cuban Burgers - We had dinner here the first night - sat outside and shared one of the Cuban burgers - very tasty.

Big Cheezees - This bar is next to the Green Parrot which was very crowded so we went here instead for a beer.

Farmers Market - We got cheese and yummy spreads with pita and bread from the Farmers Market and had that for lunch one day.

Garbo's Grill at Hanks - We had dinner here one night - sat outside.  We shared the fish tacos and the bbq tacos.  Both pretty good.

Dinner at Garbo's

First Flight Brewery - We stopped here for a few beers after dinner.  Their beer was not the best.

Blue Heaven - A must do for our trips, we had brunch here twice. We had to wait a long time for a table so went across the street to their bar and had a few drinks.  We shared the lobster benedict and black bean soup one time and the lobster benedict with a fruit cup and banana bread another time.  Both times, we got a couple of key lime pies for the table.

Blue Heaven

White Tarpon - We went here after the sunset sail to have key lime martinis (so good) and then we sat down to eat as the sail trip did not have a lot of food.  We shared a fish dish which was OK.

Chris met up with us at White Tarpon

Bad Boy Taqueria - We went to lunch here with Chris to have what she says are the best fish tacos.  We shared them - quite tasty - as well as some chips and guac.  Nice location.

Onlywood Pizzeria - John/JoAnna ordered eight pizzas from here for our New Year's Eve dinner - they were all very good.

Key West Key Lime Pie Company - John/JoAnna picked up a couple of pies from here for our New Year's Eve dinner - so good!!

Mam's Best Food - had lunch here and had a tasty schwarma. It's a tiny place with outside seating and the owner was an older Jewish grandma who was quite funny!

Kermit Key Lime Pie Company - Keith and Kate picked up a couple of pies from here that we enjoyed after Joyce's dinner. Good but we liked the ones from Key West Key Lime Pie Company better.

Geiger Key Marina - we had lunch here before our kayak tour.  Chris joined us.  We shared a yummy fried fish taco dish. Fun place with outside seating. 

Kaya Island Eats and Backyard Bar - had a few beers here before dinner and then ate here.  We shared a pasta dish and bang bang fish - tasty.

Celtic Conch Public House - went here for happy hour and sat on the rooftop.

Chart Room - stopped here for a few drinks - really cool, small bar that has lots of memorabilia on the walls and they have free peanuts and popcorn! 

Salute - went here for lunch with Chris and Steve on our last day.  She picked us up and we went to her rental house and then had lunch before she dropped us off at the airport.  We shared a soup and pasta dish - cute place on the beach. 

Rosemary Beach, FL - Nov 2024

We spent a long weekend in Rosemary Beach, FL (on the FL panhandle) with Eva, Brian, Stacie and Lucas.  Shawna worked with Eva and Stacie at Cigna.  Stacie and Lucas owns a beach house here so they invited us for the weekend.  The place is beautiful - a very nice six bedroom house just a few blocks from the beach.  The neighborhood is also very cute with walking distance to pools, restaurants and shops.  We definitely want to come back and spend more time here.  

The downtown of Rosemary Beach

We flew in from Dallas, arriving mid-day on Thursday.  Lucas was there to greet us and show us around while the rest of the crew showed up much later that evening.  We grabbed a quick lunch of salads at Gallion's and then went for a long walk.  That evening, we had an early dinner with Lucas at Cowgirl Kitchen where we sat outside and had tacos and a quesadilla.  When everyone else arrived later on, we stayed up drinking wine and catching up.

Stacie, Eva and Shawna at La Crema

The next day, we went for a walk around the neighborhood with Stacie and Lucas, stopping to treat ourselves to one donut from the Donut Hole.  We all went to brunch at Pescado where we sat outside on the balcony with views of the water.  We had mimosas and a yummy pork belly tacos and lobster grilled cheese.  We then relaxed on the beach - Stacie had arranged beach chairs and umbrellas for both days.  We watched the beautiful sunset with a glass of sparkling wine from one of the walkovers and then got ready for dinner.  That evening, we ate at La Crema, a great tapas place where we sat outside and shared a bunch of dishes for the table.  

Sunset on the beach

On Saturday, we had brunch at Summer Kitchen, each having the avocado toast which was very tasty.  We spent a brief time on the beach before we headed to a cocktail festival at Alys Beach.  At the festival, we got to try a variety of cocktails and they also had some yummy small plates.  It was a lot of fun and nice to see a different neighborhood as well.  That evening, we had dinner at Paradis, the nicest of the restaurants in Rosemary Beach.  We again sat outside and had a great salad and fish dish.  

The gang at the cocktail festival in Alys Beach

On Sunday, everyone left in the morning except the two of us who had a mid-afternoon flight back to TX.  So we went for another long walk and grabbed a very quick lunch from the local market.  What a great weekend!

Northern FL - Jan 2024

We returned to our East Coast roadtrip after spending a little over a week in LA and TX.

Miami

We flew from Dallas into Miami and picked up our car where we left it at the Park and Fly.  It was easy to get the car and we were delighted that everything was still in it!!  We drove to our hotel near the airport where we stayed one night at the Element Hotel which was super clean but lacked amenities and was located in an industrial area so not much around it.  But a good place to stay if you just need something for a night.

We were both craving Cuban food but were too lazy to drive very far so we found the Kuban Kitchen which was not far from our hotel and much to our surprise, it was very tasty!  The restaurant is very clean and bright with some cheesy decor.  We shared the churasco steak and friend plantains which were very good.

The next morning, Shawna woke up a bit stuffy and decided to test herself for Covid - unfortunately, she tested positive so we had to cancel our plans to meet up with one of Shawna's colleagues in Stuart FL for the next two nights.  Thankfully, she never felt terrible and got through it pretty quickly so it did not mess up anything else on the trip.  With now two days to replan, we decided to relocate to Titusville and along the way, we stopped to do a few touristy things:

• Henry Flagler Museum - Located in West Palm, this was a beautiful, stately home build by Henry Flagler for his wife.  We did the self guided audio tour which was very informative.

Henry Flagler Museum

• Mar-a-Lago - Located in West Palm, only did a quick drive by to check it out!

• Manatee Lagoon - Located in West Palm, this is a free small museum with a lagoon to see the manatees. Unfortunately, we didn't see any so this was a quick stop.

• Navy Seal Museum - Located in Ft Pierce, this is a very informative museum about the Navy Seals and all of the major missions they have been involved in.

Black Hawk at Navy Seal Museum

Titusville

We wanted to see the Kennedy Space Center and since touring it would take a full day, we decided to drive up the night before and stay at the Courtyard Marriott in Titusville.  This is the best Courtyard we have ever stayed in so far - very new, clean, modern with great amenities.  That night, we even ate at the roof top bar at the Courtyard, called The Space Bar, where we shared a pretzel and yummy quesadilla and had a few beers.

Space Bar Rooftop Restaurant at Courtyard Marriott

The next day, we spent the day at the Kennedy Space Center.  We did all the major attractions as well as the bus tour.  This is a really well done museum with lots of videos, artifacts and a few fun rides to simulate flying in space.  While we did it in one day, it's probably best to do it in two if you want to try everything (there are a few things we missed).  

Kennedy Space Center

Jacksonville

We then drove to Jacksonville where we stayed at the Residence Inn for four nights.  The hotel was relatively new - clean with a few good amenities (e.g. pretty good free breakfast) - we had a studio suite.  Our goal for this part of the trip was to spend time with Kim and Keith who live in nearby Ponte Vedra.  We had so many laughs and you would not even know it that it had been many years since we last saw one another - so much fun!

While here, we did the following:

• Hockey Game - Saw the Jacksonville Icemen crush the Savannah Ghost Pirates.  Our seats were really good - just a few rows up from the ice.  Cool, small arena and the game was fun to watch.  Oh and there were lots of laughs!

Jacksonville Icemen Hockey Game

• Beach Walk - We drove down to Vilano Beach and strolled along the beach, looking for the 'elusive' shark teeth that we were promised we would find!! 

Beach Walk - Vilano Beach

• Tuk Tuk Tour - We did a one hour tuk tuk tour of downtown Jacksonville where we learned more about the upcoming development underway than the history.  

Tuk Tuk Tour of Jacksonville

And ate at the following:

• Cava - Located near our hotel, Keith and Shawna ate here when we first arrived - quick and tasty Mediterranean.  We each got a pita sandwich wrap - both of which were good.
• Lemongrass Thai - Located near our hotel, we had dinner here with Kim and Keith.  Really yummy.  We shared a red curry and shrimp potstickers.  
• Palm Valley Outdoors Bar & Grill - We had lunch here with Kim and Keith. It's a great place located in Ponte Vedra along the inner coastal with outside seating.  We each had a salad.
• Casa Reina - We had dinner here with Kim and Keith in St Augustine.  We sat outside and had a yummy fish dish with black beans and rice.  
• Southern Swells Brewing Co - We stopped here for a beer.  Beer was yummy.
• Treylor Park - We had dinner here with Kim and Keith in Ponte Vedra near their house.  Good southern style food.  We shared the avocado fries and the fried Oreos for the table and Keith and Shawna split a flatbread and shrimp and grits tacos for our entree.  

'Duck lip' photo

Southern FL - Jan 2024

Continuing on our five month East Coast roadtrip, we left Grayton Beach to spend two weeks in Southern Florida.  

Orlando

Our first stop was just one night in Orlando where we stayed at the Hyatt Place and met up for dinner with Heather, a Georgetown College roommate of Shawna's.  We met for dinner at Cooper's Hawk where we split a yummy fish dish and caught up on over thirty years from the last time we saw one another! 

Dinner with Heather at Cooper's Hawk

The next morning, we met up with David and Elisa at First Catch for breakfast where we got an omelet and breakfast tacos.  Keith knows David from his time working at Club Corp in DC.  

Breakfast with David and Elisa at First Catch

Big Pine Key

We then drove to Big Pine where we stayed six nights at Chris and Steve's beautiful house.  Shawna knows Chris from her time working at Chase in NYC after undergrad and Chris was also in our wedding. The last time we were at their house was when they were first finishing up the house so we finally got to see it all done!  We stayed in their guest house in a nice and comfy king size bed.

When we first arrived, we got the tour of the house and had a few beers before heading out to dinner to one of their local spots - Kiki's Sandbar - a great place on the water where we sat outside and enjoyed some music, tuna nachos and fish tacos.  Back at the house, we played poker with the kids.

On Saturday, Shawna and Chris went for a walk and then we went to the local farmers market to pick up some cheese and goodies that we enjoyed later that evening.  We also got some yummy sandwiches from a nearby market.  That afternoon, we drove into Key West and had a few drinks and snacks - key lime martinis at The White Tarpon and beer, oysters and fish bites at A&B Lobster House.  On the way back, we stopped to get a bottle of wine and enjoyed that while watching Edie at softball practice.  That evening, we sat outside at the house, drinking wine and eating cheese and bread that we had bought earlier in the day at the farmers market.

Key Lime Martinis with Chris at White Tarpon

On Sunday, Chris made breakfast for us and then a few of their friends joined us at their house in the afternoon for poker and snacks.  Shawna won the whole pot! That evening, we went to dinner at No Name Pub and shared a pizza and wings.

Dinner at No Name Pub

On Monday, we drove into Key West and did the 90 minute trolley tour of Key West.  The guide was not very exciting but we did learn some interesting facts about the town and its history and got to see some of the landmarks.  We hopped off the trolley and went into the Butterfly Conservatory which had some neat butterflies and birds! Of course, we had to get one more key lime martini at The White Tarpon before heading back.  That evening, Shawna made a salad and pasta dish for dinner.

Butterfly Conservatory

On Tuesday, we drove to Islamorada to have lunch with Nicole, a former colleague of Keith's, at Bad Boy Burrito. We shared some fish and pork tacos which were quite tasty.  That afternoon, we took a quick nap and then that evening we went to the local tiki bar to play trivia.

On Wednesday, we drove the kids to school and were amazed that they did this trek to Key West every day!  We stopped at Bagel Island on the way home and got a few bagels for breakfast.  Shawna then went for her run and then we had lunch with Chris and Steve at Forks and Stix where we had a yummy tuna poke bowl and spicy salmon roll.  That afternoon, we drove to Marathon and toured both the Dolphin Research Center and the Turtle Hospital which provides medical services to turtles who have been injured or got ill.  Both were very interesting.  That evening, Chris made us dinner - yummy fish and a salad.

Dolphin Research Center

On Thursday, after Shawna's run, we packed up and said our farewells and then drove to Miami.

Miami

We stayed three nights in Miami at the Confidante (a Hyatt hotel) on Miami Beach.  It was a decent hotel but one that is in transition to another brand so the pool area and several of the restaurants were closed.  When we arrived, we relaxed in the room to watch a few movies and then got a quick bite to eat at a pizza restaurant that was across the street from our hotel - we shared a salad and a pizza.  

Relaxing on Miami Beach

On Friday, Shawna worked out in the gym and then we released on the beach that afternoon, reading and enjoying a couple of beers.  It was the only relatively nice and warm day for us to enjoy some beach time in the two weeks we were in FL.  That evening, we had a tasty dinner at Zaytinya which is a Jose Andres restaurant.  We sat outside and had a bottle of wine and shared several small plates -- all of them were very good.  

Dinner at Zaytinya

On Saturday, we met up for a late lunch with another one of Shawna's Georgetown roommates - Mariana - who lives in Miami.  We met up at Regatta Grove which was a great outdoor venue on the water with some fun people watching.  We had a few drinks and ate burgers while catching up.  Since we ate a later lunch, we were not terribly hungry for dinner so we just had a few granola bars in the room and watched movies that evening.

Lunch with Mariana at Regatta Grove

On Sunday, we packed up and parked the car at a Park n Fly near the Miami airport and left all of our stuff in there except our carry on suitcases and backpacks.  We were a bit nervous about doing this but felt better that it was an indoor valet garage where we were parking.  We had to leave the car there for a week while we did a quick detour for a week to Louisiana and Texas.

FL Panhandle Beach House - Dec 2023

Chapter four of retirement is a 5-month road trip up the east coast, with the first stop a beach house in Grayton Beach, just west of Panama City.  We rented a 6 bedroom house with John/Joanna, Phil/Joyce, Kim/Jonathan, and Will/Cindy.  We had found the house when John/Joanna were visiting us in Santa Fe over Labor Day weekend.  

Rental house in Grayson Beach

The house is less than two years old, with a huge open kitchen/living/dining area that open to the pool, and  a master bedroom and second bedroom on the ground floor.  The second floor had three more bedrooms (all of them were king beds) as well as a couple of balconies.  A spiral stair went from the second floor to a 3rd floor deck that has a view of the ocean.  

With our early start from Moreauville, we were first to arrive at the house at 2pm.  We unloaded the car into our second floor room and then drove to Sharkys in Panama City Beach to pick up John/Joanna who had flown in to Panama City airport and were at the bar drinking beers until the Dodds shuttle picked them up.  We joined John/Joanna for one beer before driving back to the house via the grocery store where we stocked up on the basics (beer).  By the time we got back to the house, Phil/Joyce and Kim/Jonathan had just arrived after their 11 hour road trip caravan from Raleigh.  Will/Cindy arrived a couple of hours later.   Dinner the first night was easy - we just ordered pizza from Grace Pizza and Shakes, had a few beers, and enjoyed the hot tub.

Morning walk along the beach

The weather was quite chilly while there so we were not able to enjoy much of the beach nor the pool.  Each day, some of the house would go for walks, often ending at a bar where the rest of the group would join.  Afternoons, we mainly relaxed in the house and used the hot tub from around 4-6pm in time to get ready for dinner.  We rotated who was responsible for dinner each evening as follow: 

• Joyce and Phil hosted the second night with a lovely asian-themed surf & turf.
• Kim and Jonathan led the next night with a 3-course fondue: cheese, then meats/broth, and of course wrapping up with chocolate.
• JoAnna and John had New Years Eve.  We had an early dinner at Down Island where we had some yummy seafood and then went back to the house for hot tub, snacks and champagne at midnight.
• Cindy and Will led New Years day dinner with a fantastic lasagna.
• Shawna and Keith had the second to last night, making Indian.
• Our last night, we just ordered in pizza again from Grace Pizza.

Lunch at Chiringo

Dinner at Down Island

Some other places we went:

• Chiringo: Stopped here for lunch one day and had a few beers.  Cute place with good food.
• The Red Bar: Stopped here for lunch one day - food was not great.
• Bud and Alleys Taco Bar: Stopped her for a few beers and snacks.  Right on the square in Seaside.
• Escapology: Did an escape room on our last afternoon since it was a rainy day. We finished it with only a few minutes to spare!

On the last morning, we drove away to spend two weeks in Southern FL while the rest of the gang returned to NC.

Key Largo - Feb 2023

We decided to get some sun by spending President's Day weekend in Key Largo.  Shawna was already in Florida for a work event in Miami so Keith flew in on Thursday night to join her there.  We stayed at a Hyatt House by the airport on Thursday night and then worked from there on Friday before driving down to Key Largo in the afternoon.

The Bungalows

Main Pool

Zen Pool

We checked into our hotel, The Bungalows, which is a very cute, all inclusive resort.  Each room is a private bungalow with a seating area, a bed, a nice bathroom and an outside seating area with an outside shower and tub.  The resort has two pools, a nice beach and a spa.  There are activities you can book as well but we opted to just relax the entire time - although we did take advantage of the spa by getting a massage.  There are also three restaurants on property so we tried each one:

Fish Tales - we had dinner here on Friday night, trying several dishes.  The food was OK.  We also had breakfast here each morning - there was a really nice buffet.

Bogie and Bacall's - we had dinner here on Saturday night - it's their high end restaurant.  We shared a yummy steak with some sides and a couple of appetizers.  The food was really good.

Sea Senor - we had dinner here on Sunday night - it's their Mexican restaurant with tables outside on the beach.  We had some chips and salsa to start and then each got an entree.  Food was pretty good.

On Monday, we checked out and then drove down to Islamadora to meet up with Chris and Steve for lunch at Atlantic's Edge which is located in Cheeca Lodge.  We sat outside, had a few drinks and caught up - so great to see them both!  We then drove back to Miami - with Shawna flying back to Chicago and Keith flying to CA for more work meetings.

Christmas and New Year Trip - Dec 2020

NC Gang in FL

Our 2020 end of year trip was to be a two-week trip around New Zealand with John and Joanna.  Since Covid-19 put a stop to that, we opted to try a five-week, 4,000 mile road trip around the east coast!  With that much time on the road and a lot of room in the 4Runner, we decided to pack heavy.  And heavy we did.  To the point that we started getting nervous we'd actually fit everything in the car:  not only the large suitcases, but a folding table, Keith's large work monitor, herbs and spices, board games, a cooler, weights, and even steamed pudding pots!  But we loaded it all up on the morning of Thursday Dec 10...and we were off...

Kentucky

We left home at about 3 in the afternoon and drove the ~5 hours down to Louisville.  Dinner was veggies and hummus on the road.  We arrived at the Hotel Distil and used two valet carts to get our stuff to the room.  The next morning Keith left to visit three communities in the market, and on the way back to the hotel, he stopped by where he used to live during his pre-Shawna years, Mallgate Apartments (now Halsey Flats) by Mall St Matthews.  Dinner that night was takeout from Merle's Whiskey Kitchen with a bottle of wine from the hotel (after we bought that we remembered that we had ~20 bottles with us!).

Dining Covid style - take-out in our room

Carolinas

After a quick visit in Kentucky we drove the 8 hours to Raleigh - the last time Keith did this drive was when he was moving to Durham to go to grad school.  While we used much of the drive to listen to the beginning of Obama's audio book, we were lucky to spend 2 hours listening to Phoebe's bat mitzvah over Zoom in the morning!  It was great to listen to and Phoebe was incredible - very poised and confident.  Lunch was cheese and crackers: we had stopped by Whole Foods in the morning for a gorgeous spread that Shawna "served" as Keith was driving.  As a result, we made fantastic time and arrived at Chez Douglas on the Saturday night just after 5pm.  We unloaded the car and Keith set up his mobile office in John's spare room and had a few beers with sushi for dinner.  We stayed for a week with Shawna working out of John's house and Keith spent a couple of days down in Charlotte visiting properties.  While in Raleigh, we:

• Went for a walk around the Washington Duke Golf course - Keith with Stephanie and Shawna going for a run
• Ate lunch at Fosters
• Cooked gumbo and made a few meals out of it
• Had a socially distant Asian dinner at Keith and Kates (with Phoebe and Ruby) around their outdoor fireplace
• Did a few more walks: around John's neighborhood and to the mall and back

It was great seeing some of the Raleigh gang and when we departed we knew we'd see John and Joanna in less than a week.

Socially distanced dinner at the Artins

Georgia

The drive down to Atlanta was easy - more audiobook and cheese and crackers.  We planned the trip to arrive by 2pm so Keith could secret shop a property on the Sunday afternoon.  We checked into the Westin Perimeter North.  We got a larger suite so that there was more room after the smaller space we had in Louisville.  We had mediterranean for dinner than night (delivered to our hotel).  On the Monday, Keith toured properties all day while Shawna worked out of the hotel.  After property tours, Keith returned to the hotel, changed, and drove Shawna to a dinner in the private dining room of Ray's on the River where we had yummy steaks, joined by Kelly, JP, and Shuyi.  

Louisiana

After the brief stay in Atlanta, it was time for the 8-hour drive to Shawna's mom's house so that we could be with her for a few days over Christmas!  Keith drove half the way and was on conference calls much of the day.  We arrived at the house early evening.  While at Shawna's mom's we:

• Cooked and ate gumbo for Christmas Eve and several meals after...with enough leftovers to take to the beach house and have TWO full meals there!
• Ate fried turkey courtesy of Chet for Christmas day with some delicious sides
• Opened gifts on Christmas morning and gave Shawna's mom the Christmas gift of Shawna returning to the house for two weeks and being there to celebrate her 80th birthday
• Baked ginger cookies
• Ate pineapple cake that Shawna's mom made for Keith - we managed to eat the entire cake over four days!
• Went for walks along the bayou every day
• Watched cheesy Christmas movies at night

Celebrating Xmas Covid style

Panama City Florida

We rented a house on the beach for the week over New Year's with the Raleigh gang (Joyce/Phil, Kim/Jonathan, and John/JoAnna). We left Moreauville on the Sunday morning with a lunch stop in Slidell for Keith to meet his colleague Tami for lunch.   We made it to the beach house at 5pm: the rest of the crew were already there and had selected rooms which made things easier.  The gang helped us unload the car, Keith set up his "office" for the week, and we warned up the gumbo for the first dinner. The house was great - it had 7 bedrooms with plenty of bathrooms and a nice sized kitchen / dining / living room area.  It was located directly not the beach with great views of the water from each floor.

House Rental

The week was quite lazy:

• In the morning, people either went for walks, read, or slept in.
• Every day was focused on cooking, eating, cleaning up, and of course a few drinks were had - including Shawna's cocktails of the day,  Each couple had a day of cooking.  Shawna's day was New Years Eve and included an amazing kale salad for lunch and roast lamb for dinner with two steamed puddings for dessert.
• The house had a pool that was heated.  While it was a bit cool outside, it was warm enough to have a dip in the pool and drink a beer or five. It sunny the first few days of the week so we could sit outside and soak up a few rays during the day.
• Keith took out his kite once: since he brought it he had to use it!
• We played a few games around the kitchen table each day.

Hanging out at the pool

We packed up the last morning and all departed at about 7:45.  Keith drove Shawna to the airport where she picked up a rental car to drive back to Louisiana while Keith continued visiting properties.

Playing games

Louisiana (Shawna)

It was ~7 hours back to Moreauville for Shawna, then two weeks with her mom where she:

• Worked out of her house during the week
• Cooked lots of healthy food for mom to try and give her ideas
• Went for walks/run along the bayou
• Watched more cheesy Christmas movies
• Baked cookies and a pineapple cake for Shawna's mom's birthday
• Chatted with some of her friends who Shawna had texted to come by individually and wish her mom a socially distanced birthday
• Looked at old photos and reminisced about old memories

Tampa / Orlando / Jacksonville / Nashville (Keith)

Keith's job the next two weeks was to haul all the stuff in the car as he visited properties and met some of his teammates.  The next two weeks were all work, but he arrived home safely on Saturday Jan 16th, with Shawna flying home on the 17th. 

JoAnna, Joyce, Kim and Shawna in FL