Salt In My Hair Love In The Air

Where to begin? How about at the beginning? I mostly record these sorts of trip memories for my own benefit, and fully admit they feel a little bit like inviting someone in to watch my vacation slides. 

I mean honestly I would totally come view your vacation slides if invited so...come on in...

Hubs and I were invited to a wedding on July 4th. In Florida. Yes it was hot. It was also hot in South Carolina, but there we'd have been in our swim suits, not wedding clothes. 

We have a hard and fast rule that we are not away from the lake on the 4th of July, but we made an exception this year. The bride's parents are some of our oldest and dearest friends and we've known the bride since the day she was born. She and my daughter2 are the same age and spent their earliest years together in NJ, and then in a fun twist of geography, ended up graduating from high school together in the UK. 

Daughter2 wasn't able to attend the wedding, but we talked about her-ha! Hi Daughter2! 

Since we were trekking to Florida in July we decided to tack a couple of days on to the trip and have a little bit of beach time. The wedding was in Tampa, which is not the beach, so we opted to stay in St. Petersburg about a half hour away. 

We stayed in the Don Cesar Beach House Suites which are pink like the Don Cesar, but more apartment-like. We had a sitting room, kitchenette, bedroom and two bathrooms, plus a balcony overlooking the pool and out to the beach. 

You have all the benefits of the Don in terms of dining, the spa, the pools, etc. and are just a short walk down the beach to the main hotel. 

If you're not familiar with the Don she's a beauty. The Don Cesar is known as the pink hotel and is castle like in appearance. It was built in 1928 and has hosted many a celebrity, politician, and famous sort of guest for decades. 

It's beautiful inside and out and is a landmark in St. Pete. 

Our location had a great pool and fabulous beach so while we did have a couple of lunches at the main hotel, and I had my hair done there on wedding day, and we did do a lot  some shopping in their very lovely shops, we mostly just hung out at our location.  

There was a cabana boy who set up chairs and umbrellas every day, and the private beach wasn't crowded. The cabana boy actually worked at a club on our lake very recently which was a fun discovery, so we talked all things lake and Clemson sports with him. 

The trip began with the long drive down to Florida on Wednesday. We like a car trip and didn't want to be dealing with the airport nonsense on a holiday weekend. We started listening to our 40-hour book The Last Lion (Volume 1) and there's a prologue and an introduction and three hours in we finally got to chapter one. Whew! This is the life and times of Winston Churchill and really really good, but there are three volumes in the series, all equally as long, so it will be quite a while before I do an actual review. 

We stopped for breakfast/lunch in the little town of Bowman Georgia at a place called Bowman House which featured southern cooking. It was full of locals which we always take as a good sign. 

The drive took about nine hours with stops, but we had no hiccups which was nice. We'd dropped the dog off at the kennel that morning and put Waze on, which had us avoiding the interstate we'd normally jump on very close to the kennel. Thankfully we listened to Waze because we learned later the interstate was completely shut down both directions all day and overnight too due to a spill. 

See, this is why my recaps are so long. I feel the need to explain why we took route B instead of route A. Likewise I think this post will be a part B and part A. 

We got checked in to the hotel then walked out on the beach to see what we could see. Standing in front of the ocean never gets old. 

We went down to Passe Grille for dinner at a place called The Hurricane. Our plan was to eat fresh Grouper every single day and I think we almost managed that. Passe Grille is a little beach town at the southern end of St. Petersburg, and our hotel was less than five miles away. We shared some peel and eat shrimp too which is another favorite of mine. 

After dinner we watched the sun set. 

It's a whole thing on the Gulf y'all and it is not to be missed. When our girls were young we vacationed on the Gulf and we used to tell them the sun was going to bed and they thought we worked some kind of magic to make it drop into the sea just as we said good night. 

Thursday the plan was the beach. 

That's it. The whole plan. 

We spent most of the day on the beach, then moved up to the pool which was beside the beach and also very lovely. 

We did walk a few steps down the beach for lunch at the Don Cesar beside their pool which was also nice. I had the most delicious blackened mahi wrap with a pineapple salsa and hubs had the Grouper sandwich as predicted. 

This coco solstice was refreshing too-coconut rum, lime juice, coconut water and club soda. 

We relaxed by our pool and even played some ping pong before changing for dinner. We tried to go to this particular spot (The Wharf) the night before but there was zero parking so on Thursday we decided to try again and took an Uber. Ironically the Uber driver's wife went to my high school in NJ and we are here for all the small world connections. 

We had a seat on their dock and I had fried shrimp while hubs had...the Grouper. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and got in our car for a short drive to  Treasure Island. Hubs vacationed there as a boy and wanted to see if the pirate still stands. 

He does. Once that was confirmed it was back to the beach for yet another glorious sunset. 

Friday morning we decided to have a nice breakfast out and walked to a place called Azura Coastal Kitchen. 

It's located in the Hotel Zamora which has a very mediterranean feel and I loved the vibe. 

Our table overlooked the Intracoastal and we had a mimosa followed by a delicious meal. Avocado toast for me and lemon blueberry pancakes for the hubs. 

We walked back to our hotel and spent some time on the beach before changing for the drive in to Tampa. We had plans to meet up with friends before the welcome party hosted by the bride and groom. 

Traffic in Tampa is nuts. 

Carry on. 

I've 'known' Terri (Your Friend From Florida) since my early blog days and we decided to try for a meet up. The timing was tighter than we would have liked, but if there's anything blogging (and life) have taught me it's Carpe Diem. So we did. 

She lives about an hour away and said she'd drive in so we could meet at the welcome party venue, American Social, and have a chance to visit before we had to be at the party. American Social is a sports bar type of place and it was loud. With a capital L.  It was a happening place and there was some questionable attire, but we made the most of it.  A heated World Cup match was on all the TVs so there was a lot of cheering on top of the conversations happening all around, but fortunately we were given a booth which helped. 

Originally hubs was going to join us, but then a former long-time work colleague who lives in the Tampa area decided he'd like to catch up too, so he also drove in and met hubs at the same time. They hadn't seen one another in more than a decade, so they sat at the bar and Terri and I sat in a booth and chatted. She saw pictures of my grands that I don't share here but it was fun because she knows my daughters from the online world too. She used to follow both of my girls when they blogged and has kept up with them since their university days.

I will say that the bloggers I've met in person have all been exactly who they seem to be online and Terri was no exception. So sweet and genuine and it felt like talking to an old familiar friend. Which she is, and now in real life too. 

In yet another small world moment, as we were wrapping up we walked to the bar where hubs and our friend were sitting and it turns out our friend and Terri had all sorts of people in common. They had a nice little chat and now they're Facebook friends too. 

The internet is quite the connector don't you think? 

At this point the bride made her entrance with her whole big posse in tow, and lots of hugs and more noise happened as we greeted and congratulated and got ready to move out to the patio for the evening. Pretty sure the bride hugged Terri and possibly the groom did too. Weddings put everyone in a joyful mood, plus our friends are their friends and we love that. We said our goodbyes to Terri and joined the welcome party in full swing. 

Did I tell you it was hot? 

The patio at American Social overlooks the harbor and it was a covered space, which did provide shade but also seemed to hold in the heat. We had a grand time seeing all the bride's family including siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and some friends we also know, along with the groom and his family.  We've lived a lot of life with the bride's parents and they are some of our most favorite peeps in all the world. 

I think I'll save the wedding and beyond for Friday's post because I like detail and don't want to skimp in an effort to make this short. Less long? Whatever. Come back for Part 2 on Friday. 

Pop! Clink! Fizz! It's The Hodgepodge

Hello Hodgepodgers and happy new year! I look forward to more random fun here on Wednesdays in 2026, but for now let's close out the year that was. If you've answered today's questions, add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Cheers! 

1. Did you make resolutions or set goals for the year we're waving goodbye? How did that work out for you? Will you set any goals for this new year, new season, or new month? Share one or two if you'd like to share. 

My personal self-improvement (for lack of a better word) goals for this year were more in my head than written on a piece of paper or a blog. 

I also made seasonal bucket lists which always have a few tasks on them along with some fun things too. I did okay with those,  but there were many things I didn't get to and I'm fine with that. Mostly fine. I use the bucket lists more as a guide or reminder as opposed to a 'MUST DO!!' kind of thing. 

I need to review my fall list and make one for winter still, and hope to get to that this week. 

2. When did you have the most fun this year? 

It's hard to choose just one thing, but some of the most fun I had would definitely include time spent with grandkids (and their mommas) at the lake. 

We also took a beach trip all together and that ranks high on the fun list too. 

College friends here for a weekend was another highlight. 

3. What's a song or song lyric you'll associate with 2025? Tell us why. 

If you read my post yesterday (linked here-Anchored) then you already know my answer, but it's this one-

Cornerstone...'

 '...when darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace

  In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil...Christ alone, Cornerstone, 

    weak made strong, in the Saviour's love, Through the storm He is Lord, Lord of all...' 

I also love this one by Christy Nockels and it's another that goes along with my word of the year. I've seen her perform live and she's so good. 

My Anchor   ...

'My anchor, forever, My shelter within the storm, 

You're my deliverer, You never falter, 

You're the rock I stand on...'

4. Best (or a favorite) bite of something delicious you tasted this year? 

 Again, it's nearly impossible to choose just one, but most recently this crab and cucumber appetizer with the coconut lime vinaigrette over all was so scrumptious and something I want to recreate at home. 

5. What do you want to do more of in the new year? Less of? 

More of? 

more time spent in creative pursuits, more movement, more prayer, more filling my mind with 'whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy..' I want to think on those things.  

The world screams the opposite so swimming against the tide has to be intentional. 

Less of? 

less spending, less couch time aka no broken bones, there's probably more but nothing is coming to mind

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

"Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning, but a going on, 

with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us." ~Hal Borland 

Thanks for joining in here each week. It's such a wonderful group of bloggers of every age, stage, geography, and background, yet we come together easily to encourage, laugh, share, discuss, and support. 

The world needs more of this. 

Wishing you peace in this next new year xo Joyce 

Monday Morning Musings

Hi Friends. I'm jumping right into the Hello Monday link party this morning, hosted by Holly and Sarah. This is where we chat about our weekends, and here's how ours looked. 

Fun. Fun is how it looked. 

Once upon a time I went to college and was part of a sorority and this weekend ten of those girls came to the lake for a reunion. 

We've gotten together at various times over the years, but were definitely overdue for another in person gathering. Four of us live within an hour of one another, and one of the girls has a house on the same lake as me, so we decided to invite everyone here. 

Three of us organized the food and we had half the group sleep at my house and half at the second lake house. Two of the girls flew in from a bit further away and arrived Thursday night. One  was a bridesmaid in my wedding and she's been to the lake before, and the other I hadn't seen in 40 years. 

We just picked right up like we'd all been together yesterday instead of yesteryear. 

Everyone convened at my house for breakfast Friday morning and the rest of the group rolled in throughout the day so the whole gang was together by late afternoon. 

The weather. Eh. Not the best, but then not the worst either. We didn't see the sun but it didn't rain us out either. We spent the entire day Friday sitting on my patio talking and catching up. Actually the clouds made it really pleasant for patio sitting and it was a super relaxed day. 

Hubs was a rock star all weekend long. He has also known these girls four decades, and enjoyed seeing us all together. He waited on us hand and foot, and cooked the most delicious pork BBQ for our Friday night dinner. We had pasta salad, baked beans, corn on the cob, and cole slaw too, and one of the girls aka another one of my bridesmaids, brought a scrumptious strawberry pound cake from a Tennessee bakery for dessert. 

We stayed up late and talked about all manner of things including old memories and our young(er) selves, new challenges, long ago mischief making, life in the third act, family, food, travels, work and not working, grandchildren, and in some cases what in the world we've been doing for the past forty years. There's nothing like a solid 48 hours spent with friends who knew you when you barely knew yourself. 

Saturday morning breakfast happened in whatever house you slept in, then my house loaded up on the boat and hubs motored us over to the other house. The weather wasn't ideal, but you can't come to the lake and not get out for a boat ride, can you? 

We spent the whole day Saturday at the other lake house. Some of us floated, some tried the paddle board, and some relaxed on the dock. There were lots of little conversations happening as everyone caught up with everyone. It was just a really lovely, special day. 

We all went back to my house for dinner. I'd made baked ziti earlier in the week and froze it before baking, so easy peasy and also super delicious. Another girl made a yummy salad and garlic bread and we sat outside under the twinkle lights and laughed ourselves silly. 

It was another late night, and then before you knew it the sun was up and it was time to say goodbye.

The last car load pulled away around 1 o'clock and I started some laundry, opened the weekend mail, we listened to our Bible recap, and hubs had a nap. He earned it after acting as the cabana boy-grillmaster-bartender-D.J., and chief 'could you bring us _______' guy all weekend long. 

He washed dishes, refilled glasses, ran up and down the stairs for whatever we left up or down the stairs, chauffeured us by boat, all without a single complaint, irritated tone of voice, or roll of the eye. He wanted the weekend to be fun for me and it absolutely was. 

He's a keeper. 

The last semi-large reunion we had was also lakeside. It was 2018 and we got up extra early that Saturday morning to watch Prince Harry marry Meghan Markle. Time flies, doesn't it? 

The world has changed a lot in four decades. When I was an 18-year old freshman phones were on the wall, we wrote checks when we needed money,  and computers were the size of a whole entire room that I had no need to enter since my major was not business. 

Our school was in a small town without a lot going on, but we made our own fun. We didn't take a lot of pictures so the memories live mostly in our heads. 

Today the students there have phones in their pockets, Apple Pay at their fingertips, and laptops with streaming services for their favorite shows they can watch any time of the day or night while typing a paper they'll email not print. The town has grown, the campus has grown...

...but we're still here making our own fun.

So what did you get up to this weekend? 

Excited About The Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post. Be sure to leave a comment for the blogger before you, because comments make the blog world go round.  Here we go...

1. What's worth standing in line for? 

Boarding an airplane for a trip somewhere fabulous, security for a college football game or live concert event, the restroom when you're in a public place. 

2. Tell us about a favorite food related memory. 

I have so many I don't even know where to begin. An anniversary dinner at Cliveden House? Our long leisurely lunch made by an adorable Italian chef overlooking Lago Maggiore? My 50th birthday dinner at Asiate high above Columbus Circle in NY City's Mandarin Hotel?  

Those are all favorites for sure, but something about this question made me think of childhood, and one of my favorite food memories from childhood would be Thanksgiving dinner. 

My mother would spend the whole day (or two) cooking and we kids would help. My little sister and I were usually in charge of setting the table and pitting the grapes for our traditional dessert fruit salad. There was pie too, but to this day we all make fruit salad with fresh whipped cream as another option. Purple grapes, chopped apples, sliced oranges, and a can of crushed pineapple stirred over all. 

My mother has an artist's eye and she made holidays and special dinners look and taste so lovely. She set a fancy table in the dining room with the good china, and we always had an appetizer of shrimp cocktail in crystal glasses which was such a treat. 

Sometimes another family would join us and we always got dressed for dinner. No jeans, no loungewear, no excuses for not being at the table on time. Our best manners, cloth napkins, family chatter. 

That's me front left, and my little sister looking like an absolute angel on the right. Those dresses! I wish I still had them and could pass them on to my granddaughters. My teenage sibs are standing in back, and my dad must have taken the picture. That perfectly roasted turkey is just waiting for his expertise with the carving knife, and there's the shrimp cocktail on my momma's plate. 

Sometimes someone will pose the question, 'if you could go back to just one day in your childhood which one would you choose?' I might pick this one. 

3. What are some things you find particularly peaceful or calming? 

The lake off season, reading on the porch, a walk in the woods, the sound of a waterfall, waves lapping the shore, and snow falling at dusk. 

4. Is there something you do now that gets you just as excited as it did when you were a child? 

A few things come to mind, but I'm going to say my birthday. Nobody's surprised are they? It's no secret I love my birthday and it's almost here. I mean it will be here in a month, but close enough. I love thinking about the year that's ending and the one I'm running in to. I love hearing from family and friends, love a card in the mailbox, love a new beginning and...

I love my super delicious chocolate cake with the raspberry filling and chocolate ganache overall that hubs gets me every single year. 

5. To what degree are you in touch with friends from grade school? high school? college if you attended college? 

I'm in touch with all of the above to some degree or other. I'm mostly in touch with grade school and high school friends through the miracle of the Internet, but there are some I see in person still from time to time. 

I'm in regular contact 'in real life' with a number of my college friends. We had college friends here last weekend and have more college friends coming to the lake this weekend. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Got a question for you...do you allow anonymous commenters on your blog? What about a commenter with a name and a profile and even a picture, but that's it. They've opted not to share their profile? What about a commenter with nothing more than a name in their profile? 

I've had a couple of these lately and I don't know if they're real bloggers who choose not to share their profile, if they're some sort of scammer, or if they're AI? I don't allow anonymous comments on my blog, but I'm also hesitant to post comments from people who technically have a profile, but I have no clue if they're genuine or it's something sketchy. Your thoughts?