Yesterday we decided to go into D.C. on our own and do some things we wanted to see that are not included in the tour we are taking on Thursday.  The drive was a little over 2 hours and we went straight to the Reagan Building Underground Parking Garage.  As an added benefit, they had Valet Parking in the Garage which made the parking issue a no-brainer.  On the way up to the ground floor, we stopped for a restroom break and discovered a huge food court and since it was lunch time, that issue was taken care of as well.  We found a place called Bassett’s Turkey where they baked fresh turkey breasts for all their lunch offerings.  Carol and I had Turkey Caesar Salads and Jim had turkey soup and a grilled cheese and turkey sandwich.  We were saving our appetite for something special we had planned for dinner.

About a month ago, they opened a new White House Visitors Center showing background stories on many of the First Family’s stories.

It was well worth the extra trip into D.C..  Did you know that President Grant had a special table made for his Cabinet that had eight locking drawers so that each Cabinet Member could store some of their papers securely.  We  also found out one of the Presidents’ favorite foods was squirrel soup.  I’m not going to tell which one so I don’t spoil the surprise for you when you come to see for yourself.  Pictures below of inside the visitors center.

From there we walked to the National Air and Space museum.

 When we were here in March, this was one of the Smithsonian buildings we didn’t have time to go into.  There was everything from Wilbur and Orville Wright to the most current space flights with details and facts interesting to every flying enthusiast.

Then the long walk back to the Parking Garage.  I can tell you we were bushed!  Unfortunately, we were leaving D.C. right at Rush Hour(s) and what should have taken us 50 minutes took over two hours.  You see we were not headed back to Williamsburg, but heading north to Baltimore to a restaurant owned by the nephew of one of our friends.  The restaurant called “Clementine” has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  I can tell you that I would go back without any hesitation!  A very eclectic menu that changes daily telling a different story with food each day.

We started our story with a Pickle Plate Appetizer that included Bread and Butter pickles, pickled okra, cucumbers pickled in sea salt, pickled tomatoes and pickled cabbage.

Each one was delicious and just the right amount of pickle and crispness.  When our entree’s arrived, they looked so good, we almost forgot to take the pictures.  So please forgive any teeth marks you see on the food.  Jim had a fabulous trout dish, I had lamb chops with spinach and Carol had the best meatloaf I have ever tasted.  I kid you not, it tasted like steak!

After dinner we started the 3 1/2 hour drive back to Williamsburg getting to our Villa around 12:30 a.m.  I assure you we are staying close to home on Wednesday and sitting around drinking coffee for a long time in the morning.

Today is the official start of our newest adventure.  We are spending a week in Williamsburg, Virginia visiting Colonial Williamsburg and Washington D.C.  We have invited Jim’s sister, Carol, to join us and we met yesterday at the Williamsburg Plantation Resort minutes apart.  After looking over all the options for things to do, we attacked the day with a plan for the week and excited to begin this new adventure.

Even though The Weather Channel had promised us sunshine today and delivered drizzling rain, we followed the plan and headed to Colonial Williamsburg.  We were delighted to find that the one day ticket price allows people over 55 years of age to re-enter the area unlimited times between today and December 31st.  This eliminates the need to push ourselves to see all the things available in one day.  Between Jim’s bad knee and Carol’s recent infirmities from a fall, we are in no condition to take on Colonial Williamsburg in one day!

We started with a 35 minute long film depicting the sentiment of the day back prior to the Boston Tea Party and how Thomas Jefferson and John Frye first met when they served their first term in the House of Burgess.  It’s interesting that the film was originally made in 1957 and is still the same film shown today although colorized and digitally enhanced.  The film made me think what would be my stance if I had to make those same decisions today that they had to make back then.  Do you stay true to the “homeland” or opt for something new and better.  Think about that.

As I’m sure you know, there are numerous shops with educational information given by people representing craftsmen of the day.  I got particularly interested in the Jeweler’s Shop because there was a woman working with the silver and cooper.

I asked her if there were really woman silversmiths in the day and I was surprised at her answer.  She said all the trades, include blacksmith, had women working in them.  Back then, things were not as gender specific as they became later on and a child of either sex was sent to apprentice with a craftsman in the field in which they showed talent.  She said there were many women working as blacksmiths and that the craft requires less brute strength than the stereotype.  A silversmith has to be able to strike a hammer within 1/8 of an inch of the spot they intend and a blacksmith has a variance of about 1/2 inch.

She was so informative and I was having fun, but Jim came and got me because it was time to check on our lunch reservation.  Good thing because they had called our name.  We were eating at the King’s Tavern and people were waiting an hour to get in.

We decided to eat our primary meal for lunch and partake of traditional colonial food, which meant a cup of peanut soup garnished with chopped peanuts and sippets.  It tasted just like liquified peanut butter and we were glad we got one cup for the three of us to share.  Our entrees were Chicken Pottage Pye, (their spelling not mine), Fried Chicken with roasted potatoes and baked tomato, and beef with cheese and fries.  All three were delicious and I know this because we shared so we all got a taste of them all.  By the way, the Pottage Pye is a Chicken Pot Pie if you didn’t guess that.

After lunch we went into the wig maker’s shop.

I never realized that back in the day, wigs were custom made for each person by first shaving their heads and making an exact diagram of the individual head to include all bumps and shapes to help a woodcarver make a replica of the head.  That head is what will be used to make the wig and then reshape and dress the wig each time after.  Thomas Jefferson had seven different wigs including white for evening and formal occasions.  Patrick Henry had seventeen.   Their answer for bad hair days!

The balance of the afternoon was spent leisurely walking around and enjoying the area.  Jim took these pictures that we hope you enjoy.

Interior of General Store

Jewelry Store
Bakery a must stop
Pharmacy  Governors Mansion
House along main road of Colonial Williamsburg

Episcopal Church

And we ended the day with a trip to Wawa!

Pictures of our stay during the week at Palm Beach Shores

Entrance  to our villa

View of ocean from our villaNice beach, not crowded at all.  This is a great time to visit this area.

Our dinning destination on Saturday night – Sailfish Marina it was within walking distance of villa.  Below are the dinners we ate, since  we are foodies.

Fried Shrimp Dish

Clams with Linguine

Encrusted Dolphin (Mahi Mahi) with raisin rum sauce

Aerobics class in pool, we both enjoyed.

Sunset at Palm Beach Shores Inlet which was one block from villa.View of Jupiter Lighthouse from Jetty’s Restaurant.  Food was good
 Cruise ship leaving Palm Beach Shores inlet right near our villa
Paella (Spanish food dish) cooking demonstration at villa.  It was good but spicey

Below are pictures from Henry Flagler Museum

Front entrance

Main dinning room
Billiard room
Famous Flagler rail car #91 that Henry traveled in – interior shot below

According to the dictionary, adventure “is an unusual, exciting and possibly dangerous activity, trip or experience”.  A perfect description for this adventure!

The day started off slowly, but by noon Jim and I were on the dock taking a paddle boarding lesson.  Our instructor was a twenty-something young woman without an ounce of fat on her, and I knew immediately I wanted to do this everyday for the rest of my life!

Katie was very energetic, and positive and kept telling us what a good job we were doing.  First some basic lessons on the beach and then into the water went the boards and she helped me get positioned on my knees until I felt steady enough to stand.

 I was getting close to the end of the pier and Jim was standing up  so I decided I should try too.  I stood for a while but when I tried to turn to go back, I hit the water with a SPLASH.  Several problems came next:  first my life vest was not tight around my waist so it was floating up around my face, then my sunglasses were off to the side creating a vision issue and finally trying to hang on to the board and paddle while all this was happening.  To make it more interesting, there were several people on the dock waiting for the ferry to Downtown and even some on the floating raft, all watching.  Later on, Faye told me they were cheering me on but my focus was in the water.  Katie got to me and started instructing me on how to get back on the board.  Her first instruction was to put my hand on the opposite side of the board.  Are you kidding me!  This board is two feet wide and my arm, on it’s best day, is not that long.  She finally settled on the handle in the middle of the board and told me to kick my legs up on the board, but the current was causing my legs to flow under the board.  Eventually, I got back onto the board and stayed on my knees out  toward the cove.  Meantime, Jim is cruising along standing tall like there is no issue.

Katie was showing us two old ruins on either side of the channel and said back when the Danes had possession of the Island, they maintained a big chain across the channel and when an enemy ship tried to come into port, they would pull the chain and bottom out the boat.  Pretty interesting!

I finally got back on my feet and was doing pretty well until the wind kicked up making it hard to turn and back in the water again.  Since I was experienced at this part of paddle boarding, I was able to get myself back up again without too much trouble and actually came back into port standing like I knew what I was doing.  Just for the record, Jim made his own splash at one point and came back into port sitting.

After lunch, we decided to take the ferry into Downtown St. Thomas to see the local sights.  It was pretty hot and many of the shops were closed because there were no cruise ships in port.

At a point where I couldn’t get any hotter and not faint, we came upon Magic Ice touted to be the #1 attraction on TripAdvisor.  For a modest fee you can walk through some ice sculptures in a room maintained at 23 degrees.  Sounded good to me and it reminded me of a miniature Ice Show at Gaylord Palms in Orlando.  There was even a short slide that was fun.

We continued our walk toward French Town because we had dinner reservations at a restaurant named Twisted Cork and we were told we could walk there from Down Town.  The area looked much like you see in most of the Caribbean Islands and back home you would probably be afraid, but we kept walking.  The directions said it was behind the McDonald’s, but Mickey Dee looked very different and we almost missed it.

Still no Twisted Cork.  We called again and decided if we can’t find it soon, we take a taxi back to the Marriott for dinner.  Suddenly there it was.

New plan. Get something to drink and appetizers and make a decision whether or not to stay. We ordered fried calamari in a sweet chili sauce, stuffed mushrooms, and crab Rangoon and all three were fabulous.  We were decided to try desserts and based on the appetizers there was no reason not to.  How does peanut butter mousse with stout chocolate ganache and Cracker Jacks pie, and bourbon maple homemade ice cream sundae with chocolate crunchy things sound?  They were better than the appetizers.  Now that’s my kind of meal and not a bad way to end a day.

Our Water Aerobics instructor must have read my blog yesterday because today she worked us much harder.  She had us jumping around and working out on the steps like she was making up for the soft session yesterday.

Instructor is in black suit looking like Darth Vader

We had a 1 pm appointment to go snorkeling on the catamaran so after drying off and some lunch, we headed over to the Reef’s dock to board the ship.  With Jim’s current knee problem, walking over there turned out to be a slow process for him.  This entire resort is built on the side of the mountain and walking is a challenge to even the strongest legs and knees.

Captain Joe and his crew Matt and Calley got us underway with no problems and off we went on the “barefoot” (no shoes allowed) Cat.

We sailed about an hour and reached  Butler Island where the green turtles like to hang out.  There is also a very cool reef home to many tropical looking fish.  We were  fitted with fins, masks, snorkels, and all important life vests

MG getting ready to go in water, she is sitting on a stuffed turtle.

These were perfect because you could put as much air in as you felt you needed for your size and skill level.  Lanny, Jim, and I went into the water and Faye took the pictures from onboard.  Green turtles stay underwater but need to fill their lungs with oxygen every 8 to 10 minutes so they come to the surface take in some air and return to their underwater activity.  We were cautioned not to interfere with that process because we would be responsible for the drowning of a green turtle.  The water was crystal clear and visibility was awesome.  We saw Tory, the fish from Finding Nemo-type fish, parrot fish, and the list was endless.  We even saw a barracuda!  Jim and I have done this type of trip before and I have to say this was the best and safest we have ever taken.

Lanny and Jim stayed in the water longer than me, but they are both better in the water than me as well.  Once back on board there was the punch and snacks, music and usual chatter.  It turned out that I was sitting next to a man who lives in Alta Loma, where our oldest daughter and her family live.  We started exchanging Vacation Club recommendations and just had a great return trip.  On the way back, Captain Joe gave us an option of a temporary CAT tattoo which I took, even though none of my travelling buddies wanted one.  CHICKEN!View of the resort from the boat as we returned to shore.

We were tired when we got back to the room so we decided to not even change out of our swim suits and just go down to the Sunset Grill by the pool and eat there.  Faye had had a grilled veggie sandwich on Monday for lunch and that sounded perfect to me.

After dinner there were four exhausted old people dragging back to their room looking for showers and beds as soon as possible.  What a fun day!

We found out some interesting things today.  Many years ago, J.W. Marriott visited  St. Thomas staying at a privately owned hotel.  At the end of his stay, reportedly only 5 or 6 six days long, he owned the Holiday Inn and adjoining properties.  Those hotels are now the Frenchmen’s Reef and Morning Star Resorts by Marriott.  Six years ago, the Frenchmen’s Cove Vacation Club was built adjacent to those properties making it a very large campus.

Above is Frenchmen’s Reef below is the cove where we are staying.

As with most Vacation Club locations, each unit is appointed beautifully with stainless steel appliances and granite counters, tile and most amenities anyone would want.

Today is Faye’s birthday and we have a special dinner planned for her.  But there is a lot of day to go through before we get to dinner.  We have a water aerobic class at 10:30 a.m. but it seems it is actually on “island time”.

While we are getting all shriveled up waiting for the instructor, we started watching this woman covered from head to toe in some sort of sun protective gear.  I’m sure you’ve seen them.  They look like a light weight wet suit with long sleeves and legs and high collar.

In addition to this, she had on a BIG brimmed hat (also not unusual for people who can’t be exposed to the sun) but she had what looked like yellow plastic boxes on here feet and webbed gloves.  This, as it turns out, is our instructor.  I have to say, the workout was not as hard as walking the hills between the levels although we will probably go back again tomorrow.

Noon was our scheduled Paddle Boarding  class, but it got postponed to Friday so we just hung out by the pool and relaxed.  Faye and I are getting pretty good at the crossword puzzles in the daily newspaper reprint.

So far, we have successfully completed three out of three which only proves my philosophy of “none of us is as smart as all of us”.

We scheduled a presentation with the Vacation Club folks in exchange for free tickets on the Snorkeling Catamaran, so off we went.  Not a bad deal for 90 minutes of our time and the folks are not the high pressure, obnoxious folks normally associated with time share sales.  Actually, Jim and I discovered some information we didn’t know and will be able to use our membership more efficiently going forward.  Worth the time.

Back to the villa and ready for our special dinner.  Attention all foodies.  This is for you.  We went to Room with a View Restaurant in the Bluebeard’s Castle high on a hill not far from the hotel.

Being one of the first to arrive, we had a choice of tables and chose one with a panoramic view of the port downtown and the Reef point.

 We also had a great view of the sunset.

Our dinner started off with one of the best tomato bruschetta appetizers I have ever tasted.  I could have easily ordered a second, but all our eating is starting to catch up to us.  Our waiter recommends two options; rum marinated roasted pork medallions with banana chutney and fresh yellow tail snapper with lemon, capers and herbs and butter white wine sauce.  Since we couldn’t decide, Jim ordered the pork and I ordered the snapper.  He opted for red potatoes as his side and I ordered penne pasta with garlic and olive oil, perfect complement with the capers.

Remember we won a free dessert from this restaurant at the vendor fair on Monday night, but none of us had much space left to put dessert.  Our waiter, Joe, who had done a fabulous job so far talked us into a Banana Mango Flambe’ made with rum, brown sugar, butter and toasted fresh coconut over vanilla ice cream saying it was perfect size to share and very light.  You know what they say, there’s always room for ice cream (or is that Jello?) We could see it being made as we sat at our table with flames burning off the alcohol, but we had no idea it would taste so good.  Joe was spot on again.

Back to the Villa to finish today’s crossword.  Can’t afford to ruin our record!

Cruise ship arriving in St. Thomas

Before we left the room this morning, we saw three Carnival Cruise ships enter  the harbor, so we knew this was not the day for exploring downtown.  We decided to take a shuttle over to the adjacent Marriott property called Morning Star Resort and enjoy their quiet pool and beach.

It’s located around the cove from where we are and gets more of the breezes but the water is the same luscious aqua blue.  It just happens that this pool is right next to Coco Joe’s Restaurant so lunch was all taken care of too.

Lunch consisted of blackened mahi mahi on brioche bread with grilled onions, fried plantains and some kind of sauce.  Lanny wanted to eat light so he ordered soup and salad.  As it turned out the Kallaloo Soup is meal all by itself and the half salad was huge.  Guess who wasn’t going to be hungry at dinner!

We left the Morning Star pool in time to clean up for dinner at a restaurant back at the Morning Star.  This is more of an upscale restaurant called the Havana Blue with a beautiful spot right on the water.  The Caribbean knows how to do open air dining so well with flowing drapes of white linen and perfect lighting. What can I say, I’m just a sucker for these kinds of places.

Their special of the evening was a 12 oz lobster and 8 oz filet mignon with three sides.  I can’t imagine one person eating that much food at one sitting and had to ask if he ever had people order that.  The waiter told me he serves at least five a night.  While we were eating dinner we watched the cruise ships leaving port.  Who knew we would become such ship watchers on this trip.

We opted for something a little more manageable for dinner like Mango Salsa Sea Bass with Mancheno Potato Foam and Garlic Spinach.  It was light and very delicious, but I have to tell you about these potatoes.  They take mashed potatoes and Mancheno cheese and shoot it out of a whip cream canister to create this light fluffy foam and then top it with a light drizzle of truffle reduction.  If it wasn’t such a fancy place, I might have tried to lick the bowl. Oh My Gosh!

After dinner, we went to the Marriott Frenchmen’s Reef Hotel to see how the other half is living.  I decided, I like our half better.  The Villas are more comfortable and warm compared to the formality of a hotel.  I even think our swimming pool is nicer with more character. We were able to see some of the “super moon” as it came up over the mountain.

Tomorrow is a big day for us so we better rest up.

It was time for some exercise given all the great food we have been eating.  We read about two bicycle trails nearby that are becoming part of the Georgia Rail Trail so we thought we would check them out.  These Rail Trails are all over the country and are basically old CSX railroad tracks converted to biking/walking trails.  We have one near Ocala that runs from Dunnellon all the way to Floral City.

The first piece of the trail starts in Woodbine, about 15 miles north of St Marys.  It starts at the river and runs south for 3 miles.

The City did a very nice job of converting this trail with historical markers and the Women’s Club is maintaining bird feeders all along the trail to encourage birds.

Gazebo along bike path with bird feeders

Unfortunately we saw more squirrels than birds at the feeders.  There was even a marker talking about the hobos who rode the railways in the 18th and 19th centuries including one who frequented Woodbine on a regular basis.  He was killed one year jumping off the train and the city fathers moved his grave to a spot near the trail in honor of his history.

The next piece of trail was longer, 3.5 miles each way and started in White Oak just north of Woodbine.  From what we could see, White Oak consist of a Post Office

and some homes, which explains why their section of trail is nowhere near as good as Woodbine’s.  It’s not even paved but only gravel, sand, and pot holes.  We lasted about 1/2 mile and turned around fearful for our tires and fillings!

We drove back to St Marys hoping for crepes and scones at the Mad Hatter but they were closed so we settled for the Blue Goose instead.  Check out this picture of Goosed Turkey sandwich on multi-grain bread with apple slices, Cheddar cheese, and peach mango tango preserves with an apple walnut salad with goat cheese, cranberries, bacon and orange maple dressing.

Not bad but it looked and sounded better than it tasted.  The patio table was so pleasant though, we lingered longer than necessary.

Back to the RV and we finished with another ride through the Crooked River State Park.  It’s amazing for such a lovely park, there are no people staying there. The campsites and cottages always look empty.

We ended the day with dinner at Shark Bites again.  I had to have one of those wild caught ground gator burgers with provolone cheese and remoulade sauce.  I chose collard greens as my side dish and they were some of the best I’ve ever had.  There was to be music in the park on Saturday night but a storm came and it was cancelled.

We did see a rainbow after the storm giving us a perfect ending to our short stay in St Marys.  Tomorrow we head back to Ocala and reality.