Relaxed and Ready

On Friday, my husband and I made a a quick getaway to St. Augustine, Florida. It is only  about an 1 1/2 hour away.  When we left we did not have a clear plan or destination.

They have the best waffles

    After a quick breakfast, we decided that we would visit and stay at St. Augustine again.  I called Marriott rewards and turned in my voucher for a free night.  We checked into the room and then took of for the "Old City" and the "San Marcos" fort.

Matanzas Bay Lighthouse in distance

We spent most of the afternoon walking around downtown and doing some window shopping.  The streets were not that crowded and the weather was cool, low humidity and breezy. 

The Fort at St Augustine

It was a great day to just relax and enjoy the sites and clear my mind. After a quick dinner, we continued to stroll around the city.  It was getting dark and the "ghost hunting tours" were out in full force.  We did the "walking ghost tour" last time we visited St. Augustine.   So we did not join in any tours officially.

In fact we did our own ghost tour.  The cemeteries were our first stop...

 But we did not capture any "orbs" or unexplained ribbons of light.     It was not for lack of trying.

We then headed back to the fort, which is not open for you to go in but you can walk around the fort and explore it......in the dark if you dare.

We walked the perimeter and did not see any ghosts of those who lived there previously......

But we did see these  two "shadow figures" along the front wall of the fort :)  

Wayne and I

  It was a great time and we are both ready to face the new week with its challenges.  One of which is meeting with Hospice to talk about care for my dad.  Yep.... it's definitely going to be a challenge. 

A big thanks to Carla, Louise and Laura for their support of Operation Christmas Child!!  Thanks ladies, you are the best. 

And check out Carla's latest giveaway!! 

St. Augustine Florida Mini-Vacation

Castillio De San Marcos

We are taking a mini-trip to St. Augustine Florida this weekend.  Is it a spur of the moment decision? If yesterday is spur of the moment, than yes, it is a spur of the moment decision.  My daughter and her husband are celebrating their anniversary and this is where they wanted to go.  Not wanting to be left behind, we are meeting them there this evening. 

How am I going to cut costs on this little adventure?   

• First of all, we are using my Marriott Rewards points for our accommodations.  This will save us over $100.00.  
• The site we chose has "free" breakfast.  Savings here will be $15.00 to $20.00.  (We like to eat)  
• Next, I have packed a cooler with bottled water, Powerade, juice and Soda.  I am also packing a few snacks.   
• Dinner will also be free.  We have gift cards for Carrabba's  and Chili's.  

• My son is house sitting for us, this saves us from putting the dogs in a kennel while we are gone.  They hate the kennel.  
   

Here is what I will be spending money on:

•   Fuel.  Roundtrip is about 250 miles.  That will be about 3/4 a tank of a gas, roughly $40.00 dollars. 
• Ghost Tour of St. Augustine.  $24.00 for two people.  Purchasing ahead of time saved us $4.00. We will be doing this tonight.
• Trolley Tour (daytime) of St. Augustine to include admission to Old Jail, Oldest Schoolhouse, Fountain of Youth, and St. Augustine Museum.  The trolley runs all day and you can get on and off whenever you need to.   Per person $39.00 with pre-purchase discount of $4.00 per person
•  Admission in to the Old Fort.  $7.00 per person.  
• Anything I may have forgot. 

Our visit will be brief. We are returning home tomorrow evening. It is a quick trip and we are going to cram in as much as we can.  This is not our first visit to St. Augustine, but more like our 20th.  It is definitely one of our favorite places to go to.  We never get tired of it. (as you can probably tell)

Hope you all have a great weekend!