Gulf Coast arrival

Wednesday, June 6 – After travelling almost 1900 miles, we made it to the Gulf Coast!  Ok, so Panama City, Florida may not be the most genteel of the places we’ve seen on this trip, but it definitely has a gorgeous beach.   Can’t believe we’re in the home stretch.


The surf was a little churned up do to weather, so the red flag was flying.  However, the white sand was cool and the 80+ degree water was so refreshing.

Florida State Capitol

Wednesday, June 6 - This morning we hit our fourth and final state capitol here in Florida.  A few interesting things about it:  The old State Capitol was almost torn down in the 1970s when they built the new high-rise capitol behind it.  Preservationists prevailed, and they restored the building to it's 1902 configuration shortly after.

Also interestingly, we keep encountering commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts.  They had an entire exhibit in the Capitol dedicated to the history of Girl Scouts in Florida.  Sandy was in seventh heaven.

Crossfit in Tallahassee

Wednesday, June 6 - Ok, despite what people are saying, I do not have a Crossfit addiction.  This is only the 4th time I've gone in almost two weeks.  I repeat, I do not admit that I have a problem...  Plus, it's added a fun new twist to the road trip.  So far, each of the four times have been in a different state: Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.

Had another great workout, this time with Coach Sean at Crossfit Black Box in Tallahassee.  It was a partner workout, and my partner Jorge was also in from out of town.  Coincidentally, Sean told me that he actually gets contacted regularly by people thinking that they are contacting my home gym, Crossfit NYC - The Black Box.

 Thanks, Sean!

Dinner in Tallahassee

Tuesday, June 5 – The great news about Tallahassee is that we have a friend, John, who lives here.  The bad news is that he’s out of town.  However, John did give us some great recommendations on where to go.  The first was a restaurant called Cypress, within walking distance of our hotel.  The dinner was fantastic.  The ingredients were all fresh and local, and everything was made in house.  The salads were so fresh.  I got the seafood special, a peanut-encrusted pan-seared red grouper.  Sandy got a the appetizer-sized pizza.  Both great.  Dessert was the best part.  Sandy got the flourless chocolate cake, and I got the special dessert:  strawberry and blueberry shortcake with a Grand Marnier sauce.  The shortcake was amazing – so light, with a little cinnamon and sugar.  Great suggestion, John!

Right across the street from Cypress was a sign for the Up In Smoke Pit Bar-B-Q.  It was a sign just asking to be noticed:  it has smoke coming out of the top of it.  Classic.

John also recommended that we check out the rooftop bar at the Hotel Duval, also just a couple of blocks away.  It's a very cool boutique hotel that's been around since the 1950s, and was recently restored.  The rooftop has a great view of downtown Tallahassee.  (You can see the top of the dome of the Old State Capitol in the distance.)

Car Swap

Tuesday, June 5 -  After driving 1,772 miles, something was bound to happen.  The CHANGE ENGINE OIL SOON indicator came on.  What should we do?  Just keep driving and hope all’s OK?  No, probably not a good idea with about 560 miles to go.  We called Hertz.  When they answered, the first thing they asked was “are you safe?”  Nice protocol.  They gave us two options: take the car in for an oil change, or swap it.  We chose to swap.  It’s a bit of a gamble, because you don’t know what type of car you’ll get, and it upsets the groove…  You’ve got the packing and unpacking of the trunk down to a science; all nooks, crannies, and cupholders have been assigned and allocated; the XM satellite radio is being put to good use; it’s a white car with a light interior, which is perfect for the southern heat.  They told us we could swap in Tallahassee at the airport, since that was our destination for the evening. 

It’s a small airport, so we suspected our car choices would be limited.  We were right. We took note of what was in the lot before heading inside.  There was a Chevy Malibu, a couple of Camrys, and what we thought was a new Chevy Impala.  The Impala would be good, because it looked like it had satellite radio and it was a newer car than the Impala we had.  Good.  Turns out the Hertz guy didn’t have that car in the system, and the only other car he had with satellite was the Malibu.  OK, we’ll check it out. 

Scene: Back in the lot.

Malibu is definitely a step down.  Trunk is smaller.  We need to get that Impala. 

Scene: Back at the Hertz desk.

Ken: “Can we get the Impala in slot 40?”

Hertz guy: “Sorry, that’s a Malibu, too.”

Sandy: “No it’s not.  It’s an Impala”

Scene: Ken running back to the lot to check slot 40.

It’s a Malibu.  (Takes picture to prove it.)

Scene: Back at the Hertz desk.

Ken (to the Hertz guy): “You’re right, it’s a Malibu.”

Sandy: “What? Aw, I thought it said Impala on the back of the car!  Crap.  Malibu is a step down.”

Now, the big decision:  Satellite radio vs. better car (Camry).

Cue the “Jeopardy” music...

Camry it is.  Good news: both Camrys are 2012, so they’re new.  We’ll survive without satellite radio, since we really only have 2 driving days left.

Scene: In the Camry.

There’s a USB jack!  We can plug the iPod directly into the car’s touchscreen audio system.  All is well with the world again.  Welcome to Tallahassee!

Osceola National Forest

Tuesday, June 5 - As you probably know by now, we love National Parks.  So, when we entered the Osceola National Forest along I-10, we were pretty happy to snap a picture of this sign as we pulled off at a rest area.  While we didn't take time to enjoy the forest - we did read the displays about the wildlife that were at the rest area - we did enjoy the rest area...

One other notable sign that we weren't fast enough to catch...  We crossed of the Swanee River - yes THAT Swanee River, "Way down upon the..."!  There was a really nice sign on the interstate with musical notes on it.  Oh well, maybe we'll get it next time.  We did sing a few bars though...

Morning on the Beach

Tuesday, June 5 – We were up and on the beach on Amelia Island by 9am.  It was already sunny and hot – 75 and very humid.  I went for a run on the beach (that speck in the distance in the first picture below is me running), and Sandy walked and enjoyed all of the shells on the beach.  It’s a really “shelly” beach.

Evening in Fernandina Beach

Monday, June 4 – We arrived at the Ritz-Carlton on the beach a little late, and after some room-jockying, we headed out to dinner at a little place in downtown Fernandina Beach called 29 South.  My sister and brother-in-law had eaten there a couple of times when they stayed here for a week earlier this year.  Sorry, I don’t have any pictures of the dinner or restaurant…  It was dark and raining when we got there, but the meal was great.  I had a pan-seared Mahi on a bed of lima bean succotash, and Sandy had the chef’s special pizza.