Kara's Getaways and Much Much More ~~~~ Where to Go What to Do

I LOVE to Getaway! All kinds of Getaways ~ Girls, Family, Couples, Church, Mother/Daughter, Teacher, Romantic, you name it I am up for it! All these kinds of trips are GOOD for the Soul! Sometimes we are trying to connect with our friends, sometimes our spouse but most importantly is to reconnect with ourselves! Here are some of the trips & ideas I have done in the past ~ Any questions feel free to post ~ I LOVE to TALK Getaways!

Friday, January 28, 2011

Romance in the Sunshine State

Thought I would make the 4th romance post outside of Georgia since I do love to Getaway EVERYWHERE!

Just before this past Thanksgiving while we were in Florida, Chris and I were able to getaway for a quick overnighter to Amelia Island.

(Thanks Mom & Dad for watching the kids!)

Historic Downtown Fernandina Beach

We started our little Romantic Getaway in Downtown Fernandina Beach, Fl. Had lunch right on the water at Brett's Waterway Cafe'. It was such a beautiful day for the fall we found ourselves removing layer after layer sitting in the hot sun ~ nothing a cold Corona Light with a lime couldn't cool down! We shared the Cafe' Chips (homemade potato chips, pulled pork & jalapeno cheese- so yummy as were the fish tacos), while we watched fisherman cleaning their catch after returning from their morning trips. It was fun to see all the birds waiting to be tossed surplus. Even a pelican sat atop the pavilion at the end of the dock. A relaxing way to get us into the groove of being sans kids for 24hrs! Historic Downtown Fernandina Beach is lined with quaint shops and restaurants. We strolled through town a bit, bought some t-shirts for the kids and the best Grandparent gift ever for my parents to say thanks for watching the kids (all four, oh and the dog). click here to see the Tickle Monster Book and Mitts www.josiebissett.com/book_details.php

Anxious to see our B&B - I had been stalking The Elizabeth Pointe Lodge for quite some time on the Internet we headed east towards the ocean. Living in Atlanta and being so landlocked the ocean is a sight for sore eyes. When we pulled up to the Lodge I felt like it had jumped right out of the little fantasy getaway in my head. It is a beautiful establishment that it makes you feel fortunate that you get to stay there ~ LUCKY ME! It reminds me of a hotel you would find on the coast of Maine but it is right here in Florida only about 6 hour drive from Atlanta.

Check-In was a breeze - we were shown the iced tea and lemonade as well as fresh baked chocolate chip cookies that are available all day. The kitchen has a limited menu of sandwiches and desserts that they offer for a nominal charge. You can help yourself anytime to coffee, tea and hot chocolate. One of the things I noticed right away (besides that the cookies were gonna be a problem because they were soooo good) was the cozy fleece blankets that were laid over the back of each of the rocking chairs on the big back deck facing the ocean.

view from back deck and our room

We went up to our beautiful ocean view room on the top floor and unpacked a bit, grabbed a bottle of bubbly, my kindle, two beach towels and headed straight to the second umbrella from the left for the afternoon. We had a scrabble marathon on my kindle and watched the sunset.

view of Elizabeth Pointe Lodge from our seats on the beach

Every evening the Elizabeth Pointe Lodge holds a wine & hors d'oeuvres reception. We headed down after changing from the beach. Helped ourselves to some wine and light appetizers. Walked out to the big back deck where the rest of the guests were gathered most dressed for dinner. Now that the sun had set and it was November it got a bit chilly so those fleece blankets (nice touch) came in handy. We rocked on rockers, watched the MOON RISE up out of the ocean ~ something I don't think I have ever done before. It was funny when we first walked out I said to Chris, "Where is the moon it was full last night? How come we can't find it?". Not two minutes later this HUGE glowing ball just appeared right at the horizon. It was magnificent. We had decided after our big lunch and light apps (& all the cheese, crackers, etc. we packed) we would stay in and watch movies. We did take a moonlit stroll along the ocean before bed. Sleeping with the windows wide open was a treat. When we were watching the movie Chris teased by asking me, "Could you turn down the ocean I can hardly hear the TV."

A large buffet breakfast is served in the bright cheery sun room on the right below. You have the option to eat in there or take it out to the many tables on the expansive wrap around back deck (that is what we did).

After breakfast we packed up & checked out (SO sad that it was only one night far too short) and drove over to the Fort Clinch State Park (Chris is a bit of a history buff). We explored this large well-preserved 19th century fort. I was surprised at how many areas of the fort you are allowed in. Many times when you visit historic sites so much of them are "off limits". There were tunnels, turrets and cannons~ Oh My!

Fort Clinch State Park

Drove back into Fernandina Beach - mind you Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach were so connected that you could hardly tell where one stopped and the other began. I had heard great things about the restaurant 29South...Eats an eclectic little bistro. They are known for their fabulous farm to table cuisine. After a rich lunch of Lobster Macaroni and Cheese with a split of champagne for LUNCH mind you, Chris asked how long it would be before I was asleep on the ride back to mom's?