Amavida

I'm sitting in Amavida, an independent coffee shop on the beach in Seaside, FL.  Amavida is part of the same coffee purchasing cooperative as Bongo Java (I did my homework before we left for vacation).  Joe is napping in the stroller beside me.  There's a nice vibe in Amavida, which is a must for a good coffee shop, in my view.

Yep, this is one of those interludes I wrote about yesterday.  Peaceful, quiet and relaxing.  Always puts me in a contemplative mood.  I guess if I ever decided to become a writer, I would have to borrow toddlers to use as my muses.  I could stroll them around town for their afternoon naps and sit down and write for a couple of hours as soon as they fell asleep.

Time to hit some highlights of our vacation (in no particular order) - Santa Rosa Beach '13.

J.P. and Joe playing church with the "crosses" (brooms), walking up and down the from the kitchen to the den and back, as Jude sings "Here I Am Lord" or "I Am the Bread of Life."  The boys hold the brooms high, like the cross entering and exiting St. Patrick at the beginning and end of our Sunday church service.  The best part is when Jude sings "Hallelujah," Joe yells, "Aaaaaahhh!"  It's really funny.

Joe sitting on the first step of the swimming pool near our house in Old Florida Village, playing in the water with Jude watching attentively beside him.  J.P. did the exact same thing, on the same step and in the same pool, 4 years ago.  Talk about dejavu.

Spotting a sting ray swimming in the ocean, near the shore, as J.P. and I were about to wade out to the sand bar.  It was prehistoric looking and rather large.  I think my stepping on it would  have put a real damper on our trip.

As is our custom, swimming in the pool with J.P. after my morning run.  That's probably the part of the trip I look forward to the most, just spending an hour or so of quality time with J.P. and having the pool all to ourselves.

My morning runs on the trail I discovered a couple of years ago, which runs around Draper Lake, then across 30A onto a set of sandy roads (almost like logging roads) in the back of a housing development.

Dinner with Jude and the boys at La Playa (formerly Smiling Fish) on 30A, with a view of the ocean.

Jude and Joe heading out for a walk only to return in a matter of minutes, Jude urging J.P. and I to  come outside to see something really cool.  Jude had found a hermit crab walking down the street, shell and all.  J.P. was fascinated by it and he and Jude repatriated it to a safe place.

Having pizza at The Pickle Factory in Grayton Beach.  Amazing, New York style (thin crust) pizza in a Green Bay Packers themed hole in the wall.  A real find for us and somewhere we're definitely going to return to in the future.  The only down side to our dinner there was trying to block J.P.'s view of the flat screen television on which the season finale (last year) of "Breaking Bad" was playing.  My favorite show, but no his, at least not yet.

Playing "Sorry" with J.P. and him trash talking me.  I beat him twice, much to his dismay.

A quiet afternoon at Wine World in Seaside with Joe napping beside me, as I sat at the bar, had a glass of wine, and read a long form piece by Bill Simmons on the "The Eagles."

Getting caught in a rainstorm during a 4 mile run to Blue Mountain Beach.  No thunder or lightning, just a lot of rain.  A "scrap book run," one I'll remember for a long time.

Playing hide and seek with J.P. in "the Cracker Club," the top floor of our house ("Cracker Jack") where J.P. slept in 1 of 2 bunk beds.  His cackle as he found me hiding underneath 2 bean bag chairs made me smile, then laugh.

Ducking out of the rain and into the Great Southern Cafe in Seaside and settling in at the outside bar, while Joe slept beside me in the stroller.  I had a glass of wine and struck up a conversation with the the  bartenders.  After Joe woke up, I got him some mile and we browsed in Sundog Books.  A perfect afternoon.