Daytona Beach FL November 2017
Saturday
Six Word Saturday
Packed up and on the road at 9:45 for the 3+ hour drive to Daytona Beach, where we have never been. We are taking an extra day going home so we can stop in Savannah tomorrow.
Click here for more photos of Daytona Beach.
First item - lunch!
Joe's Crab Shack is on the Pier.
Crabs!
We checked in and then went for a walk. The check in process was flawless thanks to Ms. Love. Out room was modern and had an ocean view.
From our hotel room.
To the right our souls were being saved by megaphone.
To the left there was a wedding and a little further they were doing a concert in the amphitheater, all accompanied by the sound of the ocean.
Sunday
Sunrise over the Atlantic.
We get complimentary breakfast as Honors Gold and this Hilton does a Sunday Buffet for an additional $6 per person which includes a mimosa. What a deal!!
Seriously I had prime rib for breakfast! And strawberries for dessert.
John went traditional with an omelet.
On the road with lots of traffic as people headed north bound home after American Thanksgiving.
About 30 km outside of Savannah we hit a massive traffic jam but luckily the car GPS was suggesting a different route so we took that.
We arrived at the Hilton Garden Inn Historic District at 2 PM. Yikes, valet parking $30! The hotel is under renovation and we were given one of their newly renovated rooms, nice!
Time for a walk! By 2:15 we were out walking. What a gorgeous city!
Click here for more Savannah.
We were told that there was an elevator by City Hall to go down to the Riverside so we headed that way.
Monday
Monday Mural
Foto Tunes it's our wedding anniversary!
Wordless
After a satisfying hot breakfast at the hotel we were in the car at 8:45.
As soon as we crossed the bridge we were in South Carolina.
Completed in March 1991, the new Talmadge Memorial cable-stayed bridge replaced the old Talmadge cantilever truss bridge (built in 1953), which had become a danger for large ships entering the Port of Savannah, home to the largest single ocean container terminal on the U.S. eastern seaboard, and the nation's fourth-busiest seaport.
Click here for 1980 and 1994 South of the Border photos.
John will always mention that he and my Mom had the best black bean soup there in 1980.
We decide on a side trip to Mount Airy, home of Andy Griffith.
Click here for all things Mayberry in Mount Airy.
Mount Airy
Originally known as the Earle many years ago, the theater was built in 1938 by Earl Q. Benbow and Percy A. Boone who also owned the Grand Theater across the street. The cinema gained considerable national attention when it was selected to present the premiere of the Shirley Temple film “Just Around the Corner” in 1938. On March 22, 1940, the cinema hosted one of the southern premieres of “Gone With The Wind.” In 1958, the premiere of “A Face in the Crowd,” Andy Griffith’s first movie, was featured at the Earle.
We stayed in the Hampton in Max Meadows VA, not one of their better locations.
The only delivery for dinner was Papa John's pizza so we walked next door to the Happy Cinco de Mayo Mexican Grill and picked up fajitas and carne asada.
Tuesday
Tuesday Treasures
After a mediocre breakfast at the Hampton we headed to Grove City PA.
Click here for our 2014 Grove City visit.
A quick stop in Flatwoods WV for cheese curds and yogurt almonds. They sold a lot of interesting Amish products.
And some interesting cheeses!
We checked into the Hampton in Grove City, turns out we'd stayed here a few years ago, according to TripAdvisor! Lovely service and rooms.
We headed over to the factory outlets. I ended up with three pairs of underwear, woo hoo! John got 2 pairs Nike pants, two sweaters and three long sleeved t-shirts.
We ordered pizza from
Pizza Joe's. John had the gluten free crust and proclaimed it the best ever!
Click here to see Grove City in 2014.
Wednesday
Shock as the first thing I see in the news is Matt Lauer!
After a good breakfast at the Hampton we get on the road and head home, thankfully uneventful.
We got home around 1 and spent the rest of the day unpacking.
Then steak and salad for dinner.
Thursday
Thursday Doors
I wandered downtown.
First there were the decorations at the Royal York.
Then crazy shoes in The Bay. Check out the moose in the background.
Christmas decorations in The Bay, Canadian geese dressed up for the holidays.
In 1979 Michael Snow was commissioned to do a sculpture called Flightstop consisting of a number of Canada geese in flight in the atrium of the Toronto Eaton Centre.
More festive decorations.
The replacement bridge is now open between the Eaton Centre and The Bay.
Then a stop at Longo's as John requested oven fried chicken for dinner. I also scored on a turkey breast on sale for $3.99 a pound and turkey backs for soup at $2 a pack.
Home to make turkey soup!
We also have the painters starting on Friday so started removing pictures that we don't want to put back up in the same spot. Also moved some of the more delicate knick knacks.
Friday
Friday Finds
Weekend Reflections
Painters are here! John took 3 bags and some paintings to Goodwill. And bought a new shredder to replace the one that kicked the bucket. So more stuff will get cleared out!
This is a great excuse to rearrange and declutter more.
We're doing the whole place the same colours.
When John reconnected the phone/cable/internet nothing worked so they will come on Saturday.
BOOKS
Not much reading done. I started
Dark Corners Ruth Rendall.
I also started
The Keeper Luke Delaney. It is so annoying when in the first three chapters he uses the expression "red eyes broken capillaries" three times!
And every time he uses "a couple" which is very often it is printed as a-couple.
It is quite sexually blatant so be warned.
The characters are not that well developed and I am sorry that I had no sympathy for the other detective, Sally.
I will finish it.
SHARING WITH:
Friday Photo Journal
