Hurrication – …on the B.L.

St. Augustine

October 4, 2018October 4, 2018 RaeAnna

After the Miami part of our trip (read here), Alex and I headed to St. Augustine, Florida. I have been hearing about this place for so long. My bestest friend, Kelsey, has named it her favorite place. As the good friend I am, I went without her.

I had no idea what there was to do or see or eat in St. Augustine. Other than it exists on a beach. I was told to go to Castillo de San Marcos. Beyond that, we were continuing the no plan theme indefinitely. The first day, I had a ton of work to get done. Alex was tired. We decided to grab food and drive around just enough to see what there was to do. Very exciting stuff… I was in bed by 9:30.

The birds watching for fish in the ocean.

On the second day, we went to the big, old fort. Castillo de San Marcos is very old and very cool. It started out as a Spanish fort because St. Augustine used to be a Spanish colony. As the land changed hands so did the fort. It was changed and expanded and all sorts of fun stuff. Unfortunately, like most super old, historic buildings, there was no air conditioning. This may come as a surprise, but Florida is super hot. We were dumb and decided to tour during the hottest part of the day. Fortunately, it started to rain. We wandered around the downtown – honestly, I don’t know if it’s the downtown area – or the historic area of St. Augustine. It’s so pretty. There is a college. The dorm is a reworked luxury hotel… It’s not fair. Actually, it is a disservice to those “poor” college students. They will never live somewhere that nice ever again. So ha!

You can’t wander very far from the ocean. As we walked back to the car after bopping around town and being jealous of the privileged college students, we walked along the water. Things kept jumping out of the water. I couldn’t decide if it was a dolphin or fish or shark or what have you. We sat on the wall next to Castillo de San Marcos watching the birds hunt for fish. It turned out big fish were corralling little fish against the walls and rocks for. I saw my first live jelly fish in the wild. It was really interesting to watch.

We were actually supposed to leave after our second full day, but Hurricane Florence did not cooperate. The roads leading back to Jacksonville, North Carolina, where I was flying out of, were closed. I was unable to make my flight the following day. Once that was rescheduled, we extended our stay in St. Augustine’s by a day.

The super cool college dorm that’s setting expectations too high.

Our last day was a beach day. Before the beach, we stopped at a cute little coffee shop in the historic district. Then, we grabbed some sushi. I have a terrible tendency to eat a lot before going to the beach… Not good for bikini pictures, folks. Don’t do what I do. Alex and I played in the waves. I was hit in the chest by a jumping fish. He taught me -unsuccessfully – how to do a Marine take down thing. I ate some sand practicing. I should just practice my run away tactic. I feel that would have a higher success rate. Anyways… The beach was beautiful. The ocean was green-blue. The water was warm. I got sand in all my naughty bits.

St. Augustine was a really fun addendum to our trip. I would go back in a heartbeat for the architecture alone.

Travel, Travel Guides

A Fabulous Disaster

September 29, 2018June 25, 2019 RaeAnna

Angel Oak, a 400 year old tree, in Charleston.

I am a planner. I like having plans. No. I love having plans. They make me feel safe and comfortable and, you know, like I have a plan.

This vacation was not off to smooth sailing in the plan department. I was going to visit Alex in North Carolina to celebrate ten days of his much deserved leave from the Marines. (I know, he’s a bad-ass.) As things go with the military, leave was o.k.ed by the peeps in charge nine days before I hopped on a plane. The month leading up to, he was on a boat with minimal contact, so these non-plans were made through one email a day. Due to the surprising hurricane, which was most definitely not included in the vacation, he almost didn’t make it off the boat. So we made tentative plans to head to Savannah and Charleston for vacation. That was the plan when I got off the plane. Literally.

Alex met me at the airport on a Tuesday in Jacksonville, North Carolina; it’s an hour north of Wilmington, North Carolina: the hub of hurricane-desimation. I got off the plane. We hopped in his beater of a car. He packed a bag at the barracks. We were evacuating within an hour of wheels on the ground. We were NOT going to be stuck in the eye of the storm for ten days.

Before we get started on this story, I want you to keep in mind two things: 1) I was working 40 hours a week. 2) The condition of Alex’s car. He bought a beater after one of his deployments. Traveling in it was potentially more worrisome than the hurricane. It could fall apart at any moment. I’m not joking. (It did not fall apart. It made it like the confident hunk-a-junk it is.) This car does NOT have A/C. I repeat. NO air conditioning. In the South. On a roadtrip. In Miami. Yikes. Hot as dragon balls.

The beautiful circular staircase at Vizcaya.

First stop: We were exhausted, so we stopped at the first hotel – if it can be called that – we saw in Myrtle Beach. The next day, we woke up and headed for Waffle House. It’s a roadtrip must for me! I grabbed my laptop, and as I dug into a pecan waffle and cheesy eggs, I started looking up Air BnB’s. Alex filled me in on the hurricane, the stock market, politics, and other things I almost care about. I’m kidding. I care a little. All the Air BnB’s were expensive. I’m a budget traveler, and Alex makes me look lavish. He found a hotel in Jacksonville for a steal. The pictures and Google reviews made it look acceptable. Spoiler: It wasn’t.

We ended up leaving Jacksonville after the first night because there were bugs, and I got bit up. I have PTSD; one of the triggers for me is bugs because I had an unfortunately extended run-in with bed bugs in high school. After a good cry in a moldy shower, we headed to the place where all problems are solved. Starbucks. I texted my savior, I mean best friend. She works at Hilton and is an Art History grad student. There is this awesome Hilton Honors Friends & Family discount through which she saved my vacation and mental sanity in one fell swoop. Unfortunately due to the hurricane, there were no affordable hotels in the area. On a whim, I looked up rooms in Miami. They were super inexpensive. Instead of doing a Charleston and Savannah trip, we decided to head to Miami for five days.

I love Miami. It’s such a fun city. One of our friends from college – a fraternity brother of Alex’s – lives in Miami, so we had to see him. The hotel was fabulous. Thank you Kelsey. In Miami, we saw Vizcaya, Little Havana, Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, and a couple bars. It was a blast. Never did I think I would evacuate a hurricane TO Florida. Read about that trip here!

As our time in Miami began to fade, we needed to figure out what we would do with our last four days. One of Kelsey’s favorite places is St. Augustine, Florida, and I’ve heard her talk about it for years. We decided to head there. That discount hooked us up again for two days! There we went to the Castillo de San Marcos. I did a lot of eating. We toured around the pretty town. The hurricane damage and flooding had not abated, so we extended our stay a day to enjoy the beach.

I called Delta a few times while in St. Augustine. The Jacksonville airport kept losing power, so no flights were leaving or arriving. The roads to Jacksonville were also not open due to flooding. Even if the airport was open, I couldn’t get there. Luckily, Delta was super helpful and rescheduled my Friday flight to Monday. Hurrication extended!

Where to next? Well, Charleston got us five hours closer to the airport, and I wanted to go. There’s so much to do there, but I didn’t know anything to do. Holy smokes it is gorgeous! Other than seeing the Angel Oak, Alex and I pretty much just walked around the city! It reminded me of New Orleans in a lot of ways. I will be back to explore more.

I made it back to Jacksonville on Saturday night. On Sunday, we drove around town and to the marina on base to see the hurricane damage. It was definitely something.

My flight took off as replanned on Monday afternoon.

There was no plan. At all. The entire trip. The only thing planned was the date and time of my flight. One of which was moved. It ended up being a blessing we didn’t have plans because the hurricane would have ruined them anyways. I’m glad I had this fabulous disaster of a non-planned vacation with Alex because he thrives in chaos and truly enjoys watching me be uncomfortable. I don’t know if I would do it again intentionally, but it is one of the most fun trips I’ve had, though, equally stressful.

Alex and I at Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine.

Experiences, Travel

Week in Hot Springs Village

September 10, 2017September 8, 2019 RaeAnna

I’m getting around to this post so late!!! I’ve been busy with life. There’s no other excuse.

I ended up going to Hot Springs Village because of Hurricane Harvey hitting Houston hard. I like to call this time my hurrication. Luckily, my grandparents live six and half hours away in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. I planned on being there for three days. Unfortunately, I ended up staying nine days. Oh well! I had lots to keep me busy, and many books were read while I was away.

Hot Springs Village is a gated golfing community twenty minutes outside of Hot Springs. It’s a beautiful area. My grandparents moved there from New Orleans when I was fifteen. They’re always surprised I love visiting them. It’s a golfing community, and I hate golfing. The residents are mostly retired, so no distracting activities for a young person. The entire time I’m there, I entertain myself by walking in the mountains and reading. So mostly reading because I’m not a huge fan of exercise. It’s really a reader’s paradise. So much outdoor space and very few people make for a fabulous back drop for a reading marathon.

If you get bored of reading inside or around the village, you can always wander your way into Hot Springs, which is full of fun things to do.

Hot Springs is a tourist town with lots of national parks to adventure through. Hot Springs is a city with quite the history. It was first explored in 1673. The land was a part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Prudhomme became the first settler of what would become Hot Springs in 1807. In 1818, the United States gained the land from the Quapaw tribe; you can find many businesses and landmarks named after the Quapaws including a Bathhouse. Hot Springs was a renowned destination for bathers drawn to the healing thermal waters bubbling up from the underground springs. An area of downtown Hot Springs became known as Bathhouse Row for their beautiful spas. During the Civil War, there was a decline in bathers coming to the springs, and many citizens of the city fled as troops neared Little Rock. Post-Civil War era saw a surge in population as the city rebuilt and expanded. In the early 20th century, Hot Springs was attractive to the rich and famous, as well as, the rich and infamous. It became a hotbed for gangsters and illegal gambling.

Hot Springs is now a tourist destination attracting those who want a piece of Americana and to experience the lovely spas fed by the hot springs. The architecture in historic Hot Springs is absolutely gorgeous. Only a few bathhouses are still functional, but many still stand and house museums, shops, and even a brewery. I have experienced the spas at the Quapaw Bathhouse, and they are gorgeous! The floor in the basement is warm because of the heat radiating from the springs, which run underneath the ground.

I love shopping in the historic district. I can’t go to Hot Springs without frequenting the Bathhouse Soapery. Though they ship and have other stores, they are headquartered in Hot Springs. There shop is beautiful, light, and smells like heaven. Their products are the only ones I use! There’s a great candy store next door called Pour Some Sugar on Me Sweet Shoppe. It was definitely difficult for me to leave without handing them my wallet because of my addiction to sweets! There’s a great place called The Pancake House. It’s only open until 12:45 pm, so get there early. I highly recommend the sausage; it’s homemade. There are gorgeous fountains throughout the historic district fed by the springs; you can see steam rising off the water. The historic Arlington Hotel is a must see. It’s huge and you can’t miss it!

If you’ve had enough of the historic district, there is more than enough to do for the outdoorsy folks. Hot Springs is surrounded by the Ouachita Mountains. Everywhere you look you’ll find gorgeous views of the mountains and forests. Lake Ouachita is amazing for those who enjoy the water! It’s huge, and you could spend days exploring it. It’s great for those who want a break from technology. There is no reception in that area… At least, for me anyways. If you’re into kayaking, this is an amazing destination. There is also Hot Springs National Park, which is awe inspiring.

Arkansas may not be at the top of everyone’s must see list, but Hot Springs is a beautiful place to visit, relax, and read. It has good food, good views, and enough history and activities to keep everyone happy. If you’re every in the area, let me know! I’m happy to lend a suggestion or twelve.