Summer Vacation 2022

June 3, 2022

My vacation began on Friday May 28th as soon as I logged out of my company pc. If I am off work, I feel like I am in vacation mode. However, this one would be special because I wouldn’t be returning to work for 10 days.

LB and I had an appointment on Saturday afternoon, and a graduation event to attend on Sunday afternoon. On Monday, May 30th, the kids came over to enjoy hamburgers and pool time. It was a beautiful, sunny day!Summer has begun!

Then on Tuesday afternoon, LB and I kissed Elvis goodbye and headed to St. Petersburg

Treasure Island

by the time we arrived it was raining and we were starving.

It is typical for us to look for a Mexican restaurant when we are out of town. We found Grand Hacienda Mexican Cuisine not far from our hotel. After fasting all day, it was a much needed treat!

Wednesday, June 1st

I was awakened to the sound of Ronnie Milsap singing “Happy Happy Birthday Baby” on LB’s iPhone. LB had put together a ‘Kimberly’s Birthday Playlist’ to serenade me while he presented birthday gifts.

The favorite had to be

The Green Purse

I’m spoiled.

We spent the entire day at the beach.

There were occasional grey clouds, but overall the weather was perfect. The water was a beautiful jade green which is why I like the ocean on the west coast of Florida. It is much prettier than the brown ocean on the east coast. We stayed under the umbrella for the most part, and used sunscreen, but still managed to get a slight sunburn.

After a day at the beach, LB wanted to go out for a nice dinner. We went to the Middle Grounds Grill.

I can’t recommend this place enough. If you are in St. Petersburg, go to the Middle Grounds Grill!

Dinner was unbelievable!

We packed up to head home on Thursday, but stopped in Live Oak to check out some property for sale. As it turned out, the land was great, but the surroundings not so much. Lesson: never buy ANYTHING sight unseen!

On Thursday night, LB had made plans for us to attend the Happy Together Tour at the Florida Theater.

We had a great time!And there’s still 3 more days of vacation to go!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites ~ Birthday Edition

June 8, 2018

June brings with it another birthday for myself and several others in my family (subject for another post).

Because this week has pretty much been all about birthdays, I’m sharing a special edition of my Friday Favorites!

Favorite # ONE

Babies and Birthday Cake

Although my birthday falls on June 1^st, the party begins on the evening of May 31^st. This year Mama made good on her promise and prepared biscuits and gravy (as only she can) for a special birthday dinner.

Followed by dessert…Several family members joined us at her home to celebrate.Two sweet babies were among the group.

LB snapped these photos with Rory and Lydia while I opened the gifts that were so graciously given to me.

While Lydia enjoyed seeing Glammy’s Birthday cards and gifts, Rory wasn’t quite as excited.I LOVE that face!

Favorite # TWO

A Birthday Outfit

(not to be confused with a Birthday Suit)

handpicked by a Fashion Diva.

Stephanie and Amanda will sometimes join forces to give gifts on special occasions. Stephanie has a particular flair for putting cute outfits together and for taking selfies.

She mentioned that she had picked several outfits and narrowed the prospects down to three.

This one was the winner

Favorite # THREE

A Fancy Birthday Gift

LB took a trip to the St. Johns Town Center this week where he visited the Coach store.

He has such good taste.And he even knows what colors are trending this season.

Favorite # FOUR

A Birthday Vacation

with LB

Beginning with a Friday night concert in the rain and ending with a sunny day on the beach. Every trip with LB is an adventure!

Favorite # FIVE

A Happy Together Birthday Surprise

Since we enjoyed it so much last year, LB made arrangements for us to attend this year’s Happy Together Tour at the Florida Theater.

The concert began with the Cowsills who are a family of singers that were the inspiration for the Partridge Family. Just as was the case last year, one of my favorites last night was “I Love the Flower Girl“.

(I knew I knew I knew I knew stuck in my head again).

Next up was Mark Lindsay (the voice of Paul Revere and the Raiders). I didn’t recognize any of his songs, but I was very familiar with the group that followed. The Association took the stage and sang quite a few favorites.

Another favorite for the evening was Gary Puckett (the Union Gap) hence the uniform.

Gary Puckett was not part of the tour last year, but such a great addition. Everyone enjoyed singing along with Gary as he shared a few of his 1967 hits.

Another fun singalong was a former member of Three Dog Night, Chuck Negron, who ended his set with “Jeremiah was a Bullfrog”.

And last but not least, one of the original Turtles, Mark Volman took the stage along with friend Ron Dante (from the Archie’s music). Ron was standing in for Turtle member Howard Kaylan who was unable to be a part of the tour this year.

The event wrapped up with all of the artists coming to the stage to share a short clip of one of their previously performed songs and together wishing the audience good night. It was an evening of great music!

Still stuck in my head today:

https://youtu.be/BiMCTjO_dHI

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Happy Together

June 12, 2017

A typical Sunday night for me involves last minute shopping and dinner out at a familiar favorite place like LaNopalera. Tonight LB surprised me with an event he TEASED me with last year. The “Happy Together” Tour.

With dinner first on the agenda, we left the house at around 6PM and headed downtown…

We checked into the Burrito Gallery. The Burrito Gallery is located at 21 East Adams Street in downtown Jacksonville. Although it is new to me, it has been around since 2005. There are also locations on Riverside Avenue and Beach Boulevard. LB and I enjoyed a tray of toasted tortilla chips with a hearty sampling of salsa, guacamole, and Queso (listed as Trio on the menu under Starters).

Right up my alley. I could LIVE solely on tortilla chips dipped.

Then we walked about a block to the Florida Theatre for the Happy Together Tour 2017 concert. The Florida Theater is a beautiful building, the architectural details are amazing.The concert began with Ron Dante, one of the voices of the Archies who sang Sugar Sugar and a few other songs and commercial jingles like this one that he helped to make popular. After Ron, the Cowsills took the stage. The Cowsills are a family of singers that were the inspiration for the Partridge Family. I was not familiar with the name Cowsills, but definitely familiar with some of their songs. As a matter of fact, one of my favorites last night was “I Love the Flower Girl“. Even today I keep singing ‘I knew I knew I knew I knew’ in my head. Although I had not been familiar with most of the artists, I fully enjoyed the concert and every song that was performed.

And last but not least, Flo and Eddie of the Turtles began their set with “She’d Rather Be with Me” and wrapped up the event with the 1967 hit “Happy Together” with all of the artists coming to the stage to join in the song. Every song that was performed tonight made me feel happy!

This event takes place every June and I recommend it if you’re looking for a happy together time!