MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND!



This weekend was packed full of fun, starting Saturday off with Katie's bridal shower! She taught in the classroom next to me at Alachua and we quickly became close friends right off the bat. Katie and I have very similar teaching styles, educational beliefs, and instantly clicked on all levels. She got engaged in the Fall and recently moved to Boston, MA to live with her fiance' before their wedding in September. YAY...more weddings! :)

 

almost twins...un-planned!

Her maid of honor Lindsey is a baker/pastry chef/maker of
all things yummy and amazing - and made these!

The happy couple!

 Early Sunday morning, Clay and our friends Dustin & Gilly packed up the truck and headed to Amelia Island to go camping at Fort Clinch State Park. We ALWAYS have a fantastic time with these two so we knew the weekend wouldn't be anything less.
We started off with brunch at Café Karibo. It was delicious!

 

 

Then we headed to our campsite and got our stuff set up. While we were unloading, the family beside us gave us a friendly warning about the raccoons in the area. She said one ripped open their used silverware bag and licked it clean and they were awakened by one grazing by their tent and "scratching" at it. We saw some paw prints on the side of our fire pit and told her thanks for the heads up! Little did we know...

 

 

After everything was unloaded, we quickly changed and headed

to the beach access from inside the park.

 

After a relaxing afternoon, we showered and changed for dinner. Side note - when we camp, we never go all out and bring food to cook on site - we'd much rather go somewhere and come back to a clean, animal-free site! Another side note - the bath houses were really clean and had plenty of stalls for showering (this is important for a glamper.) :)

 



View from dinner...

because we ate on the beach!

It was your typical beach seafood restaurant but we enjoyed the view and the company!



 

 

After dinner, we got a fire started at our campsite and sat around for HOURS talking and laughing. Several hours later, Clay and Gilly went to bed and Dustin and I stayed up laughing and devising plans for our professional future. The bath house was a lengthy walk away and rather than walk there so late at night to use the restroom, I decided it would be a good idea to use nature around us. UMM...no. Terrible idea. As soon as I stood up, a raccoon from the woods behind me started snarling and growling and luckily didn't scratch me! I screamed SO LOUD and sprinted across our site and ran into the picnic table because I was so frantic!  Dustin got up, screamed, and tried to run but got all caught in the hammock he was lying in so he was just standing there screaming! At this point, we were both DYING laughing and couldn't stop for quite some time. We never saw the thing and it left us alone the rest of the night. (I am actually hysterically laughing while typing all of this.) Later on, we looked up trip advisor reviews about the park and one of the major things was about the raccoons! Oh the things we get into.

 

 

Sunday, after our close call, we went to breakfast early and then headed to Fort Clinch to check it out. No battles were ever fought here but it is one of the most well-preserved forts in the country.

 



always a goof ball

panorama from up top

already sick of my picture taking...haha.

 

After touring the fort, we headed out to the beach again for another relaxing day. We had some awesome Mexican before we left (sorry I let you down on photos) and talked about the raccoon incident all day. I will gladly vacation with these two again...what a memorable Memorial Day!