Session in Season

During the 60 day period from March - May 5th the capitol swarms with people. This means the bars downtown are more packed, the restaurants have waits, and free food! Did I catch you off guard with the "free food"? Many associations have sponsored days where they provide information in the courtyard between the new and old capitol and often provide free food! Here are a few of my favorites:

Thursday, March 7,10:00 a.m.- 1:00 p.m. 
Independent Funeral Directors of Florida – Display about funeral service and death care. 
SERVING UP BRADLEY'S SAUSAGE (ironic I know)

Wednesday, March 13, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. 
Broward Days – Broward County event. 
SERVING UP PAELLA 

Tuesday, March 19, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. 
Florida Department of Military Affairs - Florida National Guard Day, showcase of military equipment used for state and nation in times of crisis.
SERVING UP HOTDOGS!! Helicopters, tanks, and guns to see

Tuesday, April 23, 1:00 - 9:00 p.m. (event 5:00 - 9:00 p.m.) 
Monroe County – Florida Keys Day.
SERVING UP GROUPER, LOBSTER, KEY LIME PIE!!!!!! My Favorite!

Sunday, May 5, 4:00 p.m. until Monday, May 6 at 12:00 p.m.
Florida State Fraternal Order of Police - Candlelight vigil and 31st annual memorial service honoring law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in the State of Florida.

Tuesday, April 2, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. 
Florida Student Association – Florida universities come together to speak on the importance of funding higher education to improve the education system. 

http://www.dms.myflorida.com/business_operations/real_estate_development_management/facilities_management/capitol_complex_events

Weekend Getaway

Ahhh the sands of Destin. I ran away last weekend for a two day, one night stay in Destin. The main objective was shopping but my partner in crime was able to rope me into going to dinner with his client so there was a lot of play and a little work. I cannot emphasize the shopping opportunities there are in Destin. Three outdoor malls including my favorite, Silver Sands. It is a large outdoor outlet with a good selection of stores. My favorites include Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Michael Kohrs, and Brooks Brothers. The Banana outlet was hosting a massive sale of 50% off suiting and 40% off clearance, along with many other sales. I went a little crazy making trips to the fitting room and piling up a mound of clothing to try on and eventually take home. I was least impressed with Ann Taylor and Loft's selections.

I made sure to get in a great meal at Stinky's Fish Camp in Santa Rosa Beach. A hidden gem off of everyone's favorite road 30A. Stinky's had attempted to open a restaurant in Tallahassee so when I saw them in the list of seafood restaurants I really wanted to go. So I followed my GPS on my phone which lead me down the path of 30A. Now, I've seen all of the stickers on everyone's car with 30A with the "0" as a small sun, but it took me a while to put it all together. As we were driving we were both so impressed with how adorable the beach community was, making comments like, "we should stay here next time instead of Sandestin". We arrived at Stinky's and pulled up to the valet, yes a restaurant named Stinky's has valet strange I know. The two story wooden bayside restaurant stood alone among gorgeous beachfront homes. It was packed with people and loud with live music. We pulled up to the bar and ordered a couple of bloody mary's, which was filled with shrimp, picked veggies, celery stalk, olives, and much more. It was quite tasty and I'm not a huge bloody mary fan but we saw someone else ordered it and had drink envy. We were seated upstairs among a crowd of older extremely preppy and pleasant group. We both ordered the grouper sandwich blackened and were very pleased with the results. Sweet Hawaiian rolls buttered and toasted on the cook top, with thinly sliced red onions, cabbage (too bitter for me), and a big piece of grouper. It was DELICIOUS! I can't wait to go back!

I looked up rental houses by Stinky's for the summer to get a price point and see what was available. I found houses that weren't too pricey and some that were massive and extremely pricey. But everything was booked up. So when I was telling my friends at work this same story, they told me that 30A was the road that runs through all of the high society beach communities, Watercolor where they filmed the Truman Show, Alys Beach the Mediterranean luxury development, and Rosemary Beach. Now that I know just how beautiful the beaches are and how cozy Santa Rosa Beach was I can't imagine staying anywhere else. I cannot wait for the next excuse to escape to the beach, cruise down 30A and witness the lavish lives of the vacationers in their mansions at the sea, watch the sun sink down into the Gulf and bury my toes in the beautiful powder sand.