We decided - last minute - to go to the beach over the week of Memorial Day. After some careful research involving the entire State of Florida (thanks, Skip!), we held a family meeting and voted to explore Amelia Island.
The island was not at all crowded, and most locals confirmed that the week of Memorial Day is one of the quietest weeks of their season. The island has three beaches, and the only beach with any activity was Main Beach, which is where we spent much of our time. We also explored American Beach, which was practically deserted and very beautiful.
We arrived on Monday and had a night swim and then a quick meal at Panera Bread, because the trio were craving their macaroni and cheese. Side note: Panera lost a lot of its allure that night because George responded to a Panera employee who had asked him how he liked his meal by saying, "It was delicious... I'll take another scoop of that." When the scoop was neither offered or delivered, George decided he would be eating all of his mac and cheese at home, family style.
We went to American Beach on Tuesday and had a true private beach experience. The trio spent a lot of time bodysurfing in the Atlantic waves, swimming and playing football.
Our hotel had a small kitchenette, and the trio were famished after a day at the beach. We picked up some supplies and a home meal in the room -- rotisserie chicken, steamed vegetables and all-you-could eat mac and cheese. :)
There were some showers on Wednesday so we stayed close by the pool, swimming in the morning, having some quick pizza for lunch and swimming some more in the afternoon. The trio made a lot of friends swimming and playing put-put at the hotel. That night we had dinner at Tasty's, a local hamburger restaurant that really suited the trio after a long day of swimming. Skip compared Tasty's to Shake Shack, although I think that was a little generous. It was almost as good.
We drove around the island after dinner. While driving down one of the main streets, parallel to the ocean, we saw six deer crossing the street to get to the beach. Unfortunately, it was raining at the time, and I couldn't get the rental camera wet. The beachfront is situated next to a state park, and there is a lot of wildlife. We did spot a young doe later in the trip.
We went to Main Beach Thursday and spent the morning and most of the day body surfing. We had a late lunch at Sliders, a beachside restaurant, and then had some downtime in the room. The trio had some leftover mac and cheese in the room, and then we went out for ice cream.
First and foremost, we celebrated National Doughnut Day Friday. Skip, George and Grace went out for doughnuts while Lauren and I slept in. Later, we explored the historic downtown area, and had a fantastic lunch at Pepper's. The trio also did a little shopping. We had some afternoon pool time and decided to grill hamburgers by the pool. We brought our plates out and had dinner poolside. Also, the hotel hosted a nightly "manager's hour" where they served champagne, and we got really used to having a glass of champagne each evening. The trio met a lot of new friends that night and swam until 10pm, when the hotel pool closed.
We were ready to climb into the car Saturday morning because there's just no place like home, and we had this girl waiting for us.
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