Kick off Summer Getaway - Memorial Day 2008

We wanted a quiet get-away for Memorial Day. One away from the crowds, the cars and the noise. We found it at The White Orchid Inn and Spa on Flagler Beach, Florida.
We arrived Friday evening about 6:00 PM. The owner Bob took us to our room which was on the first floor, in nicely landscaped courtyard around the swimming pool. The room had a jacuzzi tub and a glass block shower enclosure. The room was nicely appointed and comfortable. We were comfortable right away.
We changed into our swim trunks, poured ourselves a cocktail and went to use the heated Mineral Water Pool. Allegedly it contained salts from the Dead Sea. The Inn has two pools; one conventional fresh water pool; one heated with minerals salts. The pool felt so very good, relaxing and therapeutic.
We met a very nice couple also at the mineral pool that evening, named Tammy and Brian who were there celebrating their wedding anniversary away from the kids. They too were having a cocktail and we talked until it was time for us to go to dinner at 9:00 PM.
We walked over to a very nice restaurant called Blue, at the Topaz Bed and Breakfast, and had a late dinner on the veranda. (See the Restaurant review section)

The next morning we got up early had our room-brewed coffee which was very good and went to the Dining Room at the Inn for the breakfast included in our room rate.
Breakfast was good but too small. They had pastries and home made breads and croissants; juices; and the served us a one egg omelet with sausage and cheese with some fresh fruit.
Not our idea of a Man's breakfast. However we sat by a table overlooking the Atlantic Ocean which was beautiful breaking on the sandy shore.

After breakfast we took the scenic beach road A1A to Ormond Beach to see the opening weekend showing of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. (Please look at our Movie Reviews Section). The Regal Theater may have had 24 patrons for the 11AM matinee show even though it made over $100 million opening weekend. Ormond Beach is an elderly community beach community that may not get that excited over adventure movies. Had we been at home, the AMC theater we go to would have been packed. We loved the movie.

On the drive back we retraced our steps but stopped along the way to check out the local color.
We stopped at an Argentine Restaurant call La Mer by the Sea, which had received great reviews and advertised that they served ceviche.
We ordered a drink but when we inquired about the ceviche we were told that the chef that prepares it was not in that day so we had to do without. Well, it was lunch time and the place was empty except for 2 men at the bar. We did not feel like having anything else on the menu so we finished our drink and left. We did meet the owner of La Mer. A very nice fellow from Argentina. He gave us an explanation of the construction noise that permeated the restaurant while we were there. He explained that they were enlarging their Karaoke venue since it had taken off so well. He said that the area they were expanding into, used to be a strip club many years ago. Certainly a place with local color.

We continued north and decided to have lunch at a place that had been recommended by several people at the Inn called The Turtle Shack. (See Restaurant Review Section)

After lunch we wanted to have a couple of cocktails before going to the beach so we stopped at The Golden Lion. This was a fun place full of people eating and drinking during mid afternoon overlooking the ocean.
We had a table right by the sidewalk and we people-watched for an hour or so before heading back to our room to change to go to the beach.

Before we left for the beach however we stopped in at the Inn's social hour. There was a gentleman named Aubrey who served us a complimentary glass of wine and some cold dips with crackers. Turns out he used to be a Bed and Breakfast Owner near St. Augustine but sold to the the Mayor for his asking price (which must have been a small fortune) because he has been traveling around the world with his wife for the last four years. Finally his wife said to him that they were bored of traveling and have settled down. So they decided to help out at The White Orchid Inn and Spa for spending money.

The beach was beautiful that afternoon and the waves were calm and enjoyable. We were there for about 90 minutes so we would not get too sunburned. We enjoy the beach. We find it very therapeutic for your skin.
We came back to the Inn and decided to check out the Mineral Pool again. We floated on rafts for an hour or so, sipping on our cocktails. Brian and Tammy had a room right by the mineral pool and they walked by us on their way to dinner and a horse-drawn carriage ride in St Augustine.
They asked to sit with us at breakfast the next day and if we would reserve a table for 4.

Another couple(we met then the next day as Marsha and Ric) joined us as we were getting ready to leave the pool area to get ready for dinner. We felt bad about leaving just as they had arrived but we had made plans to eat at The Flagler Fish Company that evening. Dinner was excellent. (See restaurant review section)
After dinner we came back, had an after dinner cocktail and relaxed for the evening.

Sunday morning we met Brian and Tammy for breakfast at the Inn dining room. Since it was their actual wedding anniversary day, Ken and I ordered a bottle of champagne to toast their day. They were very happy that we had thought enough of them to do that.
We enjoyed breakfast much more today. We asked if they could super size our breakfast and they did so gladly. We had a two egg omelet with bacon on the side and the gratuitous fruit. Again the pastries and croissants were delicious. We got to know our new friends a little better. Brian is a postal worker and Tammy is working on getting her teaching certificate. Both very nice people. They said they had had a great time in St Augustine and gave us pointers about where to park since we were going on a day trip to St. Augustine ourselves after breakfast.

We took the scenic beach highway A1A north to St Augustine. It was early in the day and traffic was still manageable and the drive enjoyable.
We drove by the St. Augustine Lighthouse, the first lighthouse to be established in Florida by the US in 1824.
Our first stop was the Castillo de San Marcos. A fort built by the Spanish in 1672. It was incredible to see and read the history associated with this fort. We saw a cannon firing demonstration while we were there.
Then we visited the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum. That was a fascinating place with hundreds of artifacts and interesting trivia from the ages.
We then drove all around Old Historic St. Augustine. What a beautiful historic place. We will make a more in depth visit during a non-holiday weekend when it will be less crowded.
We decided to head back during mid afternoon and stopped off at the European Village. This is a multi-use complex with residential, shopping and dining venues. There were several tempting places to have a late lunch but we decided to eat at Shakespeare's. (See restaurant review section). It was a fantastic lunch.
After lunch we stopped off at The Golden Lion again for some rum runners and to enjoy the open air beach atmosphere. The average age group for the place was mid to late 40's which made it even more enjoyable.
We went back to the Inn and changed into our swim trunks and went back to the mineral pool to relax with cocktails in hand. After a while Marsha and Ric came out to join us at the mineral pool and we had a fun afternoon and evening talking and soaking in the warm pool.
Ric is a college level baseball coach and Marsha is a billing clerk for a local obstetrician.
We talked for hours about everything. We even shared a bottle of Moet and Chandon Nectar Imperial champagne with them. Since we had had a late lunch we skipped dinner and just had cocktails all night long. In hindsight we should not have skipped dinner. I was sloshed.
Another couple joined us around 9PM but I don't remember much of them other than they were from Pennsylvania.

The next day we got up and went to the beach for one more dip in the ocean but the waves were so strong it was a battle to stay on your feet. We stayed for a little while and went back to the Inn to change and go to breakfast. We ate at Manny's Restaurant. (See restaurant review section) Nice large portions of average breakfast fare. Then we went back to the Inn and checked out.
It had been a very nice weekend.

On the way home, we stopped off at Publix, picked up some large shrimp to serve as a shrimp cocktail before dinner and two large juice steaks to finish celebrating Memorial Day. Dinner was excellent as it is always at home.

We hope to go back and visit the White Orchid Inn again sometime soon.

Stay tuned for our next getaway to Ft. Lauderdale when we visit my sister for the 4th of July.