What more could you ask for...?
Last weekend, our dear friends the Murphys, came to visit...
For the second time this year (amazing, isn't it?) I got my priorities straight and put "life" before "work" and returned home from a business trip a day early on Thursday evening.
This allowed me to help the local Civil Air Patrol (CAP) squadron set up traffic cones and tents for the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance parking lot Friday morning. The CAP has gained a really good reputation for effectively managing off-site parking operations for local area events, and while much of the logistics are handled by the event organizers and the city, there is always a bit of setup that the CAP has to do.
Being home on Friday morning also allowed me to ride to JAX with Jeanie to pick up the Murphys at the airport. Since we were already half-way to Jacksonville, we took the opportunity to continue south to Jacksonville proper and do a little sight seeing. We drove downtown and had a nice lunch at The American Cafe at The Jacksonville Landing.
Since Bob and Wendy had been up since 4:00 AM, we decided to return home after lunch and chill out for a bit.
After getting our second wind, we drove over to the island for a walk on the beach. I intentionally chose Peters Point Park (S. Fletcher Avenue, about five miles south of Main Beach) as the park has a large paved parking lot, covered pavilions, rest rooms , indoor/outdoor showers and happens to be right next to the Ritz Carlton which was the location for the Concours and in particular, the classic car auction for which cars were on display on Friday. The bad news was that the parking lot at Peters Point was closed because it was being used for parking the automobile transporters carrying the cars for the show. The good news was that driving is permitted on the portion of the beach near Peters Point, and there is an access road onto the beach right there, and we were in the Durango which just so happens to be a 4x4. So, we drove out onto the beach, parked, and strolled south along the beach, in the direction of the Ritz. Upon arriving at the Ritz, and not seeing any signs telling us that we could not enter, we walked onto the grounds and had a great time looking at all of the beautiful cars under and around the auction tent. There were a few models that Jeanie and I both were fond of, but unfortunately we were a little shy of the quarter to half million dollar expected selling prices, so we contented ourselves with just window shopping.
After our foray into the world of the rich and famous, we headed back home and had a yummy dinner of grilled steak, mashed potatoes, asparagus and salad.
Saturday morning was not quite the perfectly clear Florida day I had hoped for. The visibility was mediocre, and the ceilings were solid, but high. Since the forecast didn't bode any better for Sunday and since we were planning to spend the majority of the day on Sunday wandering around the Concours and I had been told that the pattern would be a zoo on Sunday morning, Bob and I headed off to the airport for an aerial tour of the island. Although the conditions were not ideal, the ride was extremely smooth, and we got to do the full tour, heading over to the house after departure, then proceeding to the north end of the island for a view of Fort Clinch, then flying south along the beach to the the southern tip of the island then flying north along the river back to the airport. As an added bonus, we even experienced an unexpected courtesy when a business jet planning to depart actually waited for us to land before taking the runway rather than jumping out in front of us while we were on downwind. The only other slight disappointment in the tour was a poor landing on my part. It wasn't horrible - no bounce or porpoise, but I let myself drift off to the left of the center line, and there was a jostle due to the lateral movement at touchdown. But, Bob seemed to thoroughly enjoy the entire experience, so that more than compensated for my irritation at my landing.
We met the girls at Sandy Bottoms for breakfast, then headed downtown for a walking tour of the historic district. True to my brother-in-law's first rule of vacations, Bob and I found ourselves tagging along from store to store as the girls shopped.
At some point, Bob and I reached our shopping saturation, so we split off and headed home. After the girls returned, we decided naps were in order, and after resting, we headed back to the beach for another walk, this time heading down to the American Beach area. On the way to the beach, we swung by the Ritz to pick up the Concours tickets, both to save the $5 per ticket as well as to avoid the wait on Sunday.
Dinner on Saturday was another at-home affair, this time featuring a low country boil. For our version of this southeastern classic, we had baby red potatoes, low fat kielbasa sausage, corn on the cob, shrimp, and king crab legs. Our old cooking guidelines were, in the order above, throw something in, wait ten minutes, throw the next thing in, wait ten minutes, etc. I modified this to be: boil the water, throw the potatoes in, wait then minutes, throw the sausage in, wait then minutes, throw the corn in, wait seven minutes, throw the shrimp (uncooked) and the crab legs (cooked) in, wait three minutes. This worked out much better, resulting in crisp corn, tender shrimp, and crab that didn't stick to the shell. Next time, the only modification I'll make is to wait ten minutes before throwing in the shrimp and crab legs, as the corn was just a tad under-done.
On Sunday, we decided to eat a light breakfast of cereal and fruit in. The weather was picture perfect. We loaded up the car and headed off to the parking lot near the airport. The idea had been that having helped set up for the parking, and being a CAP member, that I would have the $10 parking fee excused - at least if the person taking the money happened to be a member that recognized me. Well, sure enough, the person taking the money recognized me, and gladly took my Hamilton! Oh well, I guess I'll have to give Don some grief next time I see him. The good news was that the parking was very organized, as were the shuttle buses ferrying folks to the show.
The show had some of the most beautiful cars I've ever seen, as well as some of the most interesting. In the interesting category were the collection of Stanley Steamers and a big collection of microcars. The collection of race cars was interesting, but my favorite cars in the show were the classics from late twenties to the early thirties, including the Packards, Duesenbergs, Cords, and Studebakers. I just love the cars with the great big headlights and the hoods that seem to stretch for miles. Bob tended more toward the slightly newer cars (50's and 60's) and in particular the Cadillacs, and the girls thoroughly enjoyed the period car and fashion parade. We spent the bulk of the day at the show, and I believe a good time was had by all.
For dinner, we went to the Down Under restaurant, beneath the overpass of the A1A bridge. It was too windy to sit outside which was a bit of a disappointment, as we had been looking forward to watching the sunset over the river/marsh, but the food more than compensated. Bob, Wendy and I all had the seafood gumbo to start which was a little spicy for their taste, but I thought was fantastic. Jeanie had the crab soup which I thought was a little bland, but which she enjoyed (as a side note, I think Barbara Jean's crab soup is a little better and Spanky's crab soup takes the blue ribbon). Bob and Wendy split a fried lobster dinner. Jeanie had the fried lobster appetizer as her entrée, and I had the fried calamari appetizer as my entrée. For years, I have drooled at the memory of the fried calamari I had many moons ago at the Buckhead Diner in Atlanta. Now I no longer have to figure out how to get back to Atlanta to savor that bliss of hot tender calamari, lightly breaded and fried "just right," with just the right mix of seasoning in the breading complemented by an exquisite asian dipping sauce - I need only wander over "down under." And lest you think... fried lobster? Yuck! Think again! Oh my goodness... we're talking the pleasure of sin, without the eternal downside. The lobster was presented in bite (maybe two bite) size morsels, delicately battered and lightly fried, with the result being tender, moist, rich and almost too good for words.
After dinner, we headed home and spent a while chatting before heading off to bed.
I was able to schedule a slightly later (than usual) flight out on Monday, so we were all able to drive to the airport together and hang out for a few minutes before having to part company.
It was a great weekend, and I am already eagerly anticipating the 2007 show so we can do it all again.
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Posted by David at March 17, 2006 03:46 PM