Just another Florida weekend

Weekends are precious here in Florida (as I’m sure they are everywhere else), but I especially love them because for two nights Matt does not need to be studying. Friday and Saturday nights are ours! No aviation manual, no emergency procedures, and no Whiting Field. This weekend was especially fun because we got to celebrate my birthday and spend a lot of time with friends.

We celebrated my birthday on Friday night with dinner at Fish House. If you are ever in the Pensacola area, I would definitely recommend this restaurant. It is amazing. It is my type of place – Christmas lights, water views, outside bar, live music, amazing food. Their specialty is Grits a Ya Ya – shrimp served over smoked Gouda cheese grits smothered with wonderfulness. This is the first time that I have had grits and, let me say, it will not be the last! There is nothing like fantastic food and wine to make for a perfect birthday celebration.

We woke up early early early on Saturday morning to do a Marine Corps Aviation 5k. I signed up with a couple of friends and at the last minute (6:30 a.m.) convinced Matt to do the race with me. We finished before it got too hot, thank god! We were proud to represent Navy with all those Marines;)

After hours of napping and football, we headed over to Rick and Sara's place for smoked pork butt (I just like saying it – I know – I’m five) and a bonfire. They had been smoking the pork for hours and it was amazing. At times like this, I love being in the South! We then walked down the street to a backyard bonfire and spent the next couple of hours hanging out around the fire. It didn’t quite feel like a crisp Fall night, but there were a couple of cool breezes around midnight and plenty of Octoberfest!

Sunday morning was spent in the search of a perfect bagel. We have tried and tried and have not been able to get a good bagel (or Chinese food) in either Texas or Florida. This weekend we tried out Bagelheads and even though it was good, it was pretty expensive. So the search continues. Boy do we miss Brooklyn Bagel! We then headed to the Dog Beach for awhile with Sadie and met some new friends. That is one thing that I love about the military; everyone is so friendly! We met another couple and within an hour we had exchanged numbers, became Facebook friends, and talked about plans to hang out next.

It was such a fun weekend here in Florida. And even though it is only Tuesday, I’m already counting the days until this coming weekend. It is going to be a special one because Tina is coming!!!

Until then, love from Florida!

The Fish House

Only picture we got of ourselves before the camera died - perfect timing

GO NAVY!

It doesn't matter how fast you go, just that you go...

You know that you are in the South when...

The Marines had to run in formation - pretty cool

There is just something about fire...

And it only took a couple of beers before he was convinced to try this one.