vacation part 3.

this is going to be my favorite post & last post about vacation. 3 parts you guys. sorry!

as you know i did my research before visiting daytona, 1. because i have never been 2. i like to make good use of my time.

hidden treasure rum bar & grill.  - you are a piece of work , with your huge portions, friendly staff, all you can eat crab legs on wednesday night, & last but not least amazing prices. if you are ever in daytona please please drive to this place, if you are staying in ponce inlet it is so close, if you just want to drive somewhere amazing to eat get up from your desk tell your boss you are not feeling well and make the drive. 4 hours, 7 hours or even 10, get my point?

                                                                         the view.

the food.

i had 6 orders of crab legs, pretty impressed with  myself.

jill had the order of nachos. this thing was huge!

cory is funny.

caught this selfie in action. 

needless to say we will be going back to this place. incredible.

here are some shots of storms rolling in & a night of put-put.

hes cute.

jill & zac

alligators.

serious face.

we also took a few walks.

caught this bird in flight.

& this man fishing. 

& of course a few pictures of zeke.

& us girls.

ronda, megan. me, & jill.

cutest couple award.

on our very last day we saw one of the turtle nest care takers checking out a nest in front of our condo. we rushed down to see what all the commotion was, well the nest had hatched 3 days prior & we couldn't see any tracks because of the rain. the lady was digging and digging so she could get all the eggs out and count how many hatched & see how many did not. they are trying to make the numbers of survival for baby turtles higher so what they will do is put the eggs that did not hatch just a little below the sand so they have a chance of making it which is still highly unlikely. we made our way back to the condo & started packing the jeeps, i was still staring at the ocean and the group around the nest- all of the sudden one of the boy scout troops had something in his hand and everyone was walking to the ocean. i started yelling for megan (she is a little obsessed with sea turtles) and ronda & i took off. one of the sea turtles was still under the sand! it was like God saved one just for all of us to see. it was so tiny & so cute & we were all so happy to see it take off past the waves.

vacation was great. 

cheers,

mrs. estes

vacation part 2.

you guys- i really really  miss the beach. is it hard for you the first week back at work after something so magical? it is really hard for me. i feel like i daydream all day about all the other places i want to go & the wanderlust sets in & before i know it my boss is calling my name and wakes me out of my haze.

we ventured out to this mall like place that was filled with restaurants & clothing shops & ice cream stores one night for dinner. we had decided on bubba gumps which cory & i went to when we were in the mountains. it is a really fun place to go & if you loved forest gump you will be amazed. they do trivia when they come to your table, the whole place is filled with quotes from the movies, it is decorated like rooms that were on the movie, it is basically the movie set. i had a sampler plate which i ate too quickly to take a picture of, cory had a bunch of fried shrimps & then we settled on cold stone creamery for dessert.

we took some pictures after. so enjoy these.

cory wanted to pose by the trash can. it is what it is.

i love this picture, which is why i posted it twice.

seriously, this guy is a ham. it was so cute to see him in the water. he loves it!

the place i am posting about tomorrow is going to have a full post of its own. seriously one of my favorite places to eat at the beach now, the portions are gigantic and the prices are on point. cannot wait to share with you guys!

what are some of your places to go on vacation?

cheers,

mrs. estes

vacation part 1.

i really was hoping to wake up and see the ocean today, but sadly i am at my desk working. vacation got off to a pretty rough start, but read on please- it got better.

last friday after work i drove to ronda's to pack up the cars and then head to augusta to pick up cory. he was playing a show with andy velo at the country club. when we got there i texted him to let him know i was there & then he called and told me the club let someone walk out with his book-bag- & then he told me our macbook pro was in the book-bag. i felt my stomach drop. we just bought this computer & all my pictures were on it. needless to say cory was pretty angry & couldn't shake it for a while on vacation.

say a prayer they find the guy with our stuff. the club knows who he is & we are hoping they are proactive in getting it back.

we drove through the night to ponce inlet & as soon as we arrived everyone took a nice long nap. i actually loved driving through the night bc we got a whole extra day from our suffering. all the girls, (ronda, megan, jill & i) drove in one jeep and the guys in the other. we made plenty of stops for drinks and junk food & kept busy playing games & talking about anything & everything.

 the condo we stayed in was  ponce inlet club south. this was my view every morning.

gorgeous right?

we stayed in the bottom condo so you walk out the door and the pool was to your left and the ocean was right in front of you. i am reminded of the lords awesomeness every time i hear the ocean. something about it is so calming. 

now onto my favorite part- the food. yum. in one post i wrote about some places i read about & wanted to try & some of them were amazing. 

our first stop was tia cori's

you could tell it was going to be good, i love those small little hole in the wall places where the line is out the door, don't you?

i had ordered a mexican torta, but they ran out of bread so i got to order whatever i wanted off the menu at no extra charge- score. fish tacos for me & 5 different tacos for the husband. 

cory also ordered horchata.

the scenery was also nice- i mean check out this post office right next door.

so pretty!

cannot wait to share more & trust me there is a lot. if you are ever wanting to try somewhere new to visit- i highly recommend ponce inlet! 

cheers,

mrs. estes

travel.

the travel bug is upon me. in 4 days we will be headed to daytona to relax on the beach with some of our close friends. after the last few days i have had this is much needed. i don't even care about doing much of anything, i just want to sit in my chair in the sand, drink in hand and soaking up the peaceful sound of the ocean. am i right or am i right?

needless to say i have been reading so many travel blogs this week and already want to plan  my next adventure. i was thinking about going to haiti to actually visit and see the beautiful country for my 29th birthday. just like 3 days with some close friends. i love a good adventure & haiti is one of my favorite places to be. as i was reading some blogs this morning i stumbled upon above the clouds.
first: this is amazing. they literally schedule these trips & most of the time they are places off the beaten path which is so much more exciting. can you imagine not just the places you will visit  but the people you will meet? my little adventurous heart is beating 90 miles a minute just thinking about it. the places they go are limited BUT they are places that they really know, places some of them have lived or traveled  many times.

one of the places they go is patagonia. you guys- seriously breathtaking.

they go to india- i was reading ohdeardreas blog when i stumbled upon this amazing site. check out the adventure she is embarking on.

i also started following this blog for travel stuff. if you want to daydream in an organized fashion check this blog out for real. you get maps- details (i love details)- i seriously stalk her blog. it also helps that she LIVES in europe! a little jealous about that.

i cannot wait for daytona. i was looking up the best hole in the wall places to eat and found these

1. pat's riverfront cafe
2. tia cori's tacos - $1.50 tacos & $4 margaritas.
3. chucherias -- this place looks like finger foods & all of the pictures look yummy
4. cracked egg diner - all day breakfast - yes please- they also have sandwiches, & you know how i feel about sandwiches. i have a board on pinterest dedicated to them alone.
5. hidden treasure rum bar & grill
6. down the hatch seafood - the view is incredible, which does not hurt

here are some photos from #5- looks. so. good. i am also going to post their menu bc i will want to look back at this and stare at options of what to eat.


cory is more of a mountain guy, his one request when we go to the beach is all you can eat crab legs. here you go sweet thing!

can you tell i am a little excited. here are some photos of the actual beach where i will be sitting all week.

i also found out that the lighthouse here is the tallest one in florida. it dates back to 1883- it was completely finished in 1886. you can read more about this history by clicking on the link.

if you have ever been to this area please let me know some good places to visit. i really would like to find a local seafood market so we can make some of our own creations for dinner.

cheers,

mrs. estes