I put together an “adult” pinewood derby this past March to raise money for Spina Bifida. The event was hosted at a local bar/lounge during happy hour and the track was placed right on top of the bar to make for easing viewing. There was no rules to the designs except that it could not exceed the length or width of a standard derby kit car and the cars could not be propelled by anything explosive.The cars people came with were great and some weighed a few pounds and one was powered by 12v computer fan. Despite all the designs the winner was a vintage car that a participant designed when he was in scouts in the 70’s. Go figure.
This Just In: This Blog Has BeenĀ Updated
It’s been awhile since I’ve updated, but here we are.
September:
This was a great month for work. Adecco (Modis) has made me permanent at the company. Now I get benefits and healthcare….wooo! It has been a few years on the healthcare, but my mom is hyped about it.
I have cut my hours at Dos Gatos to only working ArtWalk. I love this job, but the late hours were killing me. J and Joy really have been some of the most understanding/awesome bosses I’ve ever worked with and J taught me quite a bit about the inner workings of a bar and I bet I barely scratched the surface. J if you happen to read this, thank you for giving me the chance to work for you and Joy. I truly appreciate it.
On another note,Ā women think chivalry is dead, but I think a general respect for your fellow man/woman is just in the gutter now-a-days. Especially in respects to the bro code….read it….live by it. No one ever went wrong by giving somebody respect. It’s kind of like not drinking (J don’t read this): No one has ever said man I was so sober last night that me and my buddy got into a fight, spent a night in jail, and I have the worst headache!
October:
This week I might be going to Vampire Weekend with Beach House opening for them, but I will def. be seeing the Flaming Lips on Friday at the St. Augustine Amphitheater though with my very amazing woman. Please see picture above for an amazing shot of what’s to come.
From the evening of 20th until late the 24th will be my Smoky Trip Do Over. It’s going to be cold, but I can’t wait. I’m scared, nervous and excited all at once. I bought the “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” , the 1974 philosophical novel, to keep me company. If you don’t know anything about the book it’s not what it seems.
The next week for Halloween I will be visiting my little sister up in Brooklyn. I’m very excited to see my sister operating on her own and for her and I to get some time together. It’s been way too long. She has a speakeasy she wants to take me too…..way to go sis!
Upcoming November:
Movember starts Nov. 1 with the Shaving Party at Dos Gatos. Get your baby face on and let your upper lip know it won’t be cold for too long….there’s a stache on its way. This is the same event I did last year as well to help raise money for prostate and testicular cancer. Join me!
Later that month I will be running Thanksgiving Outback Classic Half Marathon and will be volunteering with Sam at a soup kitchen (not sure which one) later that day…..
It should all be a great time. I have to say this has easily been a great year and appreciate all my friends for helping make it happen.
Oh Savannah
It’s been a long time since I’ve taken a real vacation and explored a new city. Besides my short 1.5 days to the Smokys this past AprilĀ it has almost been a year since my trip to the wonderful Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH.
This years trip was a little bit closer to home and little bit more chill, but still a whole lot of fun. In my 27 years of living in North Florida I’ve never made my way to Savannah, GA. I’m not really sure why it took me so long to visit. I love St. Augustine and the travelling distanceĀ to Orlando isn’t that far and Savannah is a pleasant combination of both. Now that this door has been flung open little trip are now probably going to happen quite often.
I enlisted the help of the beautiful Samantha (Sam)Ā to help show me around and explore this little city. She has been here a couple times…so I used that as an excuse toĀ rope her into joining me and showing me around:)
Day 1 – Friday:
- Traveled to Savannah and checked into the Residence Inn in Downtown. It was nice, friendly, clean and well priced. The room had a full kitchen, lots of space and a rocking chair on the balcony….woo! Rocking Chair! Cabs were super cheap to get to River St. (in the range of $4 and easy to get).
- Due to my extreme craving for Krystals, we split a Sack Full! I would like to think we split these evenly, but I dominated that bag and pretty much ate all fo them (i know…I know) , we were both weren’t that hungry for dinner till much later. We went out at about 11 and hit up the very nice Bohemian Hotel on the riverfront and went to their rooftop bar called Rocks on the River. Great Decor, decent service, but we were looking for something a little bit more quaint…and near food. The bartender we hit Sweet Melissa’s
- Sweet Melissa’s =mmmmmmm’s: The bartender at the Bohemian said this was hangover food and not that good without a lot of drinks…HA…whatevs man. I would totes go this place daily. I couldn’t think of why it was so good, but Sam nailed it, “when your cheese is thicker than the main crust, but the end crust is still substantial that makes for a tornado of feelings….”
- We then made our way across the street at a place called Circa 1875. Loved the layout, design and decor of this little gem. They have certain parts of the bar (the actual bar top) sectioned off with little walls making nooks and space for varying party sizes. It makes talking with somebody quietly while still ordering drinks extremely easily. My only problem with this place was the lack of knowledge of traditional drinks. I guess working at Dos Gatos here in Jax has really spoiled me for amazing drinks. I asked for a SidecarĀ which is pretty traditional and up there with the Manhattan and they didn’t really know how to make it.Ā A bartender by the name of Catfish came through and even though didn’t make the drink they got close enough.
- We left Circa 1875 and walked back across the street to the other side of Sweet Melissa’s to hook me up with a burger and fries. The best part was I could cruise the streets with a drink…and then get it “refreshed” at the next place….except that last refresher put me over the top. After the burger, fries and finished drink…i was asleep :0
Day 2 – Saturday:
- We checked out of the Residence Inn and made our way to the second hotel “The Mansion on Forsyth Park”. It’s quite the little eclectic experience and has art everywhere and neat modern designs inside this traditional building making for a cool experience. Check out some pics!Ā There are some great restaurants in the area of this hotel and the hotel offers a free Chauffer service. They will pick you up and drop you off pretty much where ever you want within historic Savannah. It was great. It also across the street from a very nice park where you can watch people play Ulitmate Frisbee all day.
- We walked down to a cool Urban Gourmet Grocery Store called Parkers Market. We need one of these in Downtown Jacksonville….hardcore! It’s a gas station (3 one sidedĀ pumps), convenience store, and fantastic deli. It sounds weird, but it’s the coolest store that I’ve ever been in. We had an assortment of wonderful salads, a curry chicken salad wrap, homemade cookies, a 320zĀ Stella Artois (Yeah…That’s right!…a 32!), and a Pomegranate Leachy Fruit Iced Tea thing. All of it delicious. We then continued to walk and just explore the city. It was warm out, but it was fun.
- After asking around a bit we took the recommendation from ourĀ bell hop at the The Mansion and went to an awesome New York Style Italian restaurant called Leoci’s. They hand make their pasta to order! It was very nice (a little tiny/cramped), but the food was fantastic. You have to go….bring an appetite!
Day 3 – Sunday:
- It was a little bit of a late start, but we checked out of The Mansion and went hunting for brunch. We ended up at J. Christophers (recommendation of the front desk guy at the hotel). So glad we did. I had the billy goatĀ omelet…it had everything and goat cheese….what’s not to love. Sam had one theirĀ skillets with a sunny side up egg on top….which kicked booty as well. We then split the Blueberry Crunchy Pancakes (blueberries + granola + Pancakes = a little place not of this Earth)
- We made our way to Tybee Island to enjoy the beach for a bit andĀ hit this little random shop called Fish Art to try andĀ find some cool antiques (We bothĀ LOVE antiques šĀ ), but no go. We also had a little mexican at this place called MexiCali. It was ok…we didn’t die.
- We then made our way back to the J-ville with little traffic, a little rain, but big smiles.
It was a great weekend and can’t wait to revisit. Hopefully it will be less than a year before I get to do a trip like this again…and little miss Sam is around to join me.
Dos Gatos
New Bar/club in Jacksonville, FL: Dos Gatos! across the street from the Florida theatre
It was great! I didn’t have one thing to say that I didn’t like. The owner J. has really done a great job of picking out an awesome staff with great decor.
I may have found my new favorite place! So go and check it out!!!
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