We try to take short trips for our birthdays and Kenn chose Saint Augustine as the location for his birthday trip this year; specifically, Anastasia State Park. I can’t regale you with all of the fabulous things we did because there weren’t any, LOL. For us, mini vacations – especially beach vacations – are for relaxing and going with the flow. We discussed going kayaking or on an air boat expedition but did neither. Heck, we didn’t even play mini-golf.

Beach access in the park was a short drive from the campground, so we went for a walk on the beach once or twice a day. Our walks included searching for shark’s teeth, but they were few and far between (unlike Fernandina Beach). If you like seashells, Saint Augustine is the place to be; the beach was littered with shells of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Second only to the number of shells was the number of seagulls. The gulls were not the least bit bothered by the people on their beach, nor did they mind posing for photos.

When traveling, we tend to only have two meals per day: breakfast and then a late lunch/early supper that we call “lupper”. Food probably played the biggest role in our trip. We ventured downtown to dine at a different restaurant each day. While the downtown area was busy, we were able to find parking relatively easily. Tip: if you’re planning to spend time in Saint Augustine, brush up on your parallel parking skills. I have to give Kenn props for how easily he parked our Toyota Tundra; he made it look easy.

The first day, we ate at Prohibition Kitchen Gastropub. I loved the vibe of the decor, and the food was good. I had the PK Poutine just so I could try pork belly. I think I would have liked the pork belly better if it had been crispy. I also had a Hibiscus Spritz (Elderflower, lemon, simple syrup, mint, hibiscus, sparkling wine) and Kenn and I split a bread pudding for dessert. I’ve never met a bread pudding that I haven’t liked; this one, while good, had a sugary crust that made it a bit too sweet for my taste, and that’s saying a lot.

We love a good Irish pub, but the only two we visited with any regularity (one in Savannah, GA and the other in Fernandina Beach, FL) have both closed. So, of course, we had to eat at Meehan’s Irish Pub; I hope it survives our visit since the others have not. We started out with an order of Irish Chips (aka fries) and I had a yummy Shepard’s Pie made with beef and lamb. I would have loved to try their bread pudding, but since I had chowed down on the chips, I had no room left. But, rather than have no dessert, we stopped by Mayday and picked up pints of ice cream to take back to the camper for later. (Mint chocolate chip for Kenn and salted caramel for me.)

Our last day we ate at Casa Reina Taqueria & Tequila. I had Carne y Papas tacos which is the first time I’ve had fries on a taco. Side note: whenever I see chihuahua cheese on a menu, I have a mental image of herds of chihuahuas hooked up to tiny milking machines. (I’m weird, I know.) I also loved the mural on the dining room wall.

Since the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument was right there, we thought we’d go and get another stamp for our National Parks Passport book. However, we didn’t want to pay the $15 per person entry fee. Kenn is much more of a history buff than I am, but we both felt like if you’ve seen one old fort, you’ve pretty much seen them all and since we’ve seen several, we noped out of this one.

We also had the opportunity to go into “mom and dad” mode for a while. When we stopped to check out the ancient quarry trail in the park, we met Patrick and Amelia, college students in Sarasota up for a day trip; their car was dead. We tried jumping them off – even using two different sets of jumper cables – but were unsuccessful. We then loaded them and their battery in our truck and drove them to the auto parts store where they were able to get a replacement battery under warranty. (Amelia and I had a chance to bond over being fair-skinned people at the beach.) We made sure that the new battery worked as it should and gave them our numbers in case they had more problems. It felt good to be in the right place to help these kids when they needed it.

My birthday is in November and we’ve already got reservations near Bryson City, NC. I love Bryson City and it has been years since we’ve been to Cades Cove and other locations in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

How do you celebrate your birthday?