Miami and Southbeach Adventures

Last week Taylor and I met up with my family in southern Florida for a vacation. We met in South beach, which was insane because it was Memorial day weekend and the streets were packed with mostly nude party-ers. We saw all kinds of undress, the most memorable of which was when we stopped to watch a tranny do a Beyonce performance at one of the outdoor bars and we saw a guy and girl bond over the fact they were both only wearing thongs. Yup.

The best part (As much as I enjoyed the insanity of late-night partying, it wasn't my favorite part.) was the hotels. The entire main drag of south beach is lined with hotels built between the 1930s and 1950s and they are gorgeous.

 

 

Art deco is one of my favorite styles and the insides of the hotels are modern. One of them especially had a fascinating artistic styling, so much so I snuck some pictures.

The first morning we were in Miami we went walking around and I found a pink Monster Rehab, and though I don't think it tasted very different from the regular Rehab, I loved the pink can. (Weird how girly I've become.)

There's been a conscientious effort to beautify the south beach area so there is an outdoor art installment called something like the Iron Trees where the metal frames have created vine-trees. I did some looking around online and I haven't been able to find anything about them. They're actually really impressive and I recommend visitors go visit them.

There was actually an impressive amount of street art in Miami. Austin, Philip and Taylor spent all week finding and collecting pieces from different locations and artists.

Finding "It" in Jacksonville

I'm trying really hard to get to know Jacksonville. It's a conscious effort because it doesn't really offer a whole bunch of stuff right off the bat. I'm convinced that there are cool things in the city that are waiting to be found, so I have to go find it. Whatever it is.

So, I have officially started a food blog, just in an effort to keep my personal blog a little cleaner. The first post is about The Burrito Gallery, in downtown Jacksonville.

I think my favorite part was the building right next door; an art deco styled building that is in the middle of renovations. The arched entry way was lined with glass tiles, some of which were missing. The entry way had some random blue mosaics left over from whatever original set-up was there. I really wish I knew what was going on with that building, it really felt like it has something to tell.

 

Isn't that a fascinating mix of quaint, European and crumbling Americana?

Quidditch World Cup VI: The Lead-up

I've struggled getting to this post (which has subsequently turned into four posts) because I was too busy to take pictures, there is so much to tell (because I've completely failed to even mention quidditch on my blog yet) and I hate having long posts with limited images. But, the 2013 Quidditch World Cup was too epic to leave out, so here we go.


Over Christmas Taylor and I met up with some of my high school friends at La Vics and Nadia mentioned she was volunteering with the International Quidditch Association's world cup. Let me stop here: Yes, the magical sport from the Harry Potter books. Read my breakdown of the non-magical quidditch sport if you missed it.


Because the event was happening close to where I live (Kissimmee, just next to Orlando), she said I should volunteer. Assuming I would be a day-of volunteer, I got online and started poking around the site, only to stumble on the position of Hospitality Director. Apparently the original director's team qualified for the event so he had to back out of the position. I applied, had a Skype interview, received a "You're Hired!" email that evening and the next night I was back on Skype for my first meeting.

When you're thrown into an upper-level management position half-way through the planning process of a major event, with an organization you know nothing about, you tend to feel like you're drinking from the world's largest fire hydrant. Luckily, the entire World Cup Organizing Team (WCOT) was amazing. When I say "amazing" I mean I go through withdrawals every Thursday night because we no longer have our weekly meetings.


The Responsibilities

My team was split into three sections: Teams, Guests, Entertainment. Let me just take a second and say I could not have asked for a better team. They were hard working, easy to communicate with, and they made the entire process fun. Seriously, I got so lucky.

Teams – Registering teams and organizing player rosters; check teams in to the event; communicate with teams; coordinate travel and accommodations.

Guests – Ticket sales; plan and coordinate VIP everything; guest experiences.

Entertainment – Plan, book and support our non-sport entertainment.

Kidditch – Kid-sized quidditch for attendees.


The Arrival
 
I drove down to Kissimmee (just outside of Orlando) on the morning of Thursday 4/11. Let me just say, I understand why toll roads exist, but I hate them with a passion. I would much rather pay taxes than pay tolls. I was so pissed off after my third toll stop in ten miles I swore them off for the rest of the weekend.

Anyway, the whole shebang took place at Austin Tindale park, which was great, apart from the 30 minute drive from our hotels. We spent the day getting all the general set-up and organizing done.

Pretty much everyone already knew each other, so it was kind of like being the +1 to the popular kid's high school reunion. Only one person knew me beforehand, but I was immediately accepted.

There's something unique and very distinct about quidkids. They are quidditch and Harry Potter nerds and that passion drives them to volunteer hundreds of hours in developing the sport and the league. It pays off. The event was wildly successful behind the scenes and we heard lots of positive feedback from players and guests alike.

25th Birthday Bike

I've been wanting a bike for a while, so it wasn't a huge surprise to get one for my birthday, but I was really excited. Taylor found a big beach cruiser that is all aluminum, so it won't rust, and looks slick. The first time I took it down to the grocery store, I was locking it up when a man said, "Looks like you got the Cadillac of bikes!" and as I unlocked my bike a woman asked where I got it. Taylor said that it got cat-called as he was leaving the store.

This was the day I got it and since then I've taken all the stickers off so it's solid white. Here's a video of me on my bike.

Because I want a bike buddy, we also got Taylor a bike. His is a switch fixie, so you can either have it as a fixed gear or a single gear. We tried out the fixed-gear style and it was counter-intuitive to always pedal, but it definitely gets you moving. I almost rode backwards, but I didn't trust my balance enough to really do it. We've gone on a bunch of bike rides around our neighborhood so far. Once we rode down to Publix and got some spicy fried chicken, which was actually really good.

We don't really have a great spot to store it in our apartment, but we're working on some crazy schemes. Any recommendations?

Mom and Dad visit Jacksonville Part 2

Day of of adventuring with Mom and Dad took us up to Amelia Island, Florida. It's the same place where Taylor and I went to the BBQ competition and bought boiled peanuts while exploring the back roads.

When we got to Amelia Island we found ourselves heading into Fort Clinch State Park where Taylor and I showed Mom and Dad how to find shark's teeth and we played bocce ball.

On our way out from the shore we found a little armadillo snuffling through the grass beside the wood walkway. It was the first time I'd ever seen a live armadillo and they're really cool little creatures. At one point we scared him up the walkway and his feet sound like little dinosaur feet. Apparently they are carriers of lots of different diseases, so while I had zero interest in getting close I was able to get a couple pictures.

We then walked along the quiet main street of Fernandina Island where we bought some salted caramel ice cream. It was a really salty ice cream, which was a lot of fun and when I hit a pecan it tasted just like pecan pie. I really must be southern that I am obsessing over that right now.

From here we went and watched the sunset while eating fried alligator. I was a little disappointed to not have it taste weird, but it did taste really good.

Mom and Dad visit Jacksonville Part 1

I have finally pulled myself out of a week-long birthday-induced food coma. Yes, I am now 25 years old and it has been an epic celebration, starting with Mom and Dad's visit two weeks ago.

First, I'll start by saying that every meal we ate was delicious. You know how most times you'll have a couple rock-awesome meals interspersed with some good, but not hugely note-worthy meals? Not this trip. Taylor and I planned out our favorite restaurants and then we tried out some new places that are now on our "Favorite Food Spots" list.

Some highlights were:

• Chicken and waffles with spicy, maple syrup from Metro Diner (Served with "Strawberry Preservatives." Dad found that to be hilarious.)
• Fried gator from Singleton's Seafood Shack
• Latin fusion coconut soup
• Kilwin's toasted coconut icecream
• Bangin' shrimp quesadilla from TacoLu
• We change Dad's perspective of energy drinks a little by introducing him to the white Monster Energy drink and the pink Rockstar Energy drink.

Our first full day we spent in Saint Augustine, which offered more people-watching opportunities than when Taylor and I went because 1-this is Spring Break season and 2-this is motorcycle get-together season. We experienced everything from a small church sponsored thrift shop to a very high end art store that tried to woo us with promotions of a pre-iron-casting party with the artist. We also stood at the apex of the main draw bridge and waved to the ferry passing below.

On the drive down we walked along the beach where we ran into an elderly couple from Budapest. They were the ultimate stereotype from the knitted vest with heart buttons to their racist, but not malicious, comments, their love of Romania and America and their accents. Bless them and my parents for striking up the conversation.

After dinner we drove down to a park along the Saint John's river where we watched the sunset while Mom and I took pictures.

 

 

Can you believe that was all one day?

Random life snapshots

1. My birthday is in 98 days.
2. I finally got my hair cut yesterday. I last got my hair cut in July, before leaving Utah, and I've been pushing it off, but the final straw was when my mom mentioned taking family portraits over Christmas. I went to the local Aura salon. I highly recommend them, they're connected with Aveda and I've always been pleased with what Aveda does. Jamie cut my hair dry, which was a first for me and I loved it. She washed, dried, straitened my hair and then cut it. It looks and feels wonderful! (Extra bonus: My hair smells great still!)
3. The following pictures are:
1. The sunrise from our balcony.
2. Testing red lipstick.
3. Homemade cookie cutter from Grandad Hurst.
4. Elizabeth's color coordination.
5. Proof McKenzie has taught me everything I need to know about topknots, messy buns and head scarves.

Weekend Update from Taylor

The other night Taylor wrote this email to our families. He captured our weekend so perfectly, I'm just going to cut and paste it here (with the appropriate pictures). Enjoy!

"To all: After class on Friday, Hilary and I decided to drive up to the St. Johns River ferry. The details on the ferry website say that it leaves every half hour from Mayport Villiage to Ft. George Island. The tickets were listed at a dollar per person, and we thought it sounded like a great date for the broke, law school couple. Without researching the location of Ft. George Island, we jumped in the car and headed towards Atlantic Blvd. On the way to the ferry we stopped at McDonalds to fuel up on Spicy McChicken "sangwhiches," and salty french fries.

"We arrived at the ferry port exactly at the half hour. The director told us that the ferry was leaving, and that we needed to hurry. We parked the car as fast as we could and boarded the ferry, with the gate closing behind us. Once on deck, the First Mate asked for our fare, and we handed over our two dollars. The sun was setting in the western sky, and dolphins were playing in the wake of the ship. We thought we had found the perfect date.

"About one minute after departure the ship made a 180 degree turn towards the west. I was somewhat confused why the ship would be heading down river, but was too enthralled with the scene to care. Five minutes later the ferry docked on the other side of the St. Johns River. It didn't take us long after our arrival to figure out that Ft. George Island is merely the mass of land on the north side of St. Johns River. We had both assumed that since it was called an island, it surely must be out at sea. What Newbies are we. Fortunately the First Mate allowed us to travel on the return trip free of charge. I guess you get what you pay for.

"After our adventure at sea, we stopped at a Singleton's Seafood Shack, which was next door to the ferry port. We were still full from McD's, so we only ordered a basket of fried calamari. The batter was fair, but the calamari was tender and fresh. The back porch, where we chose to sit, was a floating dock with four large fishing/shrimping boats docked at its edge.

"The food was great, and the scene was even better. With the sun setting, and salty air at our nose, we enjoyed our delicious, seafood treat. On the way home we stopped at Peterbrooke Chocolatier for some homemade ice cream.

"I spent Saturday morning at the law school, working on a paper due this Wednesday. When I got home we packed a cooler full of Diet Coke and headed out to our favorite beach. On the way out to the beach we spotted an alligator basking in the sun, so we pulled over to snap a shot. They are impressive creatures on TV, but even more so in person.

"Now that the water is too cold for a typical day at the beach, we have adopted a new beach activity; hunting for fossilized shark teeth. The trick is to wait for a wave to wash away and scan the shoreline for little, triangular-shaped, black dots. We found about twenty teeth in just over an hour. Hilary is a better tooth scavenger than I, and she found the largest, and coolest teeth. Every weekend feels like vacation, which provides a much needed, weekly decompression from law school.

"We can't believe that it is almost Thanksgiving. The daily high is still around 75 degrees. Hilary isn't phased by the warm weather, and she is already decorating for Christmas. We are both excited for the holiday season this year because it marks the end of our first year of marriage, and my exit from the Army.

"Unfortunately I don't plan on making emails like this one a regular event. I just happened to have a few spare minutes this evening while Hilary decorated the house. Love, Taylor

"PS: Hilary here! Taylor covered everything, but I just want to send my love and a few words about decorating. I love the holidays, and since we'll only be in our place for half of December I jumped over Thanksgiving and decided to decorate for Christmas now. Taylor and I drove down the street this evening and collected some big, beautiful pine cones and acorns. Then we went to the dollar store where we bought festive wrapping paper and some ornaments. Voila! Six dollars later we are seasonal! Love, Hilary"