Everything about St. Augustine will change tonight at 6:30, when the mayor lights the big tree in the center of town. Dark corners of the town will be lit up with holiday cheer; locals and visitors alike will bump into each other as they gape at the town’s three million electric “stars” on long evening walks. I love … Read More
Have you ever tried to entice a kid out of the water with a plea to eat some lunch? They’re not having it–they are not going to leave the magic of the ocean (or the pool or the lake) for your promise of a skinny little sandwich on soggy bread. Add ice cream to the mix? Or … Read More
Boss’s day wasn’t a day when I first started working. If you had polled me then, I would have said that *every* day was boss’s day. In fact, it was a thing back then. Patricia Bays Haroski first registered Boss’s Day with the US Chamber of Commerce in 1958 (which, for the record, is long … Read More
Looking to get engaged in St. Augustine, and need a ring that is as one-of-a-kind as your special someone? Have a newly redesigned guest room that needs just the right piece of artwork to hang over your new headboard? St. Augustine has some great options for both of those quandries. And if you’re a guest of … Read More
We got an email last night from a guest looking for restaurants serving all the traditional dishes for Thanksgiving this year. Which made us think…geez. It’s almost October. It’s not a bad time to make reservations for Thanksgiving–because St. Augustine is usually packed with people for the holiday, and so are its restaurants. Luckily, our friends at … Read More
How is it almost October? Well, as usual, the summer here in Florida has just flown by. I know people always say it gets really hot here, but honestly, I don’t think it’s more hot than our hometown of Baltimore. Of course, we try to temper the heat as much as possible, with free margaritas … Read More
For a tiny town, St. Augustine has a plethora of museums. (That’s the kind of vocabulary you use when you live in a town with a lot of museums). And on Saturday, September 26, you can visit one of our town’s museums for FREE! It’s part of the Smithsonian’s annual free museum day–a day where museums around the country … Read More
With all of the hubbub about St. Augustine’s 450th anniversary, we totally forgot that we recently had a (much smaller) anniversary of our own! On September 1, we celebrated five years of owning the Bayfront Marin House. And when we say celebrated, we mean it. In the past five years, we have been lucky enough to meet … Read More
St. Augustine is known for its downtown restaurants—but some of our favorites are on Vilano! And–shame on us–we didn’t even frequent many of these until we bought our beach cottages. We hope that you don’t make the same mistake. To ensure that you don’t, here’s a list of restaurants, along with some of our favorite … Read More
Twenty years ago, the hub and I were on the beach in Key West, taking a short walk after a wonderful lunch at the Casa Marina. Ahead of us, under the palms, we spotted a cluster of arc-shaped teak hammock stands, with enticing quilted hammocks swinging in the breeze. Now, we knew that we loved … Read More