Kate and I were honored to be invited to my friend Brandon Clark's wedding in Ponte Vedra, FL. Brandon started out as a student/basketball player of mine when I taught and coached at Avery County High School in the NC mountains. We have kept in touch and are now good friends. I was so young when I was teaching him that it was easy to transition to being "grown up" friends. We left early Saturday morning (6:00am!) and drove down to St. Augustine Beach, where our hotel was. We were a little disappointed in our hotel, but we only slept there so no big deal. The town of St. Augustine wasn't as good as we were hoping it to be. It is very touristy and reminds of a cross between Myrtle Beach and Charleston. We didn't like it too much so we were glad we only decided to stay one night.
We got to the wedding in Ponte Vedra around 6:00pm. It was at Palm Valley Gardens, which is a beautiful venue with a large house, pond and nice open area for the ceremony. The ceremony was small and intimate and we loved it. It was so good to see so many of my old friends from Avery County. I have so many great memories with these people, and it was so much fun to revisit some of them at such a joyous time. We wish all of God's blessings on Brandon and Shelley and are very grateful they invited us to be a part of their day.
This is me and my boys. (left to right) Anthony, Sean, Stephen, Q-Ball (me), B.J. and Chris. Brandon is missing but he was kind of busy today so we'll let him slide. I spent a lot of hours with these guys and ate a lot of meals at Sean and Chris's house while I was a young bachelor. I probably would have starved to death if they hadn't fed me so well. Thanks to the Turners, Edwards and Spradlings (and the Country House) for feeding me all those meals! It was so good to see everyone. I hope it's not 10 years before I see them again.
Since we were in Florida already (and Andy had never been to Florida before), we decided to explore the coast and see what adventures awaited! Andy did some research before we headed south, and we decided to go to the gulf coast instead of staying on the east side. We ended up in quaint historic town called Pass-a-grille Beach, Florida. We weren't sure what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised. It was enough off the beaten path to ward off the huge crowds. And it was beautiful.
The waters were turquoise and the beaches were white. And great sea shells were every where. Sunday there were quite a few people out on the beach, but on Monday and Tuesday it seemed like everyone else went back to work and we were left with our own private beach. And the best part of where we were staying- it was literally 100 steps (Kate actually counted) away from the beach!
Andy and Kate on the beach on Sunday. Look at that water!
After an afternoon on the beach, we went to a local restaurant to get some fresh seafood. This is us at The Wharf. The Wharf is on the sound side of the island. Andy had fresh hand-made crab cakes and I had steamed shrimp. It was some of the best steamed shrimp we have ever had.
The gulf coast is known for its sunsets and the sunset on Sunday night did not disappoint.
Our tan toes in the sunset!
These are the palm trees along the dunes.
After a beautiful sunset, we had to top off our wonderful first day with a beach must...ice cream. There is a local sweet shop only a block down the road from our hotel. To our delight it had homemade ice cream. Andy's choice for the night...Toast Coconut and Chocolate.
We got to the wedding in Ponte Vedra around 6:00pm. It was at Palm Valley Gardens, which is a beautiful venue with a large house, pond and nice open area for the ceremony. The ceremony was small and intimate and we loved it. It was so good to see so many of my old friends from Avery County. I have so many great memories with these people, and it was so much fun to revisit some of them at such a joyous time. We wish all of God's blessings on Brandon and Shelley and are very grateful they invited us to be a part of their day.
This is me and my boys. (left to right) Anthony, Sean, Stephen, Q-Ball (me), B.J. and Chris. Brandon is missing but he was kind of busy today so we'll let him slide. I spent a lot of hours with these guys and ate a lot of meals at Sean and Chris's house while I was a young bachelor. I probably would have starved to death if they hadn't fed me so well. Thanks to the Turners, Edwards and Spradlings (and the Country House) for feeding me all those meals! It was so good to see everyone. I hope it's not 10 years before I see them again.Since we were in Florida already (and Andy had never been to Florida before), we decided to explore the coast and see what adventures awaited! Andy did some research before we headed south, and we decided to go to the gulf coast instead of staying on the east side. We ended up in quaint historic town called Pass-a-grille Beach, Florida. We weren't sure what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised. It was enough off the beaten path to ward off the huge crowds. And it was beautiful.
The waters were turquoise and the beaches were white. And great sea shells were every where. Sunday there were quite a few people out on the beach, but on Monday and Tuesday it seemed like everyone else went back to work and we were left with our own private beach. And the best part of where we were staying- it was literally 100 steps (Kate actually counted) away from the beach!
Andy and Kate on the beach on Sunday. Look at that water!
After an afternoon on the beach, we went to a local restaurant to get some fresh seafood. This is us at The Wharf. The Wharf is on the sound side of the island. Andy had fresh hand-made crab cakes and I had steamed shrimp. It was some of the best steamed shrimp we have ever had.
The gulf coast is known for its sunsets and the sunset on Sunday night did not disappoint.
Our tan toes in the sunset!
These are the palm trees along the dunes.
After a beautiful sunset, we had to top off our wonderful first day with a beach must...ice cream. There is a local sweet shop only a block down the road from our hotel. To our delight it had homemade ice cream. Andy's choice for the night...Toast Coconut and Chocolate.
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