After Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas we left on New Year’s eve for four weeks in Indian Shores, Florida! We packed up our dog, some clothes, and left. We split the drive into two days. We stayed in Columbia, South Carolina at a pet friendly hotel.
Matilda in the back seat and on our way!
We arrived in Indian Shores and our VRBO accommodations around dinner time. Our place was on the second floor and our balcony faced the Gulf of Mexico. After the car was unloaded we enjoyed our first sunset!
our place
Our days were spent exploring the area, sitting and reading on the beach, and walks on the beach, and enjoying the sunshine. Matilda, our dog, enjoyed her walks along the sidewalks. Pets were not allowed on the beach! Matilda didn’t mind as long as she got at least 3 walks a day. We’ve included some of the highlights during our stay!
If we went out to dinner we tried to find restaurants with patios that allowed dogs. One restaurant was Caddy’s. Dave said the seafood was delicious.
It was another beautiful sunset!
Matilda was not interested! 🙂
Some of the area was still recovering from Hurricane Helene which hit this area in late September, 2025 as a category 4! Next to us the damage was visible. We saw homes and small hotels that are still uninhabitable, as well as empty lots where only the foundations were left and businesses that didn’t survive.
There were two pools here and now sand completely filled them in! You can still see the fences that were torn loose and scattered.
We took Matilda to a dog friendly park, Sand Key Park and walked along the paths. She enjoyed that adventure.
You can’t beat the sunsets!
A beautiful sunset and a glass of wine!
On one of our walks we stopped and saw the monument that honored the indigenous residents, the Tocobaga Indians, of the town. The sculpture showed a Tocobaga Indian fisherman with two other family members and a baby.
When enjoying a day at the beach you never know what you might see. It was different seeing a floating billboard when we looked up from our reading! Another day wedding pictures being taken!
Picture taking
Many days the beach was ours with not another person around!
While we were enjoying a beautiful sunset during our last week in Florida, central Ohio was getting 12″ of snow!
Life has been busy so we need to catch up on our adventures since we returned from Italy! We made a quick trip to see our two youngest grandkids. Then it was off to “The Big Apple”, New York City for a few days. We took our dog sitter (our sister) as a thank you for keeping our dog during our long trip in Italy!
Flying into LaGuardia
We had an early morning flight, took a cab to our hotel where we stored our luggage and set off to explore the city. We enjoyed lunch at the Stardust Diner where the help sings while you enjoy your food. It was quite entertaining.
The Ryder Cup was telecasted live at the Rockefeller Plaza. We stopped and took in the festivities for a while. Then we went to the “Top of the Rock” because it was such a clear day. The views were spectacular.
Ryder Cup Live at Rockefeller PlazaOne of our many views from the “Top of the Rock”!Looking out at Central Park
Late afternoon we headed to our hotel to check in and clean up for our first Broadway show, Maybe Happy Ending! We understood why it received six Tony awards!
We’re ready for the show!
On our second day in the city we had 2 shows, Death Becomes Her and MJ: The Musical! This morning we walked through Central Park. The matinee performance of Death Becomes Her was wonderful. We experienced the show with the lead actors and it was very entertaining!
After the matinee we found a bar to watch the Ohio State Buckeye football game. In the bar we met other fans!
Watching the game after our show and before our next show!
This evening we saw MJ: the Musical! The singing and dancing was outstanding! The audience was into the show!
On our third day in New York City we visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was perfect weather to take the first ferry over to see her.
Statue of Liberty Ferry
The Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty was gifted to the United States by France to commemorate their alliance. It was dedicated in 1886 in New York Harbor. The French sculptor, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi designed the statue and it was built by Gustave Eiffel’s company. After our visit to “Miss Liberty” we took the ferry over to Ellis Island.
Ellis Island had more than 12 million immigrants pass through its doors from 1892 to 1954. Inside were exhibits about the immigration process that happened here.
We explored more of the city and this evening we had tickets to see & Juliet. It was a musical that looks at Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet with Juliet not dying but lived and took control of her life. The musical featured existing music. It was another enjoyable show.
After the show we visited Lillie’s Victorian Establishment that went all out for Halloween! It was a fun place to have a drink! Below are just a few of the decorations around the bar. There was so much more to see!
Lillie’s Victorian Establishment
On our last day in New York we took the “Big Bus” to see more of the city. It gave our tired legs and feet a rest!
Brooklyn Bridge9/11 memorial crossJust a few of the skyscrapers in the city.
From our hotel the Garment District was a short walk. It’s a historic neighborhood. We saw many fabric stores, design shops, sewing machines and trimming stores. It was great window shopping.
We went in Mood Fabrics. My sister watched Project Runway and knew about this fabric store. It was an amazing store with 40,000 square feet over 3 floors of fabrics, trims, notions, and much more.
This evening we saw an Off Broadway show called “Singfeld! A Musical About Nothing“. It was in a small theater and was a parody of the popular TV show Seinfeld. If you hadn’t watched the TV show then this musical would not have made much sense.
We had a few days in between helping to care for our granddaughter in Virginia so we booked a condo through VRBO that was located oceanfront on Amelia Island. It was great to have warm weather and the sun shining in February! There was snow at home so we enjoyed the temperature in the 70s!
Our first full day we drove to the north end to visit Fort Clinch. The drive to the fort took us along the historic Canopy Road that was covered with oak trees and Spanish moss.
Beginning of the canopy roadDriving along the canopy road
After the serene drive along the canopy road we arrived at Fort Clinch, 1847-1945. The fort was never completely finished. When the Civil War began the fort was under control by the Confederates. Then as the Union started to gain control of the coast of Georgia, General Robert E. Lee ordered the evacuation of the fort and Union troops arrived in March, 1862. It is now a Florida state park and is open to visitors. We enjoyed wandering around the fort.
After visiting the fort we drove over to see the Amelia Island Lighthouse. It is the oldest existing lighthouse in Florida. In 2001 the Coast Guard turned over the lighthouse to the City of Fernandina Beach. It is the westernmost lighthouse located along the east coast of the US and about a mile from the Atlantic Ocean. It is located within a residential neighborhood and sits on the highest point on the island.
On our way to the lighthouse we stopped at the Salt Marsh.
Salt Marsh
Looking across the Salt Marsh at the lighthouse
Amelia Island Lighthouse
After our morning exploration we spent the afternoon by the ocean at our condo.
Our second full day at Fernandina Beach was gorgeous weather so we spent most of the day enjoying the warmth of the sun and catching up on our reading!
We also had company as we were reading!
Day 3 was another warm and sunny day. The sunrise was beautiful! We read by the ocean in the morning and spent the afternoon walking around the historic downtown of Fernandina.
Sunrise from our condo patio.
Fernandina Beach historic waterfront city is considered downtown which encompasses over 50 blocks that are on the register of historic places. It was fun to walk around the area.
Enjoying a “beverage” at the Palace saloon!
Today we left the warmth of Florida and headed back to Virginia!
We had enough Delta points to schedule a quick vacation to San Antonio, Texas, a city that we had never visited. It included our flight, hotel, and car.
The hotel upgraded us to a suite and we were quite impressed! After checking in we headed out to the famous San Antonio River Walk.
Saturday’s Adventures
Dave heading down to the River Walk and our hotel is in the background.Walking along the River Walk
Along the River Walk
Our destination was Valero, or the Alamo as its known to most people. It was the first mission along the San Antonio River in 1718. The Alamo was where over 150 people died in 1836 as they fought for independence from Mexico.
The Alamo
Sunday’s Adventures
We headed to Fredericksburg to visit some wineries along the “Wine Road 290”! Our first stop was to park and walk around the town of Fredericksburg. As we walked along the main road in town there were many shops and some of the wineries had downtown tasting rooms.
Downtown Fredericksburg, TexasWe enjoyed reading all of the wine sayings in the stores.Fredericksburg
After walking around town, we visited a few of the wineries along the “Wine Road”! Our first stop was Messina Hof. They produce wines that are 100% grown in Texas.
Entrance to Messina HofMessina HofWine tasting
On to Signor Vineyards with over 200 acres!
We also stopped at Grape Creek Vineyards founded in 1983 and was the oldest winery on Highway 290. They bottled all of the Grape Creek wines on their estate.
Grape Creek Vineyards
We really enjoyed our drive along the Wine Road. We drove up to a few of the other vineyards to look around before we headed back to San Antonio.
Monday’s Adventures
This morning we walked the other direction along the River Walk and headed to the Pearl District.
LockLock & DamVFW Post 76, the oldest in TexasThe River Walk
The Pearl District had shops, restaurants, a park area, the Culinary Institute of America and the Hotel Emma.
We had brunch at the Bakery Lorraine that was known for their baked goods. Every item that they serve was handmade. The food we had was delicious! We visited and browsed a great book store called The Twig. After walking around the area we stopped in the lobby of the Hotel Emma. It was a historical hotel that once was a Brewhouse in the 19th century.
This afternoon we visited the other Missions of San Antonio. Mission Concepción was our first stop. It had the oldest unrestored stone church in America.
Mission ConcepciónParts of the original frescos
Mission San José became known as the “Queen of the Missions”. At its peak, it housed 350 Native Americans that resided in 84 two-room apartments.
Mission San Juan was established in 1716 to serve the Nazonis Indians but the mission struggled due to disease and danger from attacking Apaches and then the Comaches. People of the San Juan Parish still worshipped at the church just as their ancestors had.
Mission Espada was established in 1731 and had many Spanish features. You could see the church doorway, the brick archways and the bell tower all had a Spanish influence.
Tuesday’s Adventures
Today we walked along the River Walk to the Main Plaza so we would know where the San Fernando Cathedral was located because we were going to go to the light show this evening. This afternoon we spent enjoying the pool at our hotel, reading and watching the Denver Nuggets basketball players that were also staying at our hotel!
The hotel pool.View of San Antonio from the pool area.The San Fernando Cathedral with the “San Antonio: The Saga”San Antonio: The Saga Light ShowWalking along the River Walk back to our hotel.
Wednesday’s Adventures
Today was a trip to visit Austin, Texas the capital. We visited the capital building and the LBJ Presidential Library. Both were very educational.
AustinUniversity of TexasUniversity of Texas stadiumLBJ Presidential Library on UT campusStatue of LBJReplica of his Oval OfficeLooking up at the floors filled with his documents!Dave facing off with LBJ!Texas State CapitalGate to the CapitalRotunda inside the Capital buildingThe star is 8 feet from point to point and is surrounded by letters that spell TEXAS.
Thursday’s Adventures
Natural Bridge Caverns was our destination for a late morning tour. The owners of the land developed that first 1/2 mile of the 2 miles of caverns. We were told that the first 1/2 mile was the best to see and was called their Discovery Tour.
This afternoon we visited the historic Market Square where you could get the flavor of old Mexico with the many locally owned businesses.
After walking all through Market Square, we visited the Tower of the Americas. It was a clear afternoon and it wasn’t very busy. It was 750 feet tall and we had awesome views of San Antonio from the observation deck.
Friday’s Adventures
This morning we went to the Witte Museum. The museum had exhibits that incorporated Texas heritage, nature, science, and culture.
Our next stop was the Japanese Tea Garden which had also been known as the Chinese Tea Gardens. It opened in an abandoned quarry in the early 20th century. It also was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. A lot of people were visiting here. The gardens were beautiful.
When we returned to the hotel for our last night in San Antonio, we visited the rooftop bar of our hotel for a glass of wine.
Saturday Adventures
This morning we checked out of the hotel, returned our rental and flew home. It was a great trip and we enjoyed exploring and learning about San Antonio, Texas!
