Our third day in Orlando was going to be a busy one. We woke up and after another fabulous free breakfast at the hotel....we were off to do some things that we really didn't want to have to be doing.
First stop was the place where we had to go to sign the papers and pick up Paul's brother's ashes. It was only fitting that the day was dreary and a little rainy. After that task was completed, we stopped at a store along the way to pick up flowers for all the graves we wanted to take care of while we were at the cemetery.
Interestingly enough, as we got back in the car from getting the flowers and on our way to the cemetery....a song came on the radio "Only the Good Die Young". That was strange, but not as strange as our drive to the cemetery when the song "He ain't heavy...he's my Brother" came on after we had been making remarks about our surprise at how heavy the box of remains were. Ok....now that was also very strange.
Since we were early, we went and drove by the house that Paul's had lived in with his grandparents for a few years in Debary. Brought back lots of memories for him......but the neighbor was a little suspicious why we kept driving by slowly and taking pictures.
The cemetery is about 5-10 minutes from this house, so we headed that direction. I LOVE this cemetery. It's tucked back in the back of this little town and just has the most peaceful feeling to it. It's run by volunteers and the records are kept in old receipt books.
They had the hole already for us when we got there, so Paul did the honor of burying his brother.
I am so glad that we made this trip and brought his brother to be buried next to his mother.
This same cemetery also holds the remains of Paul's Dad, his paternal grandparents and an aunt. We made sure that flowers were put on each grave as we paid our respects.
After purchasing the grave marker, we headed on our way to St. Augustine, which would be about an 1.5 hour drive from where we were.
We chose to go through Daytona Beach on our way to St. Augustine and the plan was to find a beachside restaurant for us to eat lunch.
Unfortunately, the weather was UGLY and WINDY so we didn't get out of the car and enjoy the beach, but we did enjoy driving along the highway north to St. Augustine. I just love ocean front highways!
The weather was crappy, but the view was spectacular!
We found the perfect place to eat lunch in Flagler Beach (although it was 4pm) and feasted upon the best Greek Salad and fried mushrooms we had ever had. The cold beer I enjoyed with my lunch made the meal even better......although having a spectacular view of the ocean makes everything better.
But then it was time to hit the road again on our way to St. Augustine! We found our hotel and it couldn't have been more perfect and closer to the water. It was older, charming, and quaint and had the most amazing view of the Court of Lions Bridge and Old Town St. Augustine.
It was decided that our entertainment for the evening was going to be live trivia.....and we found a local bar that was hosting one. We had a great time. The place was packed, the people were awesome and friendly, and we even had one old guy join our team. We had a blast.
After a 4th place finish and a few beers.....the night was still young and Paul wasn't ready to go back to the hotel yet. So we found a little bar right next door to the hotel and lucky for us it was free pool night. The place was a little divey and the few people that were there were a lot younger than us. But the DJ was playing awesome music and those kids were so much fun. The waitress was bringing us our drinks on her head and turned on the fryer and made us some French fries. We must have played 10 games of pool.......but we were having so much fun.
When it was time to go back to the hotel, I just couldn't bear crawling into bed without enjoying the gorgeous view and the sound of the water hitting the deck. It was cold, but I just grabbed a blanket off the bed and enjoyed that quiet moment of life. Tomorrow was going to be a day filled with sightseeing. Life is good.
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