The Rest of Our Migration

Originally our migration south was to follow our usual route of home to Dobson, NC, to Fernandina Beach, FL, to our new destination in Venice, FL. Unfortunately when Bob tried to book our usual Hampton just off of I77 in Dobson, there were no vacancies. Unusual because we were booking months in advance. He booked our second choice, the Hampton in Mount Airy. He continued to book our stays and restaurant choices (we have some favorites) and paid ahead making them impossible to cancel.

Of course then he decided we needed to do something more with the Christmas season and we found the information for Christmas at Biltmore. That meant that after our Biltmore visit, we would have to backtrack a bit to Mount Airy for our stay there.

Mount Airy is Andy Griffith's hometown. It is Mayberry for all intents and purposes. Stores full of Mayberry themed products dot the downtown streets. We did a great tour on our own a few years ago and I posted about it. You can find it here: Mayberry USA.

It was still very cold and a bit windy so a lot of exploring in Mayberry was not going to happen. We were hungry when we arrived and sought out a place to eat. Where we parked was close to Barney's Cafe so we ducked in there. Lots of good choices on the menu that struck a chord with us. I ordered a PBJ with fruit cup and Bob got a grilled cheese sandwich, his favorite. It's a tiny cafe but very nostalgic.

We visited a couple of stores and then retreated to our hotel room for the rest of the afternoon. Dinner was at our favorite boutique restaurant at the Shelton Vineyards, Harvest Grill. We sat by a crackling fireplace and enjoyed a delicious meal.

On to Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island. Our favorite little French restaurant has been changed to a more contemporary restaurant and we had to sit outside on the patio with the aid of area heaters to keep us warm. It was New Year's Eve and they were busy.  The plan was to walk down to the marina and watch the shrimp drop (a giant lighted shrimp they drop from a big crane). Unfortunately we didn't realize the drop wasn't at midnight. It was at seven o'clock followed by fireworks. We did get to see the fireworks. The early hour for the drop and fireworks explained why there were so many kids around to celebrate.

We arrived at Gran Paradiso in Venice the afternoon of New Year's Day and after a phone call to the management rental company, we received our information to get into our villa. The villa is lovely but we have given up our wonderful view of the Florida Bay for grass and shrubs but we are closer to where our kids now live. The things you do for grandkids.....

It's A Christmas Parade!!

On our snowbird migration south, we stopped at one of our favorite places, Fernadina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida. It was a Saturday night and the town was geared up for a Christmas Parade. We skipped our usual restaurant in favor of one that was open a little earlier so that we could get dinner done and watch the parade that was due to start at six.

People were congregating and kids were getting excited. By the time six o'clock arrived, the main street was lined with people and everyone had staked out their spot. It was a little chilly for Florida but Amelia Island can be that way in the early winter months. Still, it didn't take more than a light jacket to keep warm.

Six o'clock came and passed and we could only imagine what might be happening in the organization to bring floats and marchers together. Before long we saw the flashes of light from the police car that was leading the parade. Kids and adults alike cheered.

Now the thing that I love about small town parades is that everyone has a part. First the honor guard the send in the fire engines! Follow them up with every civic group you can think of and a few very creative ones--like a pirate club. There was motorcycle club, a jeep club and the Shriners in their little cars. All were decorated to the hilt with colorful lights and Christmas decoration.

Floats included some Santas and angels and a Frosty as well as what looked like an Easter bunny to which someone yelled, "Wrong holiday!"

The high school marching band had their instruments decked out in lights and in the middle was a suspicious looking Santa. It was a hoot.


There was a huge truck from a local company that had trouble making the turn at the corner with so many people gathered there. Traffic controllers moved the crowd and directed the truck that backed up a couple of times until it cleared poles and people to a rousing cheer from the crowd.




The parade was a good forty-five minutes long and I was so entranced that I barely moved and suddenly realized my knees had just about locked in place. A little maneuvering and some oil for the new knee (just kidding) and we walked quickly to our favorite ice cream parlor for a small cone.





The night was magical, as Bob would say, with all the lights and the joy of towns people as they each other with "Merry Christmas!"  And no one missed the snow.