Thanksgiving-by-the-Sea

Being a food enthusiast, you'd think that Thanksgiving would be a huge holiday for me...but it's not so much. I don't like turkey...and when people suggest that I substitute duck, I don't see the point when I can eat that any day of the week. Likewise with a vegetarian Thanksgiving.

So instead I saw Thanksgiving this year as an opportunity to escape to Seaside, Florida for five days with the Soul Twin. I was just coming home from NCTE and thought there probably wouldn't be a better way to relax than sitting on a beach in Florida. Observe:

This was Sundog Books, one of the best indie bookstores I've been to. The classics section seemed to be in no discernible order ...but then a saleswoman approached me and asked if I needed help. I told her I was looking for Persuasion. It took her all of a nanosecond to find a copy and hand it over to me (with a smile). Incredibly nice people and a great selection.

So this was bought as a joke. It's Francis Ford Coppola's mini Sofia line and, why yes, that's a straw you see there on the side. Like an alcoholic Capri Sun. The taste? Well, it's what you would expect. But when you're sipping while shopping through an open air market, who cares?

Okay, so maybe oysters aren't your thing...but what if they were slurped while taking in the view below...

Can you think of a better way to enjoy the fruits of the ocean?!?! An entire bottle of wine was consumed while taking in this incredible view.


A feast on our balcony. What else do you need other than bread and cheese? Oh, and wine.

Yes, this was on the balcony. Check out the pool below. Word up.

And for your viewing pleasure, one of the most un-PC things I've seen to date. Cowboys and Indians?! Really?! I didn't know anyone still encouraged this sort of play...

An unbelievable trip. In addition to the photographic joy above, we also:

• ate many many loaves of bread from Wild Olives - one of the best baguettes I have tried ever.


• rented bikes from Butterfly Bike and Kayak, and we rode more than six miles everyday (well, yeah, after all that bread, cheese, and wine!).


• drank coffee every morning at Amavida; I'm not a pastry person but Amavida had some of the best morning pastries I have ever indulged in.

It being a vacation and all, lots of books were read. Soul Twin read Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol and moved on to Anna Godbersen's Splendor (courtesy of me...I swear, I'll push that series on anyone showing even the slightest sign of weakness!). I read a galley of Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill (Salem witch trials in verse, tentatively scheduled for a June 2010 release), Educating Peter: How Anyone Can Become an (Almost) Instant Wine Expert by Lettie Teague, and Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle.

Eat, drink, and celebrate at the beach!

Note: All photos taken with my cell phone camera. For that, I am deeply sorry.