Adventure Date: Caverns Tour

M and I went on a great day trip recently to Florida Caverns State Park.  We spent the day walking nature trails and were able to take a guided tour of the caverns approximately 65 feet underground. 

Hubby and I kind of have a thing for caves... we toured another cave in Colorado last year and loved it.

I also loved the fact that the cave is a balmy 60 ish degrees all year round. Slightly damp, but nice and cool.  Especially in Florida when it's like 80 degrees in October.

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was my birthday... It was a pretty good day.  Had to work, but that's life, right?  

1. M sent me flowers at work.  My faves - pink gerber daisies! Awww... isn't he sweet to me?
2. Feeding the ducks at the park.
3. Chilling with my favorite guy after dinner.
4. Birthday dessert - Cheesecake!

For our birthday date, the Hubby and I picked up mexican to go (at Moe's - yum!) and took it to a park downtown.  This may not sound all that fab to you, but it's something we used to do a lot when we were dating, so this particular park is special to us.  They've recently re-landscaped the park, so we had benches to sit on this time.

Apparently, there was a 5K going on that night around the park... so we sat on the bench and watched people run by while eating our burritos.  The irony of it all just gets me.

After dinner, we took a walk around the pond and fed the ducks.  M commented that the ducks quacking sounded like evil laughter... you'd have to be there. But it sort of did.

Cheesecake!  I will be doing a separate post on this in the near future.  It was AMAZING. And yes, I made it myself.  Every year when I mention to anyone that I make my own birthday dessert, I get these sympathetic comments. But really, I enjoy this part of my birthday the most... choosing a different dessert and making it.  YUM.

Another year to thank God for and a fresh year ahead to accomplish great things.  Hope you'll come along for the ride!

Anne-athema

My feet at Rustico Beach, PEI.  Wow... they look really white and freaky...

If you're headed up to Prince Edward Island, Canada, and aren't a huge Anne of Green Gables fan, you might be wondering what else there is to do.  Anathema is a Greek word meaning, "a person or thing detested or loathed", in case you're wondering.  Ok, so you may not loathe Anne of Green Gables, but after spending a few days on the Island you may be looking for something to do that doesn't involve red hair and freckles.

Here's a few suggestions:

• Go to the beach.  I'm not talking the public beaches, they can be SUPER crowded depending on the time of year.  I recommend one of the state parks or the beaches on the tips of the island, such as Tignish Beach on the west or Campbell Beach on the east.  Of course, Cavendish or Brackley Beach are lovely as well, but will be a bit more populated.
• Walk or bike the Confederation Trail (maybe not all of it, but some of it!), weather permitting.
• If you go during tourist season, check out one of the festivals or the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts in Summerside (they do concerts, or you can take a tour).
• Try a Culinary Boot Camp at Holland College if you enjoy cooking.  They were closed for the week when we were there (early June), but I've heard great reviews and want to do this the next time we go! It is a bit pricey, but if you're as obsessed with cooking as I am, it may just be worth the cost.
• Play in the Clay at Right off the Batt pottery in Borden-Carleton (right off the Confederation Bridge).  This was SO much fun, I'll be posting about this a little later.
• Check out the many historical sites, museums, and exhibits PEI has to offer (more about them in a separate post also).
• Visit the Brackley Drive In for a blast from the past Date Night. They show current movies, but the drive in itself is styled like the 1950's including the music they play until the show starts!  The first film is typically a family or kid friendly film, and admission includes 2 full length films and a free soft drink.

 The official PEI tourism site has a ton of information to offer - we got a lot of inspiration from there.  There's literally something for everyone.

The Fountain of Youth

One of our recent adventure dates was a day trip to Ponce de Leon Springs State Park.  We live in the city, so it's nice to get away from the craziness and spend time in nature.  And I found a gray hair the other day...yikes... so it was off to the "fountain of youth". 

Us dipping our toes in the shallow creek bed

As with many of the dates I plan, this one was a surprise.  I typed up a clue and gave it to M the night before.