Christmas 2010

I left for Jacksonville on Wednesday the 23rd at 7:40AM flight out of Philly.  We boarded on time and left the gate right on time.  We had no delays heading for the running and were the first flight to take off.  We arrived around 9:45 which was 15 minutes early.  Since the flight arrived early, Mom was not waiting for me.  I ran into her as she was walking towards the meet-and-greet area.

We picked up Dad and had lunch at a new brewpub on Beach.  they just opened and had not installed the brewing equipment yet.  The food was good and they had an excellent draft craft beer selection.

Flagler College

On Christmas Eve we drove down to St. Augustine for the morning.  We took the scenic route down A-1-A.

Mom and Dad

St George St.

We ventured down St. George Street popping in and out of shops and boutiques.   We ended up having lunch at the Columbia Restaurant, a famous restaurant in old town.  Very good Cuban and South American food.

St Augustine Lighthouse

After lunch we drove over to Anastasia Island so I could see the Lighthouse.  The problem was that we arrived when the place was closing for the day.  A schedule snafu.  Oh well there's next year.

Me with big knife

Christmas, here I am with my new chef's knife.















The Jaguars were playing a home game on Sunday the 26th and as usually Scott had tickets and wanted me to go to the game.  This was a must win game against the Redskins.  They were favored and the Jaguars have never lost when I was in the stadium, Never!  Well, it was one of those nasty winter days in Jax so I decided to watch the game at home with Mom and Dad.  So, the Jags lost and Scott blamed me.  Ha!  Any who, I went over to his house to watch the late game, Vikings at the Eagles.  Unfortunately the game was postpone until Tuesday because of the blizzard in Philly (which I missed, ha ha).  So I just hung out and visited.  Gina's sister was in town with her husband who is a pro soccer player.  They had the flu so I did not get a change to chat with him much.  Scott and I did our usually thing, listen to music and watch videos (add drink beer).

Monday nothing much other than we went to a movie and saw the latest Harry Potter movie.  Mom and Dad were good sports since they have only seen one other Potter movie.  I enjoyed it and can not wait for the last movie.

I left on Tuesday the 28th around 11AM and got back to Philly around 1PM.  I watched the rescheduled Eagles game which was a disappointment.  

December Weekends

Had my first date with Tracy after returning from Libya on Saturdaynight the 4th. We met at the Market East train station downtown.  Then we took the "EL" down to 2nd street where we walked to Restaurante' Primavera for wine and cheese flights.  We sat at the same spot we sat at the first time we went there.  Had a great time getting caught up on stuff.  After dinner we walked towards town, it was a bit chili but we did not notice.  We went into the old Wanamaker's (now Macy's) to see the Christmas display but it must had been too late.  So we walked over to the Comcast Center to see their Christmas display but it was not on, strike two.  Then I suggested we go the Max Brenner's for some hot chocolate.  The place was packed but we got a small table and enjoyed the snack.

Got together with Tracy on Saturday the 11th she came by in the morning.  We went to the new German restaurant in Fox Chase.  Not bad the food was pretty good. We order different wurst plates so we could sample their inventory.  We both had Riesling wine.

Friday night the 17th I headed over to the Slapinsky's.  Had a great time socializing and carrying on.   Joe had just receive a new Samsung Galaxy Tablet in the mail just before I arrived.  Cool device, I may just get one.  He had a neighbor come by who is in the music industry.  A bass player who has played and recorded with many big groups.  We had a gaming geek fest with "Angry Birds" a very obsessive game.  We had fours devices going at once.

Saturday the 18th  I went to my beer distributor and found a case of the Weyerbacher Riserva. I’ve been looking quite awhile for this brew. The price was very steep but should be worth it. Will not know for some time because this brew needs to age for at least a year before consuming, I my opinion.
After my shopping excursion I drove up to the Iron Abbey for lunch and to watch the Fliers game. They had an excellent selection of Christmas beers. I ordered a flight because there was no way I would be able to consume four full Christmas beers in one sitting. (See my beer blog site for a detailed report).

On Sunday the 19th I chatted with Tracy most of the morning she was doing her Xmas shopping today with plans to get together in the evening. I did some shopping myself before the Eagles game. Speaking of the Eagles game, one of the best come backs of all times. They were playing the Giants in their stadium, I think.  Down 31 – 10 with 7 minutes left in the game they scored 4 unanswered touchdowns, with the winning touchdown off of a punt return with only 14 seconds left in the game.

Wrapped up the weekend at Tracy’s place.