53 Days

Alright, I know what you're thinking. "What the hell is that?" Two things. First, I'm not a professional photographer. I can see it just looks like a glob of mush served in prison. Secondly, it is a glob of mush. Delicious, yummy mush! Ok, but honestly, it's Beef Rendang with Jasmine Rice from the 2012 Food and Wine Festival. This is a top 10 dish. This was so flavorful and just the right amount of spicy. I was sad it did not return last year, nor do I see it returning this year. I'd like to find a copycat recipe for this dish, but have yet to find anything close! 

Outgoing Mail July 30

Beaches tag going to Justyna in Poland

Legend Of Spanish Moss going to Hana in Czech Republic

Florida Shells going to Jenny in Hong Kong

Outgoing Mail July 29

Going to Marco in Germany

Postcard ID: US-2907781

Two cards going to Jeannine in Germany. She collects deep sea postcards and I had these to trade to her for some that I like.

I tagged Luis from Spain in a Lighthouse Postcard forum post. He prefers his cards sent in an envelope and not written on. So I sent him a handwritten letter to go with the postcard.

I tagged Kristen that is located here in the United States in a Disney forum post. She requested Tinkerbell cards and I just happened to have this beautiful one to send her.

This beautiful card will be making it's way to Tatyana in Russia

Character of the Week

Scoop Sanderson is a Main Street USA character who can be found on Main Street in the morning time around 9:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. and usually again around 1 p.m. on select days. If you a pin trader than this is the guy to trade with. Normally has a few lanyards on with limited edition pins, artist proof pins and other great finds. Show him you know how to use your manners and you just may get something special from him.

FI-2109891

Postcrossing Postcard ID: FI-2109891

From: Finland

Sent On: May 22, 2014

Received on: July 9, 2014

Days Traveled: 40 Days

Distance: 7,961 km (4,947 miles)

NL-2545480

Postcrossing Postcard ID: NL-2545480

From: Netherlands

Sent On: June 19, 2014

Received on: July 1, 2014

Days Traveled: 11 Days

Distance: 7,256 km (4,509 miles)

DE-2950316

Postcrossing Postcard ID: DE-2950316

From: Germany

Sent On: February 27, 2014

Received on: June 28, 2014

Days Traveled: 121 Days

Distance: 7,473 km (4,644 miles)

Florida Shells

On Sunday, July 20 we went to a family reunion/birthday party out at Fort Clinch. We spent some time down on the beach looking for shells and sharks teeth. Here's what my husband and I found.

A Sunday Funday Roadside Aventure

I'm a firm believer that no one should ever be bored. If you're bored then you probably have zero imagination to stand up, go outside, and take a look around. I had Sunday off from work yesterday so Jesse and I planned a mini roadtrip from St. Augustine down to Daytona and back through backroads and tourist spots. We used the site Roadside America to plan our mini trip. We had a pretty extensive list, but we ran out of driving time due to the amount of time we spent out of the car. Here is a detailed version of the trip we took yesterday. We started here:

This is the St. Augustine Showboat Car Wash. Located at 520 South Ponce De Leon Blvd on US Hwy 1. Right on the side of the road. You can stop in and get your car washed or just take it in for what it is. We parked across the street to grab the photo. In the parking lot we were parked in we saw this great little sign:

I'm not sure what it's supposed to be, but it is pretty damn cool. We got back on US Hwy 1 and continued our drive towards Ormond Beach where our next stop was. On our drive we drove down this beautiful road with tons of old trees, Spanish moss, and just beautiful scenery.

We finally reached our destination located inside Tomoka State Park. It was $5 to get into the park. We drove down some trails and reached the campsite shop. I picked up some postcards and we picked up some info on "Invincible Chief Tomokie". After we were done inside the shop we headed to find Chief Tomokie.

Totally worth the $5 to get to. We also walked around a little, went down by the water, saw a gopher tortoise and went on our way to our next destination, Daytona Beach. A heavy tourist area for spring breakers and warm days there was lots of kitschy stuff to see that locals probably just shrug off as normal.

First stop was Big Shark Gifts and Souvenirs. We took a look around the shop. I picked up some more postcards of course and headed down the strip for our other sights located on the strip.

We soon finished our trip to Daytona Beach strip and next on our list was a life size replica of the first plane and the Wright Brothers. Located at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The address is:

600 South Clyde Morris Blvd.

Daytona Beach, Fl

In the grassy area across from the statue we found a little time capsule.

As we finished up here rain started to move in so it was time to head to BONGOLAND! Sorry, this was the one I was most looking forward to. Located inside the Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens. We were in for more than we expected. We knew nothing of a sugar mill there or any gardens. All we knew is they ha some amazing looking dinosaurs that we wanted to see. Here are the photos from the stop at Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens. You can visit them at:

 950 Old Sugar Mill Road

 Port Orange, Florida.

We finished up here within 30 or 45 minutes. It was such a great stop to make and it's completely funded from donations. We dropped some pocket change into the donation box and told ourselves we would visit here again during other seasons. The mosquitoes were really bad, but that was the only complaint I had. I'm a mosquito magnet with sweet blood so I had to get out of there with a quickness.

Next up on our list was the Ponce De Leon Ligthouse. None of had ever been there before and figured it worth a quick stop for photos. You can find this beautiful site at:

4931 South Peninsula Drive

Ponce Inlet, Florida

Running low on time we skipped going in and up. The cost I saw posted was $5 for adults and $1.50 for children 11 and under. It will be worth a longer stop on another trip. We picked up some postcards and some pressed pennies and went on our way. Located right up the street I saw this sign in a parking lot that I thought was pretty cool.

We went over our list and decided it was time to start heading back north due to the time. Which means we were skipping a few places that were a little further south. If we had not made that decision this next place would have been a complete shut out due to it closing at 7 p.m. We got there at 6:10 p.m. and as we were pulling in the amazement just fell over us. The best stop on the trip and it held so many wonders and pieces of art that were just screaming to come home with us. I took so many photos that I just couldn't post all of them. Located at:

140 West State Road 40

Barberville, Florida

I present to you Barberville Roadside

We picked up some fresh green tomatoes from their small produce market, grabbed a couple free postcards and walked out with such huge grins on our face. I wonder what we'll see next time we visit this place. So much to see, touch, and taste. Truly worth a stop. It's like walking through an outdoor museum of wonder, imagination, and pure genius.

Our day was coming to an end and we had visited our last stop. Heading back home on US 17 we had a nice long drive. It wasn't too long after being on the road when I spotted this:

A nice way to officially bring an end to our trip. Sadly they were closed, but fun to see nonetheless. I hope you enjoyed our Sunday Roadside Adventure.