Back in Portland

Last week J and I flew to Jacksonville, FL for a much overdue visit with my parents and sister. After a bit of a snafu with our plane in Portland, we thought we might not make it, but somehow miraculously showed up only two hours later than scheduled. The week was filled with a bit of work, a bit of play, and for my mom and me, lots and lots of shopping. I guess I should say browsing, because there wasn't a whole lot of buying -- except for a couple of maternity shirts that I found on sale. We looked at crib options, car seats, tested out strollers, and I even allowed myself to gush over the totally cute bedding at this boutique that carried really really expensive strollers. I had to keep repeating to myself, I will not be seduced by monkey sheets, I will not be seduced by monkey sheets, I am stronger and more powerful than the cutesy monkey sheets.

On Saturday, we all drove down to St. Augustine for an afternoon in the gorgeous sunny weather. Neither Jesse or I had been before, so it was a treat just to walk around and check out the town. We spent quite a bit of time at Castillo de San Marcos, one of the oldest standing structures in North America. The fort was started in 1672 by the Spanish to defend their empire and is one of the cooler forts that I've seen. You'd probably get a better sense of my new totally normal looking maternity top if my sister hadn't pinched my rear end two seconds before the shot was taken. Look at her smile. She is so proud.

Later, we walked around the Flagler College campus and explored the lobby of one of their main residence halls. Can you believe students actually get to live in this building? As we were walking my parents to their car, a horse and carriage parked next to an old church that we were admiring. Apparently, I must suffer from post-morning sickness trauma, because the smell of horse pee sent me leaning over the church wall trying desperately not to lose my lunch. Luckily, I was able to compose myself before anything terribly embarrassing happened, but just in time for an entire group of trolley riders to witness my dramatic scene.

J, Katie, and I were left to our own devices for a couple of hours while waiting to meet up with my good friend Jon and his wife, Cathy, for dinner. Had circumstances been different, we probably would have ponied up to a bar and sampled a local brew or two. Since I've found that it's not really all that exciting to watch my husband drink great beer, we settled on a roaring game of mini golf instead. We found this 18-hole course tucked into a maze of hedges near the marina and had a blast. And at only $4.50/person it was quite a fun deal.

Sunday was a low-key afternoon. Jesse and I packed up our things, we all had a delicious lunch, and then went for a walk on the beach before heading out to the airport. It was a great trip.