Anniversary Beach Shopping & Exhibits

So many great things have been going on I'm not even sure where I want to begin....March 13th was our anniversary and with it being Spring Break Steve and I decided we would just go out to eat and then do something special later.   Since we both had agreed we would not buy gifts for each other imagine both of our surprise when we each received something from the other one that we had wanted for a while.

January 1 through February you can comb the beaches of Jekyll Island to find beautiful, one-of-a-kind glass fishing floats.  Each day a select number of the floats are placed along the beaches just above the high tide line.  I spent many days walking and searching for one of the hidden treasures, but always came home empty handed.  Steve surprise me with this gorgeous white glass float created by artist Mark Ellinger.  Each one is individually crafted with the same techniques that have been used for 200 years to create glass art. All floats are engraved on the plug with Jekyll Island, Georgia's Jewel, the year, and the artists signature.

And I surprised him by paying attention one day while shopping on the island when he was intrigued with the Galileo Thermometers.  The glass spheres are calibrated and fitted with a metal temperature medallion.  The weight of each sphere varies slightly and as the actual room temperature fluctuates, the glass spheres will rise or fall.  As the room temperature decreases, the spheres rise and they fall as the temperature increases.  The lowest sphere with the group floating at the top of the thermometer indicates the correct temperature.  Needless to say ours usually has all but one at the top as we keep our home on the cool side....but it is fun to actually see them float up or down occasionally.

We had made reservations for Easter weekend at St. Augustine Beach a while back....Colby has good and bad days trying to adjust to all the meds, KC had just been home for 9 days and only back at school for 4 and didn't want to make the 14 hr drive for the weekend and Seth just is not a beach bum.....so Steve and I took advantage of the long weekend and celebrated our anniversary.  The weather was beautiful....the beaches were not crowded and the shopping was great! 

We left early Friday morning making our first stop within 30 minutes at Me and My Partner Antiques and Collectibles/Woodbine International Fire Museum.  I found some old school report cards from 1917 and Mr. Windy the owner pulled out a few other papers he had in a drawer to give me.  I just love the sign he has out front!  It certainly has gotten my attention a few times.  I would highly recommend a visit to Woodbine to this great antique shop and the Fire Museum is awesome...fill with tons of history.  We continued heading south making several stops along the way. 

Sunrise Saturday!  This is the view we had from our balcony!

North Country Antiques located in the Lightner Museum Antique Mall in historic St. Augustine is filled with Ephemera, Old Books, Magazines, Postcards, Stamps, Records, Advertising, Prints, and more.  Lightner Antique Mall is located inside the famous Lightner Museum. Built on top of the old Hotel Alcazar's swimming pool (The largest swimming pool in the world in 1888) and features many antique stores and a café under one roof.

When on San Marco Ave a must stop is Claire's Collectibles Fun Rubber Stamps.  If you can't find it here you most likely don't need it.  I made two stops there and came home with tons of stamps, inks, elements and magazines.

Upcoming Exhibits

For those that come to Waycross GA for Swampfest April 4-6, I will be exhibiting with a group of artists from the Okefenokee Heritage Center in the Phoenix Hotel located downtown.

I have been asked to do a solo exhibit for the month of May at Monkey Love Dessert Bar & Gallery.  Monkey Love's mission is to serve the community and their customers with the honor and respect they deserve while contributing to children's organizations to help stop child abuse. 

When you walk into Monkey Love you feel at home and the aroma is to die for....sinful desserts and pastries and coffees.....and since I am not a coffee drinker I had to have a Banana Milk Shake.....let me just say Heaven.....and then there was the slice of Coconut Lemon Layered Cake I got to go for Seth....I have looked at it all afternoon and finally just couldn't resist any longer.....I took a bite and then I took another....then I set it in the cabinet out of sight! 

I will share more about Monkey Love and the Wine and Cheese Reception at a later date.

I have lots of art to work on over the next several weeks, but I am refreshed from my trip and ready to move forward.

Thanks for stopping by!

Debbie