New Year's Getaway to St. Augustine with the Family

For our last trip of the year, we decided to go to St. Augustine since Troy had a rare Friday off work.  He took the kids to see Tron while I finished getting ready for our drive.  Thankfully this one was only 2 hours and the kids were fascinated by The City of Sparks book on CD (the second book after The City of Ember).

We went straight to the Renaissance World Golf Resort to check in before heading into town for the evening.  Everyone was so impressed with how lovely the hotel was and having a free night was wonderful.  Since I had a Gold level Marriott membership, I was given a free breakfast buffet and free internet too - so nice!  The grounds had an outdoor pool and jacuzzi and a playground for the kids.  Inside was a gym with a sauna.  They had apples and water for snacks in the gym.

After getting some energy out, we grabbed some dinner at El Potro and were very disappointed with our food overall.  However, Alyssa discovered a mashed potato quesadilla.  I have a feeling that variety will be requested next time I make them :)

We drove out to the beach and found a parking spot so we could make it to the fireworks at the pier.  The weather was very pleasant and the clear skies made it perfect for viewing the show.  They started shooting fireworks at 8:30 and went for 20 minutes with at least 6 sections that seemed like it had to be the finale.  I couldn't believe how many fireworks they had!  

Then we headed back to our hotel and everyone but Troy fell asleep before midnight...  So we had our sparkling cider the next morning for breakfast :)  I had brought breakfast items because I knew they didn't include it at Renaissance hotels, so the rest of the family ate that and I got to go downstairs for the free buffet since Troy's not so into breakfast and such a wonderful husband!  It was the most amazing food!  They normally charge $11.95 and I'd totally pay it if we stay there again. 

I emailed myself a list of the foods they offered:

Omelet station with red onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, bell peppers, bacon, ham, sausage, Cheddar cheese, pepper Jack, and feta cheese Strawberries, pineapple, cantaloupe, and honeydew Veggies like tomatoes, asparagus, carrots, squash, bell peppers, and celery with dip Yogurt Granola Pastries like croissants, cheese filled, raspberry filled, and chocolate filled Bagels, bread, and muffins Oatmeal and grits Scrambled and hard boiled eggs French toast and pancakes Make your own waffles Corned beef hash Biscuits and gravy Bacon and sausage (links and patties) Oranges, apples, Asian pears, and bananas Milk and chocolate milk Cold cereal Breakfast potatoes Cheese cubes and ham cubes I ate enough to last me until my ice cream for dinner ;) Then I took the kids to the jacuzzi and pool.  It felt wonderful to just relax!  We didn't check out of the hotel until 1 pm because we were enjoying it so much.   We stopped at the lighthouse on our way to Winter Wonderland at the St. Augustine Ampitheatre.  It is the 10th tallest in the country.  We looked around the gift shop for a little while and learned more about the lighthouse.  The boys really wanted to climb to the top, but neither Troy or I was up to that.  Katie found a tree to climb though.  The walls of the fence are made of shells in concrete. There is an area where you can drive along St. Augustine Beach. View ahead of us

View to the left

View to the right

Our last stop before heading home was St. George Street for ice cream - Troy's favorite!  We stopped at Kilwin's and were given free samples of their yummy fudge while we waited in the long line to get our cones.  We saw a wood park downtown that the kids want to visit next time...  I'm sure we'll be back.