The three of us worked together for around 25+ years. Marty retired & moved home to IL w/her husband Joe who had developed Parkinsons. Ellen left the company a couple of years later & I retired in 2015. The last time the three of us were together was when Ellen & I visited Marty in Oct. 2021, not long after Joe passed.
Here is a pic of the spread that she put out for the three of us on our first night visiting. Nothing unusual for her. It is her style.
We have kept it touch occasionally since then. Marty recently sent Ellen & I text that she NEEDED some warm weather & to talk w/friends that 'understood' her current situation.
We agreed on a date & Fernandina as the place & she flew into Jax on a Friday. I picked her up from the airport & we had a lovely lunch at Down Under, a great local restaurant on the Intracoastal waterway.
We went to the local grocery store (Harris Teeter) where Marty, as usual, bought too much for us to ever consume in a two day period. Finally got the code to check into our condo at Ketch Cove Courtyard. Had a glass of wine & then met Ellen at Sliders Seaside Grill, another local restaurant (on the beach), for dinner before heading back to the condo.
Had a great conversation & Marty told us all about her 'new' life. She's a member of a good church where she has met a great guy & they have started a relationship. Who knows where that will go but God bless them for finding each other & heading down that path.
Got up the next morning, drank coffe while watching a beautiful sunrise on Saturday morning. Ellen ''finally'' woke up then cooked us a wonderful breakfast. We then went to down to the beach for a couple of hours, for salt & sunshine therapy (I'll spare those pics).
Came back to the condo, took showers & went to downtown Fernandina, strolled the shops & had happy hour drinks & shared a small flatbread pizza at The Patio.
Then we had a lovely dinner at Espana, a Spanish themed restaurant with a big focus on Tapas.
Woke the next morning to another beautiful sunrise.
.... why Ellen doesn't get up for these, we'll never know.
Decided to head back to Sliders for brunch. Had a bloody mary & one of the best brunches I have ever had. Must have been the company...
Said goodbye to Ellen, then Marty & I did a little more shopping in Fernandina & I took her to the airport for her flight back to cold IL & her new 'friend'.
Could not have asked for better weather. The company, companionsip & friendship sealed the whole weekend.
1 comment:
I saw your headline and it intrigued me. I lived in Fernandina from 2006 to 2009. It's a very interesting, friendly town, with a lot of things to do in and around there. It's close to Jacksonville and St. Simons Island.
The economic downturn in the 2010s and the pandemic lockdowns hurt its business quite a bit, and many of the downtown restaurants I used to frequent are gone. But I second the emotion regarding Espana.
Fernandina is sort of a hidden treasure; it doesn't have the cachet of St. Augustine, for example. But it's a relaxing place, and I enjoyed living there.
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