Thursday
brought two law school spring breakers to my door seeking fun in the
sun. Nicole and Michele came bearing gifts of cinnamon coffee and
blueberry wine from the best grocery store in North Carolina.
It was especially great to see Nicole, just to have a familiar face and
old friend to get a hug from and talk to was a treat for me. I also
enjoyed getting to know Nicole's fellow law-student-in-need-of-fun
a.k.a. Michele and having two girl friends to double the fun. It turned
out to be a fantastic spring break for all involved...
The
night of their arrival we whipped up some fish tacos and cocktails to
kick off the official start of their break. It was so much fun to show
them around my new home in Juno Beach. While I was at work they
discovered a favorite local bar, Thirsty Turtle, which ended up being their favorite spot to chill after a long, hard day of beachin' it.
Friday night we went out to Square Grouper,
a famous Jupiter bar where Jimmy Buffett and Alan Jackson filmed the
video for the song "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere." It has a spunky
history rooted in illegal activity: rum running during prohibition and
the marijuana trade during the sixties. The U.S. Coast Guard nicknamed
the bales of marijuana thrown out of boats and airplanes "square
groupers," hence the bar's name. More recently the bar tends to attract
some country stars like Sugarland and Kenny Chesney, as many of the
celebrities own homes on the Jupiter oceanfront and will drop by
occasionally. No such luck that night, but there was a great live band
that we enjoyed while sipping our sea breezes by the water.
We went to the West Palm Beach Green Market on Saturday where we had authentic empanadas, ceviche, and guacamole. I got a fresh fruit pina colada and
took home a package of freshly baked cider donuts that we re-heated on
Sunday for a morning treat. Just walking through the various stands of
artisan food, desserts, flowers and plants, farm fresh produce, and
artwork on a beautiful sunny day was relaxing and fun.
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| John Henson takin' it to Miles Plumlee. So glorious. |
Afterward we continued our day of relaxation on the beach and then came home and got ready for the ultimate rivalry match up that
evening. As a half-hearted Dookie, Nicole was a good sport about Kevin
and I's rather loud cheers and ongoing game commentary. Michele hails
from the Big Blue of Michigan, so her loyalties were set in stone before
grad school and she had little trouble staying impartial. For this
Carolina fan, the game was absolutely incredible; everything I could
have hoped for and more. Everyone played phenomenal, our point guard
Kendall Marshall had 20 points and 10 assists, and one of my favorite
moments was when our John Henson scored right over devil-twin Miles
Plumlee. I'm also ecstatic to see our "diaper dandies" breaking out of their shells and particularly relished P.J. Hairston's dunk right on top of Austin Rivers. Ooooh it's a happy day. I could watch that on a loop for an extended period of time...
 |
| Precious! |
Since
Nicole and I had a friendly wager on the game, she bought the four of
us a round of drinks at Panama Hattie's Rum Bar in the form of a giant
rum punch bucket with four straws. We took turns sipping the potent
concoction while hanging out by the water in colorful Adirondack chairs.
The next day, Kevin went to the Honda Classic golf tournament to watch Tiger lose to a 22-year-old prodigy (how do ya like dem apples old man?!)
while us gals went to the Loggerhead Marinelife Center. The center is a
rescue center and veterinary hospital for injured sea turtles and also
helps with ocean conservation efforts and education. I enjoyed seeing
all the different turtle residents, but it also was quite sad to see
them with missing flippers (e.g., caught in fishing wire), large gashes
on their shells (e.g., boat propellers), and diseases from pollution
(e.g., eating plastic). Some of them would recover and be released back
into the ocean once healthy, but others' injuries were too severe (one
lil guy had not one, but two missing flippers).
 |
| Papa Loggerhead |
To
complete our animal day (and
so the girls could see a gator), we had plans to go to the zoo afterward, but with the weather a bit gray and
windy, we ended up getting drawn in by a shopping excursion to the
Gardens Mall. I found a great hat for the polo match brunch next weekend
and Nicole and Michele did some damage on the apparel-front. It was
refreshing for me to have a relaxing shopping day with the girls. Having
worked in retail not long ago, it's been awhile since I've actually
enjoyed an afternoon perusing sales and trying on fun accessories and
dresses on a whim. I sure could get used to that! We ended the day at Dune Dog, a little surf-shack restaurant adorned with colorful Jimmy Buffett quotes that specializes in fresh seafood and cold beer.
For our last night of '12 spring
break, Nicole and Michele took Kevin and I out to dinner at Rocco's Tacos, a swanky Mexican restaurant with over 200 types of tequilas,
prickly pear margaritas, an outdoor fire pit, and, of course,
made-at-the-table guacamole. We spent most of evening laughing and
exchanging fun stories while sharing a delicious meal. It was a great way to end the trip, but I was super sad to drop them off at the airport the next morning after all the fun we had. Come back and visit soon! :)
CBD
