My friends would be upset if they knew this.

Anyway, my hubby & I returned Sunday from 5 days in Flagler Beach, Florida where our friends moved and bought a new house.  I was excited to see their house, spent time with them, enjoy the warm temps and RUN A RACE. (We visited them last January in their old house and did all the touristy things in the area.)

We left the polar vortex of upstate New York on Wednesday and arrived to RAIN in Florida.

Rain is better than snow.

We spent time catching up in their house – which is GORGEOUS – 5 bedrooms, multimedia room, boat house, overlooks the river & is 2 blocks from the ocean, etc.  I LOVE IT!!

We went out to dinner at a restaurant on the water.  I had an appetizer and dessert (of course).

Thursday morning, I went out for my first run — cool and cloudy but it felt super not to wear a jacket, gloves & tights.  I ran on the path along the beach heading south and then on the bridge over the river and then back – 4 fabulous miles.

I tried running ON the beach but the sand was so soft…

We spent the afternoon with some other friends in St. Augustine (the location for my RACE).  We strolled in and out of shops, along the water and then out for a drink.

The we went to a French restaurant for dinner.

Friday, I got up to sunshine.  I went for a run again.  Just had to do it.  Only 3 miles but on the same path but in the opposite direction (North this time).

In the afternoon, I sat on the beach for a while but it was windy so I went back to my friends’ house and sat in the sun there.  (The front of their house blocks the wind.)

In the evening, we went out to a restaurant where our friends’ favorite group was playing. The singer was a cross between Jimmy Buffet and John Prine.

I’ll skip Saturday because that was RACE DAY and write about it in a separate post.

Sunday was my last day so I started it by watching the sunrise over the ocean. It was perfect!!

Then I went for a sloooooow run.  My legs were tired from the race but the weather was so nice. This time I ran around the neighborhood and then over the bridge on the opposite side from Thursday’s run.

Here are some hints that I was running SLOW!

When I came back we all went to Jungle Hut Beach to stroll and see the famous rocks.

Afterward, we went out for our final ocean view meal.

Our day came to a perfect ending.  We sat out in the back of the house got a show by 2 dolphins!!! So awesome!

A very nice way to escape the cold…good friends…good times…good food..

and I ran 4 times:

Happy Running! Do you plan Race-cations?