Palm Coast Villas, Hammock, Florida

"I stayed at a really old hotel last night. They sent me a wake-up letter."

I bid you ado my friend. May this day find you prosperous in the heart, healthy in the soul, and positive in the mind. Remember... It's mind over matter. It really doesn't matter if you pay it no mind. Allow your actions this day to be that which you expect of others do unto you.

Tiffany says, "Hi ya'll!"

Back in mid-November Tiffany and I had the distinct honor of being invited to a dear friend's wedding. The wedding was held at the Hammock Beach Resort which is located along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Palm Coast, Florida. As customary with a lot of wedding packages, invitees are afforded a special reduced wedding rate if they elect to stay at the motel. In the case of Hammock Beach Resort, this was an overnight rate of approximately $200 (starting room rate).

Well... this is where the quandary begins. Certainly, it would be nice to stay where we attended and celebrated the wedding festivities. However, it was a little much for nothing more than a few hours of room sleep. We had to take "The Seed" into consideration. We can drive an hour away to Palm Coast but what about the dog? If we chose to stay at Hammock Beach Resort we'll essentially be paying for room amenities that we would not be exercising (spa, golf, etc.) After all, we need only a simple place to rest our head for but a single night.

Tiffany had a business acquaintance who happened to live in the general area and we inquired whether there might be any decent accommodations nearby with a more reasonable rate. They weren't absolutely positive but there is the place they drive by all of the time that always looks inviting and that they have been considering for a weekend getaway. It's on Florida Highway A1A along the St John's River and is called "Palm Coast Villas". It certainly appeared worth consideration and checking out?

I did a little online research and was pleasantly surprised at what I found. Great reviews, close to the resort, and extremely fair room rates. Guess what? We found they are animal friendly and can take "The Seed" along next time for a weekend getaway. The rate? How does $70 a night sound? For laying our heads on a pillow for a few hours and a shower in the morning, it sounded pretty good to Chucky. Especially good to Chucky when he arrived and saw his accommodations for the very first time.

When we pulled up, we felt that we had arrived back to the laid back early years of Florida life. There on the front porch laid "Betsy", the manager's best friend and welcoming dog. A very relaxed atmosphere far from the hustle and bustle of the city. They had an exercise room, wi-fi, free Continental breakfast, bicycle rentals, fish rod & tackle rentals, and pathways behind the motel that leads to the banks of the St John's River. The Palm Coast Villas own the property from the highway (FL A1A) all the way back to the banks of the river (St John's). Half of the property is developed with rooms, old and new and the latter half is naturally landscaped. "Feel free to take a stroll down the pathways out back if ya'll like to." we were told.

When I had made my reservations I elected to rent the "Original Style Villa" style rooms. Much older and less modern rooms that are part of the original motel complex. Where else can you stay in rooms decorating with natural coquina? I believe that it's since been outlawed from use to preserve natural resources. But, back in the early Colonial days of Florida the Spanish mined coquina to build their structures.

My English ancestors quickly developed a true hatred of the stuff. Imagine the English surprise when they returned to the previously burned wooden Spanish fort at St Augustine (Castillo de San Marcos) to find it had been rebuilt, by the Spanish no less, of couqina. What the heck is this stuff? Is it "magic rock"? The English fired cannon shell from their ships in Matanzas Bay only to have the cannon fodder collected overnight and fired back at them the following day! How rude? After the Spanish rebuilt Castillo de San Marcos of coquina, it was never defeated again. To the coquina fort builders go the spoils? But...I digress.

Rather than rambling on and killing an already dead block of coquina, how about another "picture book blog" post to speak the story for itself? Here 'tis my fine friend. Enjoy.