Time either moves at the speed of molasses or Usain Bolt. How is it that Cecil and I have been married for 10 years as of this past November? It feels like yesterday that he first told me that he loved me, but it also feels like he has always been here. Our marriage isn’t perfect, but we are always looking for ways to celebrate the hard work that we put into it and honestly, we just love being together.

Until December, it had been years since we had traveled back to Florida and even then, it was a quick trip to see one of my dearest friends get married. I always tease Cecil that he occasionally needs his “Florida tank” filled with sunshine, ocean breezes, and a Publix on every corner. For our 10th anniversary trip, we decided to drive to Tampa, located on the Gulf of Mexico. It was a place he had traveled to for work a few times, but we had never been together. His sweet parents came and stayed at our house with our dog, Percy, so we could fully enjoy the trip (THANK YOU!).

Day 1 – Augusta and Macon, Georgia

If we had driven straight through it would have been about a 10-hour drive from North Carolina, so we decided to break it up with an overnight stop. We also wanted to maximize our time, so we chose a different route going and coming.

On Monday we stopped in south Charlotte for lunch at one of our favorite food halls – Alley 51 and picked up some international snacks from the Super G Mart.

Augusta, Georgia, is about halfway to Macon so it was a perfect stop to stretch our legs. Augusta is most well-known for the golf tournament that takes place there every year, but as with every city, there is more to it. Downtown Augusta is in the midst of a major streetscape overhaul so there were a lot of construction zones. Sadly, there are many empty storefronts but the businesses we did find were wonderful.

The Book Tavern is an independent bookstore literally stocked to the rafters. I picked out “The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women,” by Kate Moore and Cecil chose “The Genius Bat: The Secret Life of the Only Flying Mammal” by Yossi Yovel. Thankfully, there a coffee shop was just down the block from the bookstore. The Metro Pub and Coffeehouse is a unique concept because it’s a combination full bar and coffeeshop. The mocha latte and strawberry cupcake were delicious!

Our final stop for the day was Macon. I chose Macon because it was about halfway between our home and Tampa and my maternal grandmother was born and raised in the area. My mom and I made many visits to Macon to visit her Aunt Lillian over the years. I would love to go back again for a longer visit – Macon is full of history.

We arrived in downtown Macon in time for dinner. Plans to walk around downtown were quickly squashed because we realized neither of us had fully prepared for the cold weather. We assumed since we were driving to Florida that it would be warm-ish. We were quite mistaken!

Dinner at The Rookery was excellent. Great service and delicious food. I had the Fried Green Tomato BLT (applewood smoked bacon, lettuce, fresh chevre, sun-dried tomato remoulade) and Cecil had the Outkast’s Stankonia sandwich (fried chicken, Mrs. Griffin’s hot BBQ sauce, Swiss cheese, collard greens, prosciutto). We both wish we had saved room for one of their signature milkshakes, but we’ll have to save that for next time.

Our stay that night at the SpringHill Suites Macon was lovely. It was nice to have the sink/shower separate from the toilet, but our only complaint was that instead of regular doors they used farmhouse-style doors that were very heavy and difficult to close. Trying not to wake each other up going to the bathroom in the middle of the night was fun lol.

Day 2 – Macon and Tampa

Before we left Macon, we enjoyed breakfast at Toasted Kitchen and Cocktails. I had the French toast with a side of cheese grits and Cecil had the chicken & waffles. Would definitely eat there again!

Tuesday was a day for family and friends. Cecil grew up in Gainesville, and I lived there for almost two years. Another reason we chose to stay in Macon the first night was so we could pick up I-75 to take us straight to Gainesville and ultimately, Tampa.

We arrived in Gainesville early afternoon and stopped by my aunt and uncle’s house first. Driving down their street always brings back childhood memories because they have lived in that same house for almost 50 years and my grandparents used to live across the street.

After hugs and pictures and catching up, we met our friends at the 4th Ave Food Park. The concept is that there are five restaurants/counters plus a coffee shop in an Airstream trailer and in between the two buildings is a large open space with picnic tables and seating areas. It was a great place to meet everyone so we could all choose what we wanted to eat. Spending time with our friends was good for the soul and we’re thankful for everyone who was able to come see us.

Once we got back on the road we were both pretty tired from two days of travel and just ready to be in Tampa. Once we arrived, we checked into our AirBnB, unloaded the car, and picked up some necessities from Publix. Dinner was cereal (me) and nachos (Cecil) lol. We ate dinner, relaxed for a bit, and went to bed happy but exhausted.

Next up – Days 3 and 4 in Tampa!