It was late January and in the midst of one of the coldest winters we’ve had in a long time. The boys had been begging to go to the playground and we obliged one day after school. Though it was freezing (literally, I think it was in the 30s) we headed to Tom Brown park. I bundled Baby Girl and the boys put on hoodies – they aren’t phased by cold – and we played until the sun set. There wasn’t a soul there; we were the lone family on the entire playground, which allowed my boys to run wild all over the equipment. I stayed under a pavilion with my Leetles and watched them frolic.
My blogging is entirely too sporadic – I KNOW this. But I am a busy person, you see. Somehow, everything aligned this past weekend and we were able to take a hike through Tom Brown park. The air was cool but comfortable as we crossed the bridge onto Lafayette Heritage trail. This was the scene to the right: Spring trying to emerge from our unusually cold winter. This doesn’t even look like Florida, to me. But it’s beautiful.
The Hotel Duval is one of my favorite Tallahassee spaces. They have great guest rooms where my parents have stayed multiple times and it also houses Shula’s 347, which is an excellent steak restaurant. But what sets them apart is their rooftop bar, the Level 8 Lounge. When Ash and I went out for Valentine’s Day this past Saturday, we decided to have drinks there and watch the sunset. We arrived around around 6:15-6:30 and took a seat on one of their many comfortable couches. As we sat and drank, the sky morphed from a bright yellow and orange glow to one of many pinks and reds before dipping past the horizon entirely. It was calming and a whole lot of fun to be out enjoying it without children.
The view from my seat, through the glass.
Though my allegiance for good burgers lies with Vertigo, I decided to try the newest place to open in the Whole Foods shopping center, BurgerFi.
They tout local and all natural ingredients, hand-cut fries, and a variety of custard desserts. I ordered the Burger Fi cheeseburger, which had two patties, two pieces of cheese, lettuce, tomato, and their sauce, which I am pretty sure is just ketchup, mustard, and mayo – i.e. McDonald’s special sauce. The cashier informed me I could add two extra toppings at no charge so I threw on pickles because, well, they don’t have avocado on the menu; disappointment!
I was pleased with the burger: it was cooked well and flavored nicely. I’d say it’s a step up from Five Guys and on par with the basic Vertigo burger with the same items. Only, Vertigo cooks their medium. The fries are nearly identical to Vertigo, but they offer a lot more toppings, that I decided to forego on account of I don’t want to weigh a ton.
As I parted ways with my lunching buddy, I got the chocolate mocha custard shake, which was ah-mazing, but pretty much put my belly over the top.
I’d go back to BurgerFi if I’m ever craving a good, solid basic burger.
Sometimes, when i drive through downtown, I forget that we have bigger buildings that make me feel like we’re more of a city than a town. What distinguishes city from town? Population? We have about 200,000 people so I guess we are a real city. But not a big one.
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I apologize for my lack of posting; I am waiting for labor to begin and it’s got me entirely distracted.
I did have time to notice the excellent architecture of the Diffenbaugh building this morning though. For all the days I walk past FSU buildings, I am still always in awe
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And the same shot from yesterday, just a bit later:
Since it has been so dreary, it’s been rare to catch a wonderful night sky. This happened the other night and I just had to snap a shot. Come back tomorrow to see how it changed in a mere 23 minutes!
I’ve reviewed Atomic coffee here before but the other day was the first time trying their downtown location. It was empty and I appreciated that because the campus location is always packed. I hope it catches on; a lot of people work around there but they just have to go once to realize what great coffee it is!
Tallahassee Daily Photos 