Spring Break~Day 2

So it is Day 2 of Spring Break, are your kids bored yet? I heard it once out of my daughter this morning and several times out of my son this afternoon. Keeping in mind she has been gone all day to Marcody Ranch and he was gone to the Regional Spelling Bee and did not get home today til 2pm. SO YIKES.....it should be fun around here about Wednesday.

Before we lived at the beach we used to go to the beach for spring break...we did Sea World three years ago, but this year the $2.55 I have in my checking account means no trips, just local and free. If you too need something to do this week and don't want to spend a ton of cash here are some ideas......

Free Things To Do In New Smyrna Beach - great article from July 2009. The summer concerts don't apply but the rest of it is great.

Old Fort Park & Canal Street - Old Fort Park is fun for the kids and a history lesson as well.

Menard-May Park - located in Edgewater, amenities include volleyball, swimming, fishing and kayak launch, read about it here.

Ponce Inlet Lighthouse and Museum - you can visit this historic site for very little money and click the link for 10% off.

Of course there is the 13 or so miles of Free Beach, go surfing at New Smyrna Inlet, ride your bike or just take a walk.

If you do have a few extra dollars this break....support your local business!

More Easter....

The Edgewater United Methodist Church is holding an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 26th beginning at 11am. They will have lunch for $2.00 following the hunt.....

The Community Good Friday Church Service will held from 12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m., Friday, April 2, at the Babe James Center (201 North Myrtle Avenue, NSB).

Halifax Oyster Festival

The first annual Halifax Oyster Fest will be held this Saturday, March 27th from 10:00am-5pm on Manatee Island, Daytona Beach. Manatee Island is on Beach Street, downtown Daytona Beach. The proceeds benefit the restoration of local oyster beds. There will be food, entertainment and plenty of activities for all ages. Admission is $5.00 with children 10 and under admitted for free.

Easter Fun

There will be an Easter Egg Hunt on March 27th at 10am at Rotary Park in Edgewater, FL.

The 43rd annual Easter Beach run will be held on April 3, 2010.

Stella's Skyline will be having an Easter Brunch both in the afternoon and evening.

Main Street Grill is also having an Easter Buffet.

Norwood's is open with specials as well as their regular menu.

Church services to be listed later this week!

Around Town~Things to Do

Lots to do the week before spring break....

The Shrinettes of NSB are hosting another great rummage sale, with baked goods and lunch, on Thursday, March 25, from 9-2 p.m. and on Friday, March 26, from 9 - 11:30 a.m. Bag Day is on Friday, at $3 a bag. The sale is located at 1111 South Orange St, one block off of US1, near the library.

The Daytona Beach International Speedway will host a Car Show and Swap Meet this weekend.

March 27th, the merchants of Flagler Ave will host its monthly art show and wine walk. Great local artists, food, entertainment and wine!

Stay tuned more spring break and Easter information coming this week!

Moving On

It was a sad, strange day today at Edgewater Alliance Church. The bottom line is our Senior Pastor committed a pretty grievous sin and has left the church. You could have heard a pin drop on the brand new carpet this morning after the announcement. When the district superintendent showed up with an announcement we figured it was not good but I am pretty sure no one expected this.

There was crying, sadness, disbelief, anger all kinds of emotion in that brand new building this morning. I am sad for his wonderful wife Karen and his two children who grew up here in this community, I am sad for the people who believed in him and what he was saying. Pastor Tim made a whopper of a mistake. We have all made mistakes. He is paying for that mistake, as we all do in one way or another.

Having said all that, I do know this, no matter the mistake we forgive and move on. I went back and listened to some of his old sermons, even downloaded a few of them. Many Sundays I sat there and he could have been talking to me, many people felt that way. I still do, his mistake does not change his message to me or what I got out of that message.

Pastor Tim's mistake does not change or minimize all the good things he did in the past 15 or so years that he was with Edgewater Alliance. Pastor Kyle said this morning, we must look forward and not back, I think he is right but in order to look forward you must not forget the past and you must learn from it. The whole situation is sad for everyone involved.


"Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future" ~Paul Boese

Cracker Creek - Spring Break Special

Looking for things to do during Spring Break...check out Cracker Creek. They are offering a special to all of their Facebook friends. Rent a canoe for one hour and get an hour for free, the special runs through April 30th. Cracker Creek has all kinds of other activities to check out, they offer group camping, catering, pirate cruises and birthday parties. They are located at 1795 Taylor Rd in Port Orange.

Molly

Molly the Owl has had us fascinated for days...check her out and we will be back to our regular programming next week....

Molly the Owl

St. Patrick's Day Celebration

The Party is on Flagler Avenue for St. Patrick's Day. Come on down to Flagler Ave in New Smyrna Beach tomorrow and celebrate from 6pm-9pm. There will be a Treasure Hunt, live music, Irish Food and of course green beer.

Support your local business!

Save New Smyrna Inlet

The Army Corp of Engineers is continuing to evaluate the possibility of extending the jetty in New Smyrna Inlet. They are looking at extending the south jetty some 1000 feet eastward. You can read about it here.

Surfing Magazine also has an article that is pretty clearly against the project. There are differing opinions on weather this will really "stabilize" the area. However, most surfers and those that are familiar with the environment all agree it will mess up the surfing at this popular east coast surf break.

Local business in this area is suffering enough in this current economy, driving the surfers away does not seem to be the smartest thing we could do at the moment. Just a thought. And you can be sure that Volusia County and the city of New Smyrna Beach will be forced to share the cost of this gazillion dollar, pointless project.

If you would like to keep up with the efforts to stop this or to sign the online petition that is circulating you can do so my going to the Save New Smyrna Inlet website. If you use Facebook, you can also keep up there, they have a great deal of information on their group site with resources and officials to contact with your thoughts.

Be informed and support your local business!

Balliamo Italian Steakhouse

My friend Kathy was celebrating a special occasion tonight and asked my daughter and I to join her for dinner at Balliamo Italian Steakhouse in Edgewater. They are located in the Publix Plaza at 2976 S Ridgewood Ave. This is her third trip to Balliamo and my second, fantastic food and some of the best service ever!

I had Salmon Oscar and if I could have licked the plate I would have, it was wonderful. Kathy had the seafood pasta and they made their Shrimp Francese with Chicken and no capers for my ten year old. It was all fresh and delicious. The Salmon came with a choice of side items and I had the Italian Greens, terrific choice, they were sauteed in olive oil and fresh garlic, very tasty!

Foe dessert try the chocolate Tuxedo Bomb or the Lemoncello, they also offer a sugar free selection, tonight was Tiramisu. Balliamo offers beer, wine and a full liquor bar, live entertainment on most weekends. Not just a nice place for dinner but a very nice bar area makes it a good place to hang out as well.

Our server was Maher, we have had her before and she is extremely attentive, handled the special requests and made recommendations on the menu for my daughter. The owner's both stopped by the table to chat with us (even before he knew I was writing this), they are an extremely nice couple who are very serious about having a nice restaurant with great food and service. You can have a look at their menu here. We can highly recommend Balliamo to you for a special occasion or just a quick weeknight dinner.


Support your local business!

Resolutions

So how are you doing on those New Year's resolutions?

Here are a couple of things you can do to help with one of the most popular....you know the one. Eat more vegetables, eat better in general and lose weight. We are now practicing Meatless Monday's at our house. There is at least one website dedicated to this cause, which will not only save you money and calories but will also improve the health of the planet and save an animal or two. Here is a list of great blogs dedicated to smarter eating and Meatless Monday.

The other big one is getting organized...I am doing better on this one...except for my closet, that is hopeless. Here are some ideas for that...organizing, not my closet.

The Garagenous Zone - this is an oldy but goody about the garage. Love it. Have not done it but love it anyway!

Closet - this is a pretty good one about the closet...you can do it in 10 steps. Perhaps one day I will try it. Not today, but someday.

The Time Manager - Organize Your Desk - this is simple stuff here, not sure why I did not think of it first.

So how are you doing on those resolutions?

In The City.....

Saturday, March 13th @ the Public Works Complex, 124 Industrial Park Drive. Doors open @ 8:00 a.m. for viewing, auction begins at 9:00 a.m. You can go to the City Website to see a list of what is for sale. For more information, please call the Public Works Department @ 386-424-2205.

The city is also sponsoring a Spring Cleanup. Waste Pro will provide dumpsters at a number of locations, which will be designated lawn, debris, bulk and appliances. Here is a list of dumpster locations.

The City also has updates on all the ongoing road projects and closures around the city. Get it here.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend! Support your local business!

Marine Discovery Center-Spring Break Camp

One more Spring Break Camp!! Marine Discovery Center is holding a camp from March 29th-April 2nd, hours at 8am-3pm. The cost is 150.00 per camper, if you are a member you get a discount. There will be many water, fishing and island activities. My children attend the summer camps at Marine Discovery and they are awesome.

Check their website for more information.

Wonderland Theatre~Spring Break Drama Camp

The Little Theatre of New Smyrna Beach is once again holding a Spring Break Drama Camp through their children's program Wonderland Theatre. 

This Spring Break Camp is for kids ages 7 -12 years old and will run from March 29th - April 2nd. The hours are 9 AM to 3 PM and the cost is only $115.00.

They are also offering financial aid scholarships to those who need it. Camp participants will be performing a one-act play called Twisted Fairy Tales.  For example, what if the big bad wolf had his own way, or if the three little pigs wrote some Shakespeare. Sounds like fun to me.....for more information or to obtain an application check the website above or call the Theatre at 423-1246.

Pancake Breakfast

Crossroads Christian Church will be holding a pancake breakfast tomorrow and Saturday morning from 8am-11am. All proceeds will go to Easter Seals and "His Hands" Puppet Team.

Oak Hill Seafood Co-op

 Have you visited the Oak Hill Seafood Co-Op yet? Since we last talked about them they have expanded and added some special events. They are still at the Farmer's Market on Canal Street on Saturday mornings, in addition they have:


Mexican Monday's 10 A.M. to 6 P.M.
2 Fish Tacos, Salsa w/ Chips & Draft - $5.99
 

Fish Fry Friday's 5 P.M. to 7 P.M.

All You Can Eat - $9.99 Per Person

Happy Hours - 4 P.M. to Close
2 For 1 (Bud Draft)

Monthly Cook-Out on the last Sunday of every month starting at 2 P.M. rain or shine.  Please R.S.V.P. the Friday before.

All this week thru the 7th in celecration of Bike Week, they have a special in the Beer Garden:

 
Fish Sandwich, Chips & Draft - $5.99
Draft - 2 For 1 All Day
Live Music - Karaoke

Their fish is always local and always fresh....great prices too. Our local fisherman have taken a hard hit, this is one local business that we all should support!

They are located at:

700 N. US Hwy 1 (Cook's Plaza) in Oak Hill, one block north of the Riverbreeze boat ramp.

Contact them for more information (386) 345-0023

Around Town~The Week Ahead

Plenty to do this week at the beach....

Bike week continues through the weekend.

The washed out Wine Walk on Flagler has been rescheduled for this Saturday beginning at 1pm.

It is the first Saturday of the month, come on down to Canal Street for the Gallery Walk from 4-8pm.

American Legion Post 17 located at 619 W Canal Street is holding a  Lobster fest with Maine lobster and all the fixings. It will be held Friday, March 5th, tickets must be purchased in advanced at the post. One lobster dinner is $20 or two for $27. The public may attend. For more information, call (386) 427 1503.

More to come, have a great week and support your local business!