Brays Island Weekend Part I

Emily and I spent this past weekend in Brays Island, SC for a family weekend with some of Emily's family. The weather was a nice, cool change from the 90 degree weather we've been having in St Petersburg. Brays Island was gorgeous. Brays is a residential sporting community geared toward hunting and outdoors enthusiasts. There was lots to do including golf, fishing, skeet shooting, kayaking, biking and more.

On our first full day at Brays we got a tour of the plantation, nature center, shooting course and golf course courtesy of Uncle Jim who was one of our gracious hosts for the weekend. When the rain settled down we got a chance to explore the skeet course which was set up similar to a golf course. There were several stations which you drive to in golf carts. We had a blast (no pun intended).

Bay Pines VA Hospital

Took Emily on a tour of the Bay Pines VA where I'm doing my dental residency. Of all the VA's I've seen this is certainly one of the nicest locations. It's right next to the water and has some interesting Spanish style architecture.

On the grounds of the VA is a national cemetery with graves dating back to the Spanish-American War. The grounds are beautifully manicured and have some great trees bordering the paths.

Adjacent to the cemetery is a the War Veterans Memorial Park. I hadn't been through there until today. There are some picnic sites near the water and places to launch your kayak or canoe.

What would a War Veterans Memorial Park be without a tank??

Emily's 27th Birthday!

Emily turned 27 in August! Now we're both officially in our "late 20's." Emily requested shrimp & grits for her birthday dinner. The recipe came from The Boathouse in Charleston, SC (you can search for it on epicurious.com).

We were both members of the clean plate club.

2 Year Anniversary

Emily and I celebrated our 2-year wedding anniversary on July 28th! It's been a fantastic two years. We made braised short ribs with gorgonzola polenta for dinner and it was delicious!

Tampa Yankees

One of the nice things about being in St Petersburg is that we've had the chance to see Emily's brother pitch for the Tampa Yankees. The season just came to a close, but I'm proud to say the Tampa Yankees are the 2009 FSL Champions!

Settled into life in St Petersburg

Emily and I moved to St Petersburg in June and have started to settle in. We're not far from downtown or the Bay. The weather here is pretty consistent... high of 89, 60% chance of thunderstorms, 100% of the time. Telecommuting is working well for Emily and I'm enjoying my residency at the Bay Pines VA Hospital.