Some Florida Things

We are just back from Pensacola, Florida where we went to see my sister’s boyfriend retire from a 23-year career with the Navy. It was such a moving ceremony and it was an honor to be there.

The retirement ceremony took place in the National Naval Aviation Air Museum which is such an amazing place. We didn’t have time to properly visit it, but I would love to on a return trip.

My family plus my parents stayed in a condo on Pensacola Beach so we got to work in a few other fun things while we were there, like golf, massages, and time at the beach.

I saved Mary Kay Andrews’ latest book Sunset Beach to read while we were in Florida since it’s set there. I’m not done yet, but it is living up to MKA’s reputation for pure summertime escapism. There’s a little mystery, a little romance, and a little house stuff (in this case a run-down beach bungalow that the main character is fixing up). It’s perfect beach reading, whether you’re at the beach or just wish you were.

Another good read set in Florida is John Grisham’s Camino Island. This isn’t your typical Grisham legal thriller, but instead is a mystery involving a bookstore owner in a Florida resort town, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s stolen manuscripts, and a young writer who is paid to immerse herself in this world to learn its secrets. I read this when it first came out and really liked it.

And finally, the 2019 Southern Living Idea House is in Fernandina Beach, FL.