Amelia Island Vacation 2024 (With Some Then And Now Photos)

We had a wonderful time in Amelia Island at the beginning of August to celebrate Briana's 18th birthday and to enjoy some time together before Briana's college adventure. 

As with any of our vacations though, there are always challenges and blips. For example, I tripped and messed up my heel badly in Vermont last September. I struggled with heartburn/reflux issues in NYC in March/April. So this time, Doug ate some broiled oysters the second night we were in Amelia (not at the hotel) and ended up with a mild case of food poisoning. It really could have been a lot worse, but dang it, I wish it hadn't happened at all. He still managed to really enjoy the trip thank goodness, but he was very mindful of what he ate after that. Shockingly, even though I still struggle daily with my heel, I managed to keep it together this trip!

Other than that blip, the trip went great. The car ride to and from Amelia was great. The weather cooperated every time we needed it to (it would thunderstorm in the late afternoons and evenings). 

The Ritz Carlton was wonderful. Doug and I stayed at the Ritz in Amelia back in 2001 - right after September 11th. We had been all set to go to Atlantis in the Bahamas that October, but we were afraid to fly at that time and decided not to go there. We switched to Amelia so we could drive instead. We still haven't gotten to Atlantis - maybe one day. Doug and I remembered Amelia being so relaxing back then, so we decided to bring Briana there for our last hurrah before leaving for school. Again, it was great.

I have been a blogger since 2006 and before that (since I was in middle school), I was an avid scrapbooker. I just went back to look at one of my albums and found pictures from Doug's and my trip to Amelia back in 2001. I hadn't looked at these photos in many, many years. Definitely not right before our trip. I just noticed how many photo recreations we did on our trip without even realizing it!

Check this out ~

The back of the Ritz...

The pool area...

The shark...

 

 Relaxing poolside...

On the beach...

And here is an aerial view of the Ritz. The first shot is from a postcard I have (card purchased in 2001 but the picture was taken in 1994). The second is of the Ritz now (30 years later)...

It was so surreal to discover all of this today! 

So I will blog all about our trip over the next week or two. Briana leaves for SCAD tomorrow, so I need to keep my mind busy between that and my heel surgery on the 18th. Wish us luck and I'll be back soon!