After another restful sleep, I woke up Thursday, January 15th, 2014 at 7:00AM. Not unlike my routine so far, I washed up and called my mom, who was very excited for me that I would be meeting my friends Bernie and Melissa. We spoke for about 45 minutes and afterwards, I headed down for another delicious breakfast at 8:15AM. Once I was done eating, I went back to my room to get ready to go to the beach and pool as well as to grab my $5 food and drink voucher, as I wanted to purchase a margarita later to have poolside and that would cover part of the purchase. I stayed at the beach from about 9:30AM-12:00PM, where I took a walk along the sand and also enjoyed the calm, clear, and refreshing ocean water. Since I felt hungry, I went upstairs to grab my leftovers from Mississippi Sweets for a filling lunch by the pool as well as a bag of Popchips for later to accompany my margarita. I then went swimming in the pool from about 12:30PM-2:00PM, which was delightful! I took a break around 2:00PM and I saw Abogada and Danielle, the poolside bartender, who were both very happy to see me once again. I decided now would be the perfect time to have a Margarita, as the weather was sunny with temperatures in the low 80s. A couple of minutes later, Danielle delivered my Margarita, which had sweet and tart lime flavor, along with a slushy texture, making for a refreshing drink while I enjoyed my salty Popchips. For this moment (people who did not like Disney's Frozen or who are tired of it please don't get mad), I cannot help but reference Olaf's song "In Summer," as he dreams about having a cold drink in his hand and his snow up against the burning sand. Well, I was living the dream of Summer if you know what I mean. While I was enjoying my drink, I met Susan and David, a middle-aged couple who were visiting from the Detroit suburbs. They were very friendly and we had a great time talking about how we were enjoying the warmer weather compared to where we both lived, our lives, and even how we both flew Delta and enjoyed it! After resting on the chaise lounge, I went back into the pool where I met a family from Salt Lake City, with two older children named Kyla and Connor along with their parents and younger brother. We chatted and I played catch with them for a bit and we had a wonderful time! At 4:00PM, I got of the pool, dried off, and went back to my room to shower and get ready to meet Bernie and Melissa. Once I was ready, it was about 4:30PM, so I went downstairs to the lobby to relax and await Bernie and Melissa's arrival. The time went by and at about five after five, Bernie and Melissa arrived in their Chevy Cruze rental car from Hertz (it had Hertz Never Lost). They were thrilled to see me and the air was celebratory as after seven years, Melissa finally received her settlement from Border Books (technically, their insurance company) after seven years. While we were driving along FL-A1A, which is depicted below, we talked about moving to Florida, our trips, and classic rock. As we were driving, positive memories came back as we passed through Highland Beach, which was where my maternal grandparents used to live before my grandmother's Alzheimer's got worse and they moved to Northern New Jersey to be closer to my Uncle. Anyway, the drive was beautiful and as we drove to Delray Beach, we had a great time catching up and pointing out sight along the way!
-Passing through Boca Raton with a Highland Beach condo known as The Toscana in the distance:

-Highland Beach, FL:

About fifteen minutes later, we arrived in Delray Beach:



Since there were three appealing places to eat across from the beach, we were unsure where to go. In order to factor our decision, we checked the menus of the Sand Bar, Boston's, and Caffe Luna Rosa since we all have food allergies. I am allergic to gluten and eggs, Bernie is allergic to gluten and recently, tomatoes, and Melissa is allergic to gluten and all nuts. The Sand Bar's menu was limited, as it was mostly bar food; Caffe Luna Rosa was much better, as there were many safe options and they had gluten free pasta; however, Boston's won as we felt in the mood for American food and clearly denoted which items were gluten free with a GF. We opted to sit outside on the covered patio, making for a wonderful evening of dining alfresco. Sam, our terrific waiter who was friendly, efficient, and very knowledgeable about food allergies, came by to take our beverage orders. Since I do not drink that often, we were celebrating, and I was not driving, I joined Melissa in ordering a Margarita. Since Bernie was driving, she ordered a club soda with lemon. Sam came back with our beverages and I found the Margarita to be well presented, with a salty rim and lime and orange wedges too. It was also delicious, with sweet and tart limes and a pleasantly strong house tequila. Melissa loved her Margarita as well.

-Not a bad view :

After perusing the menu, I ordered a Mahi-Mahi sandwich with no bun and a side of broccoli, Bernie ordered a Cheeseburger with no bun and no tomatoes, and Melissa ordered a Harvest Steak Salad. In addition, we split an appetizer of Spinach dip. Soon enough, we received our Spinach dip and we enjoyed it, as the dip had a burnt and crusty layer of cheese on the top and a creamy inside, making for a very satisfying appetizer!

After enjoying our Spinach dip, we received our entrees, which we all enjoyed! I enjoyed my Mahi-Mahi sandwich, which was tender and flakey. While it was delicious, I still think that the Mahi sandwich at The Whale's Rib edged this sandwich, as it was slightly better quality wise and also larger in portion for a similar price. It was still delicious, but I am just making a comparison. The broccoli was good too, as it was well cooked and pleasantly garlicky.

Unfortunately, as we were eating, a large rainstorm came in, so we were worried we would not be able to walk down Atlantic Avenue (FL-806) and grab dessert. Rain notwithstanding, we made the best of it and continued to chat about our lives and I remember how back when Bernie worked at WBAB, a rock station on Long Island, she interviewed Ozzy Osbourne. We all reminisced about this interview and she remembers how Ozzy wanted "more beer," but said he was a wonderful interviewee nonetheless and a lot of fun! We talked more about our experiences at college and classic rock. Since the rain did not look like it was stopping, we asked Sam about the dessert menu to see if there were any gluten-free desserts and if the ice cream they had was egg free? In the meantime, we ordered decaf coffees, which were comforting and a nice way to take respite from the rain, which was beginning to die down.
-Good times with Bernie! :

Unfortunately, not that many gluten free desserts were available and Sam was unsure if the ice cream was egg free, so we decided to go to Kilwin's on Atlantic Avenue (FL-806), where I would have the pleasure of treating Bernie and Melissa to dessert since the rain stopped and they had treats which would work well with our allergies. We took a quick drive down Atlantic Avenue (FL-806) further into Downtown Delray.

We arrived at the Kilwin's, where we all got small ice creams, with me getting Salted Caramel, Bernie getting Chocolate if I remember correctly, and Melissa getting Coffee Chip. The ice cream was excellent and we had a wonderful time in Downtown Delray!

After a wonderful night out in Delray Beach, Bernie and Melissa took me back to my hotel at 9:00PM and as we were driving down Federal Highway (US-1) back to Deerfield Beach, we talked more about living in Florida, like the type of homes we were buying. I told them how mom wanted a single family home or villa in a community, as she wants something that requires little maintenance. Bernie and Melissa mentioned they wanted a single family, as they wanted more privacy. The ride went quickly and arrived at the hotel twenty minutes later, elated and thankful for a wonderful time! After getting ready for bed, I went to sleep at 11:00PM and was surprised that my last full day in Florida was arriving.