Panhandling on the Streets of St. Augustine

Grandma is here for a visit so we took her out with us for our annual pre-Christmas dinner out. This year we chose The Columbia in St. Augustine. The Spanish/Cuban cuisine is so wonderful. The girls weren't quite as impressed as we were, but they seemed to enjoy it in the end. The signature "1905" salad is a wonder to eat. This has become a favorite place for Travis and me.

Here we all are looking so festive. I might add that the bread was also divine. And the lunch prices aren't so awful, either.

The whole reason we went to St. Augustine was that Travis had this idea that he wanted the girls to play their violins on the streets and see how much money they could make. So, I let him be in charge of the shindig. He kept trying to get me involved, but I resisted!! And he did a great job. He was getting the girls set up when a police officer came up and told him they had to be 50 feet off the main street. So then the police officer showed Travis where they could set up right outside The Columbia. It was a prime spot. I think the officer was happy to see someone who was actually dressed decently and might add to the atmosphere of the city rather than make everyone walk to the other side of the road. So they got set up and started playing.

Older people seemed to like them. Actually, everyone responded very positively, but the older people were the ones to drop money! But the group of people who REALLY liked it, was the small children. One girl was saying, "Look, violins, Mommy, look, violins..." and she really wanted to go see them, but the parents were too busy. These next two pictures are so sweet. This was what it was really all about.

This little girl stayed for a long time. The kids had fun and made some spending money. Then they found out that the Henna tattoo artist was closed for the season. Bummer. Maddie had asked if she could bring her trumpet and play. We weren't about to deny her enthusiasm, so she pulled the trumpet out and got going! She was a little startled at first at how loud she was. She commented, "It sounds so different without the whole band."

It was a lot of fun for the girls and for us. We had a great time watching them. They just played the same Christmas tunes over and over. People are only around to hear one or two songs. Travis had a good idea!! I think people were more inclined to give them money since they were actually playing recognizable music and were dressed decently. The guitarist down the street gave up after a while. He was just smoking and strumming away with his filthy hair hanging in his face. Who would you give money to?

Later that night, Morgan finally finished her masterpiece. The next morning, he was busy helping out:

Have you ever seen anything so adorable?

Merry Christmas to all!!