180-vilano-grill-disneydaybyday

Our Favorite Food This Week: Anything at 180 Vilano Grill
Location: 180 Vilano Grill – 180 Vilano Rd St Augustine, FL 32084

Welcome to this week’s Favorite Food Friday where we share our favorite foods with our friends.  It’s been a very interesting couple weeks for the DisneyDayByDay family as we were faced with our first mandatory evacuation from our new home on Vilano Beach in FL.   We fell in love with Saint Augustine FL many years ago and as a family we love the water and the beach so after moving to Atlanta 6 years ago we kept itching to move further south and be able to wake up with the sand on our feet.  That dream became reality about 3 years ago when we purchase our home in a small retro beach community with an amazing family of residents.   We had heard that St Augustine hadn’t been hit with a major storm in over 50 years, but thankfully we didn’t listen to that and moved forward with our home renovations which consisted of reinforcing the home with Hurricane windows and doors along with coastal rated siding.

hurrican-matthew-disneydaybydayOur mandatory evacuation was announced for us on Wed evening and we had to be out of our house on Thursday by 6am.   We packed what we could, filled the garage with all of our outdoor furniture, and set out with our dog and two cats.    After finding a hotel that accepted our animals we settled in to wait out the storm.   We watched on Thursday when the storm inched closer to the Florida coast, we didn’t sleep much, and were glued to the weather channel and our local news stations as the storm engulfed our local community throughout the day on Friday.    As the storm serge predictions rose and winds whipped our little community all we could do is hope for the best.   We had another restless sleep on Friday night as we watched the storm pull away from Florida and the impact start to show on our local TV.   Our small beach town was now devastated and news surfaced that the bridge leading to our piece of paradise was closed by the national guard and no one was being allowed across.   We packed the car and headed towards home on Saturday knowing that we may not be able to go home and if we did we may not like what we saw.   They say time flies when you are having fun, this 2 hour drive back home proved the opposite of that theory.   As we drove my wife was in contact with many of our neighbors on the Next Door app.  To our surprise there was a resident who decided not to leave and was taking pictures and posting them.  She asked and we received a couple shots that showed our home still standing and the water had receded around it.   What a relief.   Saturday at 6pm our bridge opened and we were able to get home.   We did suffer some plumbing damage and water in the garage, but our windows, doors, and siding held up.   Many of our neighbors did not fair as well, many of them have experienced serious flooding and some have their homes marked with an ‘X’ indicating they are not allowed to enter their home due to structural damage.    This has brought our amazing community together and making us stronger.    We have worked together to clean up and clear out all the storm debris from homes and our beaches.   I have to thank all the first responders along with the national guard, red cross, and the salvation army.   Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!

Many of our local shops and restaurants have already reopened or will reopen soon.    So if you travels includes St Augustine and the surrounding area I ask that you do not cancel your plans.   Stop by and support our local shops and restaurants as we rebuild and become stronger.    So on this Favorite Food Friday, I am not posting a favorite from Disney.   I bring you 180 Vilano Grill, this is our local hang out with amazing food and friends.   Our favorites are the sweet hamburger and the amazing pizza.   If you are in the area – be sure to check them out, you won’t be disappointed.

If you would like to help – please donate to the Hurricane Matthew Fund with the Salvation Army.   Thanks!