Jacksonville, Florida + U.S. Virgin Islands
We are currently in Orlando for Podfest Expo, which we are so excited to be at, because learning more and meeting other podcasters gives us life! Also because we get to hang out with the awesome team behind our brilliant hosting platform, Buzzsprout. Seriously, they took all their podcasters bowling the first night of the conference, if you are looking to start a podcast, check them out!
Alison is obsessed with the student driver magnet she has on her car, because she thinks it is leading cops to not pull her over out of pity. Her daughter just got her driver’s permit, so she “accidentally” discovered this bonus turned obsession when she “accidentally”forgot to remove it once she was the one driving the car. If you have been a long-time 10K fan, you know about Lulu's Venmo-gate story. She is excited to report that after months of tweeting and emailing, she has gotten her money back. Her obsession, then, is her Cash app debit card which offers rewards like $1 off every subway ride, $1 off any latte...it is absolutely awesome.
Alison is wishing for Rael acne patches, which fade into your skin...you can even put makeup on over it! Lulu is wishing for Charger Pods mini chargers, because who doesn’t need a little battery bump now and then or every day. We here at #Team10K are all wishing that every family with a child will get this kid’s book we discovered, Sheeple. It’s a beautiful story published by Happy Face Books which donates portions of its proceeds to the fight against child trafficking.
Alison is perplexed at Lulu’s choice of a Florida spot for her imaginary luxury travel day. Usually Lulu is “visiting” more exotic places. Just wait, because this “homegrown” day was tailor made for Alison. A quick drive to the coast from city center takes Lulu to The Lodge & Club Ponte Vedra Beach , where she stays in the Presidential suite which boasts an Ocean lawn (there’s much speculation as to what that actually is), a fire pit, and a wraparound balcony just steps from the water. Very fitting to its locale, the room is a “very key lime green” according to Lulu. The luxurious marble bathroom with a jacuzzi tub will likely be where we find Lulu at the end of this day. She'll be needing to wind down and calm down. For breakfast she is heading to Jax Beach Brunch Haus, which has five different Benedict’s on the menu. Lulu loves Eggs Benedict, and while she could splurge on all - hello, she has $10,000 to blow - she keeps her cool and just orders the San Fran “Benni” — with smoked salmon, capers, and red onion.
Lulu is going to need Alison to join her for the rest of the day, so she orders a comfy luxury can from Blacklane to bring Alison to Jacksonville from her home in Tampa, a 3-4 hour drive depending on traffic. Lulu brought Alison for a very particular reason. She discovered an abandoned school on Atlas Obscura, originally built in 1915 as Public School No. 4. Then became Annie Lytle Elementary for a short period before being shut down in the 1950s. It then became a storage space, then was designated a historic landmark. It is no very abandoned, very covered in graffiti, and very clearly labeled “no trespassing”. You can get to it on Chelsea Street, and see it from I-95 and I-10. Lulu flies in Gregg Monteith, our most recent guest googler first class on American, and asks him to bring his equipment with him. It’s a “working vacation” for ya, she says. Going to get a filming permit from the city, and she wants to get a permit or pay a fee for trespassing, because big surprise here, Lulu doesn’t want to break the rules. Rather, she doesn’t want to get in trouble for breaking rules. She estimates a $350 permit fee, which she admits is not from actual research but from years of watching and re-watching Parks and Rec! They are also going to need a cleaning crew, whatever for, you are likely wondering?
Lulu, Alison, and Gregg are going to make a Zombie apocalypse movie. Probably more of a short film, as they only have a day, but still, pretty cool, right? Lulu has held a contest with our Baes to create a five to seven minute script. She would vote on the best one, and make it a reality. Lulu has to add to her crew, to make this 10K quality. She spends $1,000 each on a special effects makeup artist and a fight director. A quick Amazon search finds I Can’t Believe It’s Not Blood, which claims to “simulate untold number of gory misfortunes”. That’ll do just fine.She hires Rockwell & Rose to score it for $1500, so you know it is going to sound EPIC. Lulu brings in Panera catering - so simple and easy! - in lieu of craft services. If you wanna see this short get made IRL...share your story boarding efforts with Lulu on the Bae page! And if you listened to the episode, you know that Lulu needs some help, because she knows literally nothing about zombies. Alison explains zombies to her in a way that makes you think that Alison has actually seen one in real life, or just like she’s seen every episode of The Walking Dead 10,000 times.
After they wrap for the day, showering off all the fake blood, they head to the night feeding at Catty Shack. Tigers, lions, cougars, leopards, lynx, foxes, and coatimundis, oh my! Lulu takes Alison and Gregg to Matthew’s for the Chef’s Adventure Tasting Menu, with wine of course. Lulu is most excited about whatever dish is pictured on the website as having a glass dome filled with smoke over it.
Alison has been to the US Virgin Islands before - in an imaginary day, not IRL - where she stayed on St. John in a two-acre, three building complex that was absolutely drool worthy. Read all about her stay on that specific island here. This time, instead of staying on one particular island, she's going to forego land completely and she's going to "stay" on the water. She's going to charter this 4-cabin catamaran she found on Airbnb. For two nights and $4600 she'll get to enjoy an alfresco dining area on the deck of the “Nemo” and four cabins, which means Alison is flying out some friends. Lulu, Alison's daughter Emma, and a friend Emma picks are the lucky few Alison decides to fly out to USVI to join her. This boat comes with a crew, food and standard bar service, and has all the water sport toys you could possibly want - stand-up paddleboards, a kayak, snorkeling gear, noodles, water skis, kneeboard, wakeboard, a tube. Lots of fun to be had, and Alison has packed plenty of Dramamine for everybody.
As if hanging on a boat isn't enough fun, Alison discovered an experience sure to delight. Alison and her crew are going to become mermaids...or as close as you can get to living "under the sea". Mermaid Swim VI offers experiences for all ages that include a monotail costume, hair accessories and rhinestone embellishments, a photo shoot, water games and lessons on how to swim like a real mermaid with your new tail! At $150 for the first Mermaid and $50 for each additional one, this excursion is affordable and will make for some unforgettable memories and fun pictures! Alison has another surprise for her guests, she gives everyone $500 each to do some duty free shopping, which means chocolates, alcohol, and jewels are coming home as souvenirs...for themselves.
Alison decides to take the crew to wander the empty Salt Island. Alison discovered this on a USVI to do list on NomadicMatt.com "This tiny, deserted, out-of-the-way island is filled with once-important salt ponds. There’s snorkeling around the island, and you can take a dinghy to visit the deserted town near the salt pools. The island is owned by a family that pays an annual rent to the Queen of England of a single one-pound bag of salt. You’ll need to get here with your own boat; there are no ferries." Alison was not sure whether this was part of the U.S. Virgin Islands, or the British Virgin Islands, but they’re close enough to each other, and she has a boat! She wants to pay the family that owns the island $2000 if they'll let her deliver the salt to the Queen. Perhaps she can swim from the US Virgin Islands to Great Britain in her new mermaid tail.
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