We're Goin' to Jackson! (ville)!
Maggie and I recently (ok, within the last month) have returned from Jacksonville, where we attended the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Eli George. Much fun was had by all. The wedding was great fun, and we got to visit extensively with Ninalee and Greg Beckham, which was a blast. Here's the play by play.
Mags and I arrived in Jacksonville, rented a car, and headed off for our hotel, which was right next to a Mayo Clinic. When Maggie tried to print the directions off of google, our printer messed up and would only do one turn per printed page, so she aborted. Unfortunately, she did not then write down the rest of the directions. To further complicate matters, we had the wrong address for the hotel! But, if anyone is interested, the Jacksonville Beach area is very nice no matter how many times you drive past it.
Eventually we arrived at our hotel, which was quite nice. We had a balcony overlooking the pool. Fantastic. At the time, it was still 50s in Milwaukee (motto: Our Spring is so long that you forget what it feels like to be warm).
It was now about midday and we were hungry, so we drove around looking for this restaurant recommended by our hotel when the Maggie and Spencer curse hit again. You can take us anywhere you want -- Rome, Paris, or Paul Prudhomme's kitchen -- we will find a bad meal. It was nice to be outside, but the meal was a two thumbs down. Not a good start. However, while we were driving around, we popped out to the entrance to TPC Sawgrass, which for those of you who do not follow golf, is home to the PGA Players' Championship. I quickly snapped a pic and emailed to Dad. Who knew? I took that as a sign that our fun adventure was just getting started.
Since Friday was already half over, Mags and I decided to postpone the beach and take advantage of a large block of free time. We headed down the coast to St. Augustine, which as Maggie will surely tell you, is the oldest (surviving) settlement in the United States. As an attorney, I can spot another attorney's handiwork from a mile away, and I gotta say that every sign in St. Augustine has been vetted thoroughly. There are a lot of half-truths and stretches, but no blatant lies. Still, it's enough to ruffle at least one Pensacolan's feathers (Maggie!).
It really is a lovely place, but they've chosen to commemorate the first Mass at St. Augustine with a fifty foot tall cross that can be seen from space. It's a bit gaudy, but I did see a dolphin and a turtle while I was there, so I guess I'll forgive them.
So on Saturday morning, Maggie and I decided to beach it up. Since our hotel was roughly 7 minutes from the beach, this was pretty easy to accomplish. Realizing the need for a good base burn, we opted for no sunscreen on day one, a decision that would haunt us for weeks. The beach was great. It's no Pcola, but let's be honest, what is?
Most importantly, Maggie and I found a great seafood place at the beach that is outdoors and above a seafood market--it doesn't get any fresher than that! I had an oyster po boy and Maggie had a grouper sandwich, and we both instantly remembered what we've been missing. My next three meals (except for the wedding) were all oyster po boys. Oh how I miss oysters. So, Saturday = yum.
Saturday evening was the wedding, which was a lot of fun. The ceremony was nice and we got to spend lots of time with Ninalee and Greg. I know Maggie enjoyed seeing her friends again, and I really enjoyed getting to hang out with them for the first time, so all and all, good times.
On Sunday, Courtney came to Jacksonville to play with us, and we all hit the beach. This time, I went prepared with a $10 boogie board curtesy of Target. The current was exhausting, but man it was awesome to be in the waves again.....stuipid Lake Michigan. All the customary beach things were done -- sunning, swimming, body surfing, boogie boarding, hole digging, and frisbeeing. We only had two days, so we really had to pack it all in. Naturally, we fell back into our Southern roots, and by Sunday afternoon I was giving directions to tourists.
Maggie and I at our seafood market/restaurant.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and after an evening dip in the pool, Court had to leave us. Mags and I crashed very hard that evening, and we also became aware of just how burned we were. As I related on twitter, Maggie was a lobster, but I only resembled a fire engine. Lots and lots of aloe was used.
So that recaps our Jacksonville trip, which was mucho fun! And we're getting ready to head back to Pcola/Mobile for more fun in the sun, so buy some stock in Aloe!!
Mags and I arrived in Jacksonville, rented a car, and headed off for our hotel, which was right next to a Mayo Clinic. When Maggie tried to print the directions off of google, our printer messed up and would only do one turn per printed page, so she aborted. Unfortunately, she did not then write down the rest of the directions. To further complicate matters, we had the wrong address for the hotel! But, if anyone is interested, the Jacksonville Beach area is very nice no matter how many times you drive past it.
Eventually we arrived at our hotel, which was quite nice. We had a balcony overlooking the pool. Fantastic. At the time, it was still 50s in Milwaukee (motto: Our Spring is so long that you forget what it feels like to be warm).
It was now about midday and we were hungry, so we drove around looking for this restaurant recommended by our hotel when the Maggie and Spencer curse hit again. You can take us anywhere you want -- Rome, Paris, or Paul Prudhomme's kitchen -- we will find a bad meal. It was nice to be outside, but the meal was a two thumbs down. Not a good start. However, while we were driving around, we popped out to the entrance to TPC Sawgrass, which for those of you who do not follow golf, is home to the PGA Players' Championship. I quickly snapped a pic and emailed to Dad. Who knew? I took that as a sign that our fun adventure was just getting started.
Since Friday was already half over, Mags and I decided to postpone the beach and take advantage of a large block of free time. We headed down the coast to St. Augustine, which as Maggie will surely tell you, is the oldest (surviving) settlement in the United States. As an attorney, I can spot another attorney's handiwork from a mile away, and I gotta say that every sign in St. Augustine has been vetted thoroughly. There are a lot of half-truths and stretches, but no blatant lies. Still, it's enough to ruffle at least one Pensacolan's feathers (Maggie!).
It really is a lovely place, but they've chosen to commemorate the first Mass at St. Augustine with a fifty foot tall cross that can be seen from space. It's a bit gaudy, but I did see a dolphin and a turtle while I was there, so I guess I'll forgive them.
So on Saturday morning, Maggie and I decided to beach it up. Since our hotel was roughly 7 minutes from the beach, this was pretty easy to accomplish. Realizing the need for a good base burn, we opted for no sunscreen on day one, a decision that would haunt us for weeks. The beach was great. It's no Pcola, but let's be honest, what is?
Most importantly, Maggie and I found a great seafood place at the beach that is outdoors and above a seafood market--it doesn't get any fresher than that! I had an oyster po boy and Maggie had a grouper sandwich, and we both instantly remembered what we've been missing. My next three meals (except for the wedding) were all oyster po boys. Oh how I miss oysters. So, Saturday = yum.
Saturday evening was the wedding, which was a lot of fun. The ceremony was nice and we got to spend lots of time with Ninalee and Greg. I know Maggie enjoyed seeing her friends again, and I really enjoyed getting to hang out with them for the first time, so all and all, good times.
On Sunday, Courtney came to Jacksonville to play with us, and we all hit the beach. This time, I went prepared with a $10 boogie board curtesy of Target. The current was exhausting, but man it was awesome to be in the waves again.....stuipid Lake Michigan. All the customary beach things were done -- sunning, swimming, body surfing, boogie boarding, hole digging, and frisbeeing. We only had two days, so we really had to pack it all in. Naturally, we fell back into our Southern roots, and by Sunday afternoon I was giving directions to tourists.
Maggie and I at our seafood market/restaurant.Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and after an evening dip in the pool, Court had to leave us. Mags and I crashed very hard that evening, and we also became aware of just how burned we were. As I related on twitter, Maggie was a lobster, but I only resembled a fire engine. Lots and lots of aloe was used.
So that recaps our Jacksonville trip, which was mucho fun! And we're getting ready to head back to Pcola/Mobile for more fun in the sun, so buy some stock in Aloe!!
1 Comments:
Cute couple! The guy kinda resembles my long lost son!!! Guess Who?
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