Farewell to 2015-Hello Jacksonville

It was hard to let go of 2015.  Seeing family and friends, having the house full of our daughters and their friends--and the delicious decadent, divine food.  November and December were all I had hoped for after being homesick earlier in the year.  Now we are in January and the girls have gone back to their respective homes and Steve is COLD so we must go to Florida.  

Florida gives all who stop at the welcome center a glass of refreshing orange or grapefruit juice

It is cold and rainy here in Jacksonville but this boat can warm up is no time making a cozy retreat.  We have Piper with us but also Jack.  Jack is Lainey's yellow labrador retriever we are keeping while she is studying in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos.  (More on that in another post--she arrived safely!)

Florida has a reputation for having a large senior citizen population but Jacksonville has the youngest population in Florida--(we fit right in).  It is also the largest city in the United states at 840 square miles.  It is no wonder that it takes so long to drive from one side to the other and still be in the city limits.  We don't play golf but for those who do you may choose from the 1,220 holes of golf in this town. I am on a search for tennis courts or pickle ball courts.  Jacksonville claims to be the birthplace of Southern Rock as it is the home of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, .38 Special and JJ Grey & Mofro.  The Allman Brothers Band was formed here but they also have some roots to Macon, Georgia. Sounds like Jacksonville has more to offer than the beautiful St. Johns river. 

The two areas of Jacksonville I hope to explore before we head up the St. Johns are the Recreation areas and the art venues.  The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens and the Riverside Arts Market are two places I hope to visit.  Since Steve game me a painting this year for Christmas I have decided to start an art collection.  Let's see if I can get Steve to join me.  We would like to take the bikes along the Jacksonville-Baldwin Rail Trail  A paved 14 1/2 mile paved trail through a nature preserve for hawks, wood storks, alligators and coral snakes.  I think I will let Piper & Jack skip this trail.

Joy