Return to Jacksonville

This past month has been one of the most emotionally taxing of my life, but there were some true bright spots in those thirty days and the brightest of all was my quick five day trip to Jacksonville, Florida to visit my near and dear friend, Florida Nancy. It goes without saying we had THE BEST time and I’m so happy to finally be able to share with you all a series of my favorite photos from that extended and extraordinary weekend!

Florida Nancy, as you may recall, used to be California Nancy, which is where we became friends back in 2016 while working for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, but in the summer of 2020, she left the west for the east and made herself a beautiful home on the other coast. This was my second visit to Jacksonville to see her with my first being in the thick of the Pandemic. This time around life was much more relaxed and we were able to just enjoy one another’s company and the experiences and places around us without the fears of the global unknown darkening our doorways.

The day we landed was pretty lowkey and I don’t have many photos from it, but let me tell you all what, the second day, when I woke up in the morning, I felt like my head was going to explode! This is the second trip this year where my sinuses had me suffering that first full day! When I went out to California I was in misery the day California Melissa, Amanda, and I went and visited that beautiful mission and the same was felt this first full day in Florida! OOF! I took some Sudafed, but when we went to breakfast that morning I was feeling decommissioned! It was awful, BUT once we got out to the ocean and I was able to immerse myself on the sand and in the water, I felt infinitely better. I’m a big believer in the healing properties of Mother Nature and thankfully, she worked wonders on me that day.

Following the beach, I was finally free from the constraints of my sinuses and we went and had a lovely time at the Jacksonville Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. It was much more primitive than the gardens here in St. Louis and infinitely more dangerous as there were an incredible number of alligator warning signs all over, but nonetheless, we had the best time. I just can’t get enough of those moss covered trees and it wasn’t too crowded, so we basically had the place to ourselves! It was just wonderful!

Without doubt seafood is my favorite genre of food, there is no limit to how much I love it, so I was thrilled when Nancy took me to the Blue Crab Crabhouse Restaurant for dinner. The service was outstanding and the food was even more incredible! We had the best time and the best dinner. It was such a treat despite the fact we ate seafood on multiple occasions across this trip.

The next morning we went about an hour north to Fernandina Beach where we began our day with an Amelia Island Boat cruise. The island is well known in many aspects, but one notable event that happened here was the wedding of John F. Kennedy Junior. It instantly became quite easy to understand why he chose such a remote location. It helped them escape the paparazzi, yes, but beyond that, the place was just breathtaking! There was a wealth of wild horses grazing about which only made the already magical scenery feel like something straight out of a Disney fairytale. I loved it so much. We even got to see dolphins on the cruise, which was just outstanding. It was the best experience.

Fernandina Beach had an enchanting downtown with plenty of cute little shops and restaurants, many of which we spent the day exploring. I loved everything about this place and it was most definitely somewhere I would love to return. An ideal scenario would be a long weekend in a bed and breakfast where we could just leisurely stroll the streets and explore all this enchanting little town had to offer.

The third and final full day we went to the city I fell hard in love with back in 2020, Saint Augustine, Florida. This is the first colony in America as it was settled by the Spanish in the 1565 and you all know me, I love history, so this is right up my alley. I mentioned I could spend a long weekend in Fernandina Beach in a quaint little bed and breakfast, but give me a full week in Saint Augustine. I just loved it and felt that there was so much to see and do, especially this time of year with the bounty of ghost tours they offered.

We started the morning off with a visit to the Fountain of Youth, so I feel it is now safe to say that I will never see 30 years old in my life. Eternally 29 and I don’t even need to be a vampire to achieve this remarkable feat. Amazing. My expectations were blown out of the water here. I thought it was just going ot be a bit gimmicky and sideshowy, but no, it was a full blown historical extravaganza with reenactments and all kinds of historical structures and information. I loved this place so much more than I was anticipating and I was already pumped to just drink from the Fountain of Youth itself!

The image of O. C. White’s above is notable because Florida Nancy and I ate here on both of our trips to Saint Augustine and you best believe if I return again for a third take on this town, I’ll be dining here again. Their clam chowder was top notch! We wrapped our day up with a journey through the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum and that place was truly something else! Expectations exceeded for sure! The building itself was beautiful, but the artifacts and such inside were truly something else! 10/10. Highly Recommend.

I had to wrap it up with a little hometown flair as Robert Wadlow, the world’s tallest man, was a resident of Alton, Illinois, the very town where my Sweet Melissa works! It was so wild seeing this display here when I already knew quite a bit about him! Made me so happy! Love my St. Louis area history!

Well, there you have it, my phenomenal and fantastical return to Jacksonville! As always, THANK YOU so much for viewing! I appreciate you greatly! Please feel free to leave a comment below as I love reading and responding to them! I’ll return soon with another all-new post, so until then, I wish you all, all the best!