Seasons Greetings from Jacksonville

Jacksonville  Christmas

It's Christmas Eve, and we've finished all our tasks  and are ready to enjoy the holiday weekend. It's been difficult to realize the closeness of the holiday, despite the wealth of Christmas lights when we happen to be out after dark. Since we're seldom in malls or stores other than groceries, we've managed to miss most of the ubiquitous Christmas muzak and the retail hype that started months ago. Not a bad thing. It's also been very warm here-- not that we're complaining-- as it's been almost everywhere up and down the east coast. We've been sleeping with an open hatch over my bed and the train whistles are loud, one of the sounds we love when we're in Florida.

Our little driftwood tree with its' starfish on top, a gift from my sister-in-law, sits on the table by the chair where Bubba is peacefully sleeping. We're having dinner out this evening at our favorite local restaurant, with friends from down the dock. Tomorrow a quiet day with just the two of us; another dock friend will join us for dinner. I'm cooking a turkey breast in a brown bag-- a first experience for me, but one most other boating women are very familiar with. Marine ovens are small and they don't self clean. I'm usually a very confident cook, but this is making me a little nervous!

A Favorite Tree

Another year is almost gone by. I remember my mother telling me they go faster the older you get and I think she had a point. We're not quite sure what 2012 will hold for us, although in the short term we expect to travel down to Miami where my sister will join us for week's visit. Perhaps we'll travel to the west coast of Florida after that. Of course in the late spring we'll head up the waterway and back for a month or so in Salem before heading to Maine. It's the details to be filled in later that keep life interesting.

To all our friends and family we wish happy holidays, a happy healthy and peaceful New Year and that we'll see you sometime in the not too distant future!

Staying Put in Jacksonville

Jacksonville Skyline

We're still here in Jacksonville and settling in for a while. We've gotten a grip on some of the unknowns, made some decisions and changed plans yet again, but we're feeling like we have a good alternative laid out-- at least for the next two or three months!

We've given up on having our paint work done here, which was a bit disappointing. Having finally gotten a reasonable estimate from a reputable yard, we found that it would likely be mid February before the work could be completed. That just seemed to long to be hanging here, so we've decided to postpone the deck work. We'll stay here until after New Year's, keep Paul's appointment at Mayo and enjoy life here while we tackle a few projects ourselves.

Mossy Canopy

The good news is there's much to enjoy about Jacksonville. According to the marina's handout, Jacksonville ranks number one among U.S. cities in gross acreage for parks, and in the top 10 in percent of acreage devoted to parks-- and yes, there seems to be a park every few blocks. There are lots of beautiful, very old oaks, lots of Spanish moss and acorns to crunch underfoot while I'm out on my daily walk.

The St Johns River winds through the city, and it's possible to see the downtown skyline from a little park by a drawbridge very close to our marina. We are in a lovely neighborhood with beautiful old homes along the creek where we're located, with a very lively center full of shops and restaurants.

More Moss

                                                                   

We've been delighted to find good bread and several good restaurants here, which seem to be supplied by a large number of sustainable farms. Who knew?

We also visited a huge produce market, open every day of the year from sunrise to sunset. While it wasn't really the farmers market we expected from its name, there were literally tons of fresh vegetables and citrus at incredibly low prices. We've since found another open air market close by, and we have a few more to explore-- our favorite Saturday morning preoccupation!

So we're happy to be just staying put for a while, living a dock side life and enjoying a quiet holiday.

Vegetables!