Sunrise

Our accommodations on this trip are about 80 yards from the ocean.  Down the hall, through the lobby, past the pools  and along the boardwalk - - - there it is.  Since we are so close, one of my goals is to watch the sun rise over the Atlantic.  The first morning was overcast, but I sat on the beach and watched the gray sky lighten as the sun came up behind the clouds.  

On day two, I checked the weather before heading to the beach:

• Weather for Jacksonville, Florida at 7:00 a.m.:  Dense fog advisory, 87% humidity, 68 degrees.
• Weather for Salem, Nebraska at 7:00 a.m.:  Dense fog advisory, 91% humidity, 24 degrees.

All things considered, Florida was the winner - but I still didn't get to watch the sunrise. Instead, I sat by the fire pit on the patio, sheltered from the drizzling mist and again watched the black sky fade to gray and listened to the waves crashing on the shore.

Day 3:  The conference we are attending hosted "beach Olympics" Saturday morning, starting just after sunrise.  We went down a little early to check the sunrise status. As you can tell from the picture of Dave trying to save my pitiful attempts at Bocce ball and keep us in the tournament, it was still foggy and overcast.  No problem - 2 more chances.

Day 4:  Dave had an 8:00 reservation to go hang gliding, so we called a cab for 7:20.  While Dave waited for the cab, I faithfully made my morning trek to the beach, even though I knew I wasn't going to see the sunrise through the clouds.  At least I could say I tried.  Sure enough - no visibility.  In fact, Dave's hang gliding ride was postponed for an hour while we waited in the pilot's office, listening to the airport station announce the latest visibility and weather information.  When the clouds parted, they took off.  The ride was cut a few minutes short because the clouds and fog began to close in again.

Powered hang gliding with Hang Glide USA

Tomorrow is Day 5 - my final chance to watch the sun rise over the Atlantic - at least for this trip.  The weather forecast says cloudy and rainy, so I'm not optimistic, but these quiet mornings on the beach, or by the fire in view of the beach, have been a blessing.  There is much to be learned by taking time to be still and listen.

Beach Baby Takes A Ferry

Thursday night was the highlight of the trip - and I say this with confidence even though it was only the second day of six day trip.  My uncle and his family have lived in Jacksonville for more than sixty years and I have never been to visit them.  The rest of my dad's family remained in Kansas so it has always been easier for the Florida branch to come north and see everyone at once.  It was fun to turn the tables and visit their home turf.  

My uncle, his son and son's wife picked us up at our hotel, drove us south along the coast, and we took a ferry across the St. John River, where we had a seafood feast at Singleton's Seafood Shack.  Look it up - it has been featured on The Food Network's Diner's, Drive-ins and Dives.  And a dive it is . . .  

Singleton's Seafood Shack

But it's hard to get fresher than having the fishing boats dock at the back door.

And the view's not bad.

Dave, Tami, Uncle Willis, Cousin Darrell and his wife, Bertha

I guess we should have snapped one less picture.  The ferry behind us in this shot is preparing to make the final crossing for the evening.  We arrived two minutes too late.  Our return to our motel required driving farther south to a bridge, going inland, then back north to our hotel.  Just between us, the longer drive gave us more time for conversation with family we rarely get to see, so I didn't mind.

Beach Baby . . .

For the next few days, I'll be blogging from Amelia Island, Florida, where we are taking a combination business trip/vacation.  Yesterday, we got up at 2:15 a.m. (that's in the morning!), left Green Acres at 3:15 (still a.m.!) and were on the plane at Kansas City International at 5:40 (still very a.m.).   Next time, I'm booking the flights.

In the twenty-four hours we have been here, I've learned this much:

• My back problems are not caused (as I had thought) by our old mattress.  The deliciously comfy, king-sized bed here didn't help.
• You can't watch the sun rise over the ocean when it's overcast - a thought I should probably have had before getting up, dressing and walking to the beach.
• A gray ocean with violent waves, slowly lightening as the sun comes up behind the clouds, is still a beautiful sight.
• A blazing fire pit on the hotel patio, which affords a view of the raging ocean, is the perfect spot for early morning coffee and devotions.
• "Resort people" are not early risers.  I pretty much had the beach and patio to myself at that hour.
• It's difficult to paint a gray ocean with whitecaps if your travel-size watercolor kit does not include black or white.
• Resort prices are beyond ridiculous - $10 drinks, $20 hamburgers, and $165 sun dresses - and they don't accept cash.
• And most importantly:  humidity-proof hair spray isn't.

This evening we are headed south along the coast for my most anticipated part of the trip.  My uncle and cousins, who have lived in Jacksonville for over 60 years, are taking us to Singleton's Seafood Shack - a local hot-spot for fresh seafood.  I'm told that the shrimp trawlers and fishing boats dock right at the restaurant to deliver the day's catch.  Doesn't get any fresher than that. Part of the drive will involve a ferry between islands - something a land-locked Kansas/Nebraska girl has never done.

Not the colorful sunrise I was expecting, but beautiful none the less.

The warmth of the fire against the chilly early-morning breeze was perfect.
 The ocean is just beyond the rock wall in the distance so,
though it doesn't show in the picture, I still had a great view.

The sun eventually peeked out from the clouds.
Maybe tomorrow I can see the sunrise.

The Picture Show . . .

You may find this hard to believe, but I have actually had some requests to see more of our vacation pictures.   I know!  Go figure.  The problem is that I was so overwhelmed by the ocean, that it's pretty much all I took pictures of.  So after minutes of trying to come up with some clever way to work 175 pictures of water into a clever post, I gave up.  Here's some pictures from Florida:

Did you notice the rainbow in that last shot?

It's difficult to read with this view distracting you.

And just to prove that I actually saw something other than the ocean,
here's us - surrounded by the beautiful flora of Florida.

                        

                                    And these are dolphin fingers.  Yes, folks - we ate Flipper!

*Don't panic - I'm assuming the "Dolfin Fingers" were actually Dolfin Fish - also known as Mahi Mahi.   Delish!

Two Tickets to Paradise . . .

I never thought I would be one of those "snow birds" that headed south for the winter.  I have always loved winter, snow, soft sweaters and cozy nights in.  But the past few years I haven't handled the cold as well.  Maybe my circulation isn't what it was 30 years ago.  Enter the "Bucket List".  Several items on my list involved getting to a coast - a northern coast.  As a life-long mid-westerner, I had never seen an ocean, and I definitely wanted to rectify that, but I wanted to go to Maine, or Cape Hatteras - - no tropical beaches for me!

Ummm..... Can I revise that list?  We got the opportunity to go to Florida last week.  Dave had training for work so I tagged along - and neither of us wanted to come back.  Not that Hutchinson Island, Florida is "tropical" in January - but sitting on the beach with a book when it's 75 degrees is close enough to paradise for me.

I was hooked from the first glimpse:

We walked down this path and the ocean spread before us - the most amazing shade of turquoise - and I was awe-struck!  I've seen God's creation displayed in may ways, but this was . . . was . . . beyond words!  If you could wake up to that view and fall asleep to the sound of the lapping waves, life would be good.  So a plan to retire to the beach is my new obsession - not to mention visiting as frequently as possible between now and then.  It only makes sense that we should visit a variety of beaches before making our retirement decision, right?

I took hundreds - seriously, hundreds - of pictures of the ocean.  I culled them down to the top 175, but that's still a bit much to post, so here are a few of my favorite memories of our FIRST trip to the beach. 

And the funniest moment:

The thing that makes this so funny - other than watching Dave get soaked - was that he knew the water as going to shoot up there (although he may not have expected quite as MUCH water as he got) and when I missed the shot, he stood there and got sprayed again to give me a second chance. What a guy!