Little Talbot Island State Park

Little Talbot Island State Park is just a short drive from downtown Jacksonville and it is absolutely stunning. For $5/car, you can enjoy 5 miles of pristine white sand beaches. It isn't nearly as crowded as the beaches from Neptune to Jax Beach and parking is a lot easier to obtain :) Make sure you bring the following: loads of sunscreen, even more water, snacks, and bug spray! I didn't see any mosquitoes on the beach, but when we tried to go to the trail at the entrance of the park, I was quickly bitten by about 7 in 30 seconds....and these ones hurt!! There are a few vending machines and a restroom in the park, but other than a few pavilions it is pure, unadulterated wildnerness! Switch up your normal beach routine and check it out.

***Make sure to pick up any trash you bring with you...there are bins for trash and recycling!  If you're feeling extra nice, you could also pick up a few pieces of trash that inconsiderate past visitors left behind***

Budweiser Tour

This weekend we had a friend in town and after a sailing expedition failed (engine and wind trouble) we realized that the very thought of doing anything else outside in the 700 degree weather made us very depressed. We decided to finally take a tour of the Budweiser Brewery in Jacksonville (Ryan has been wanting to do this tour forever and insisted that I was keeping him from his delicious beer).  They offer complimentary tours every 45 minutes and there are also two other, more in depth, tours that you can pay for. The complimentary tour was just fine for us though and we were able to see the various stages of their brewing process and finally end with two free beers in their Hospitality Room, which was pretty nice. They also offer free pretzels and soda for those, like me, who don't drink beer :) 

It was an interesting way to spend a few hours and here's the best part: it was FREEEEE (pronounced like you would say "wheeee"). Sorry for the crappy quality of the photos...I never bring my camera with me because I constantly forget that my cell phone takes terrible pictures...but you get the general idea...now it's your turn to head out there and take your own terrible photos!  

3 F(x) Ice Cream and Waffles

I took these pictures with my cell phone, so they're not great, but the ice cream at 3 F(x) Ice Cream and Waffles is! (See what I did there?) This place takes milk and your choice of flavor (we chose fresh raspberries) and changes it from this: 

                                                  to this-------------------->


and then finally to the delicious ice cream at the beginning of this post! You can add up to two toppings for free (we chose chocolate and white chocolate chips) and it all is frozen by the freezing hibachi like thing you see above. They also make filled fish shaped waffles and fresh coffee. The people behind the counter were super friendly and (I think) the owner even joked with us while he made my sister in law's mango ice cream.  I highly recommend that you check it out if you're in Jacksonville!!

Walking the Main Street Bridge

One of my favorite things to do from time to time is to experience my city as a tourist...it helps you to see things in a new light and to appreciate the majesty and beauty of our surroundings! Alright, now dialing back the pretentious bs talk: there are always cool things to do in your city...enough so that an outsider would pay money to visit where you live and that goes for everyone!

In Jacksonville, we take for granted the fact that our downtown is right on a river and it's gorgeous. After a few drinks and dinner at Fionn Maccool's at The Landing, we took a leisurely stroll across the St. John's River on the Main Street Bridge to the Friendship Fountain which has recently been reopened after a $3.2 million renovation. It's really pretty at night because the bridges and fountain are lit up. Makes for a romantic ending to a wonderful evening :)

Jacksonville Suns Baseball

This weekend Ryan and I faced a dilemma: we had a free Sunday afternoon and a very limited amount of money in cash because both of our debit cards had to be cancelled. Why were they cancelled? Well, apparently, the privacy information was compromised somewhere in the US that Ryan used his debit card, so they froze his account when we were in Paris! Then, when we got home from Rome, I got a call that 2 transactions had been denied in Rome...even though I was no longer there.  Sigh. So, because of some crazy people trying to steal our hard earned moola, we are without debit cards for at least another 3-5 days. I don't know how people survived before debit cards...what do you do when you need money?! I guess people used to carry more cash or more places accepted checks? First world problems. 

 

Anyway, because of all of this, we decided to check out our local minor league baseball team, the Jacksonville Suns. For 2 bleacher tickets, we paid just $15! Not too shabby! After robbing our piggy bank, we even managed to do what the song says and got some: 

I have to say, Cracker Jack's are not as delicious as I remembered as a kid! Despite the tummyache from my cherry Coke and peanuts and Cracker Jack's (I wanted ice cream and cotton candy and popcorn and cappuccino too...I'm like a 3 year old), it was still a really nice afternoon enjoying America's pastime. So the next time you have a free afternoon and not a ton of cash, support your local baseball team! (Tip: If you don't mind a little walk, don't pay the $5 for parking....if it's during the weekend, parking on the street is free!)