We packed our bags. We ate Mrs. West's pancakes. We realized that we had forgotten some things and repacked our bags. We pulled out of the driveway. Then we let out a cry of excitement and freedom that had been waiting to come out since we began our trip, "SPRING BREAK!!!" Tackling the mountain in our trusty Land Rover, we began the next leg of our trip, destination: Jacksonville. We made a quick stop at a Dairy Queen right before crossing the border into where we introduced Thomas to the Blizzard (complete with the obligatory upside-down test). As we drove out, we noticed our first glorious palm tree, a mere taste of what was to come. As we drove further and further into Florida, the foliage became larger, the divide between the lanes became wider, and the sky and air became crystal clear. We had made it to Florida, and were loving every sun-soaked moment of it. By the time we arrived in Jacksonville, night had fallen over the sparkling city's skyscrapers and sprawling bridges. We pulled into our good friend Mitchell's house at around 9:30 PM, weary from another long day of traveling and ready to crash. Mitchell had spent the last few hours preparing a dinner of Indian food. and we were all too eager to join him and his parents for a hearty evening meal. Pitch Perfect was playing on the TV, so we watched that together before getting ready for bed. Just before hitting the sack for the night, Mitchell threw on some Skyrima, showing us his epic character, Brienne, flying around on some dragons, and getting absolutely destroyed by another dragon. Good stuff.
Morning came and we were greeted to the sound of Mitchell and Keith making bomlettes (omelettes that are the bomb). Blue cheese, alfalfa sprouts, sweet onions, and more perked us up for an exciting day in Jacksonville. First stop: Mitch's favorite beach. When we arrived at around 9:30 AM, we had the whole beach to ourselves, an overwhelming view of the ocean, sand, and 180 degrees of blue sky. Apparently, some other people thought it was a little slice of paradise, too, as some photographers arrived a few minutes later to take shots of a model. We had a blast playing some Frisbee on the sand (complete with master classes by Monsieur Villiams) and climbing out on rocks that extended far out into the ocean.
After spending a few hours there, we decided that it was time to head to lunch where we were meeting Mitch's parents. A few detours on the way, however, allowed us to see some extra sights. We drove through an old sugar cane plantation which was densely packed with towering palms and other native foliage. It felt like the Jungle Cruise, but in real life. I can't even imagine what being in this kind of jungle at night must have been like. We jumped out and found another small beach that we walked around for a few minutes before returning, heading towards the ferry that would take us to the seafood restaurant where we were heading. While we waited in line for the car ferry, we bought a bag of boiled peanuts and a cup of fresh-made strawberry limeade. Everyone agreed that the strawberry limeade was delicious. Everyone also agreed that they were glad they tried the peanuts, but would probably never want to eat them again. We rode the ferry across the river and finished driving to lunch. The building contained both the restaurant company as well as a fishing company who worked together, meaning that the restaurant's food was freshly caught and was likely just pulled off of a fishing boat minutes before being cooked and served. It was pretty weird seeing all the pre-prepared fish staring back as you decided what you wanted to eat. Mitchell's dad picked out one flounder in particular and told us to get in fried up as an addition to our lunch. I took a picture. We ordered a feast of fried seafood, including shrimp, oyster, scallops, and okra. The quality was top notch, and everyone enjoyed digging into the Florida cuisine. And of course, our flounder arrived, scored and blackened. It was arguably the best part of the meal and we had no trouble reducing it to a collection of fishy bones. I took a picture.
Conquerors of the seafood, we then left for Jacksonville's indie neighborhood, a place that Mitchell wanted to show to us. Straight out of Portland, the street we camped on was full of eclectics shops and indie gems. Dijiridoos to incense to He-Man comic books, the shops were full of character. After being offered financial assistance from some of our generous parents, we realized that the long awaited day at Disney World planned for the next day could be extended by purchasing a resort room at severe discount and the possibility of multi-day passes. We spent some time making plans for the trip to Orlanda, calling various resorts to figure out pricing and availability. Inconclusive, we returned to Mitchell's house after visiting a beautiful ocean-side park that was filled with acroyoga, larpers, street dancers, and frolicking children.
We got back to the Kuhn's and found an amazing deal on a Disney resort room that would end up only costing each of us $40. We bit. Excited for the new opportunities that two days in Orlando offered us, we spent a little time planning and then jumped into some Halo co-op action before packing our bags again and driving down to the Kuhn's beach house for another seafood meal being prepared by Papa Kuhn himself. While Captain Kirk (as Mr. Kuhn has been known to be called) was finishing the food, we grabbed a light up frisbee (which we spent about 15 minutes trying to fix) down to the pitch-black beach. Few scarier experiences have I had than a strobing, multicolor disc being hurled towards you in near darkness. There were few catches this game and after a while, we sat down on the sand, imagining different crazy ways of viewing the star-filled night sky. Mitchell got a call from his dad: the feast was ready. We realized just how good of a cook Captain Kirk was when we got a taste of his flounder, the exact same fish we had eaten for lunch, taken from the same catch. Although both were quite excellent, there were a few of us who preferred his preparation even more than the esteemed seafood restaurant. Aside from the flounder, he had prepared three pounds of shrimp, double the weight in potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, sausage, and a mountain of clams. Dauntless, we gazed at the challenge presented to us and boldly attacked, fully aware of the potentially devastating food comas we were most likely to suffer from the fight. Between us five guys and Mr. and Mrs. Kuhn, we were nearly victorious, with a few small bags being needed in the end. Eternally grateful for their hospitality, we bid Mitchell's parents farewell and drove back to their non-beach house to prepare for the next morning. Day one in sun-soaked, foliage-covered Florida had been a dream, but we weren't done yet: Disney awaited.
Flowing, golden sun -
Eternal ocean and sky -
Way better than school.
