Here and There Again

Yes, Rings fans, I've been reading The Hobbit. And what a fun journey it's been... the book and my weekend.

Stayed at the Best Western in Mayport again... dropped off at the door by the duty driver. Watched the incredible end of Game 3 of the Yankee's ALDS, and both of former Mariner Raúl Ibañez's home runs to win it (in the 9th and the 12th). It was very neat because I was talking with Mike when they flew, flew away. What can be better than having your wife give you a play-by-play of a miracle win by your favorite team when you're apart? :)

That was Wednesday night! Thursday morning I picked up the Hertz car, had a great breakfast at the Third Street Diner, stopped by The Bookmark, and nearby Atlantic Beach, then stopped at the outdoor Starbucks on the corner of Atlantic Blvd and posted to my Navy Times. Dropped off my ballot at the Post Office on the way to the ferry, stopped at Singleton's for some shrimp cocktail, rode across the St John's river and went to Amelia Island to walk around and look for shells. I found a couple broken conchs, but also over a dozen horseshoe crab skeletons. Loved just walking along the edge of the surf with the wind and the bright blue sky.

Then I had to get downtown for the symphony concert... parked for half-price at the garage... and enjoyed a wonderful concert featuring the symphony's enormous pipe organ and a famous organist from Germany. It was open seating, and I was able to get one of the normally expensive, raised seats to the right... perfect for watching the fingers fly over the keyboard and the violins. There was a Bach solo to begin, then a Handel piece including strings and oboes... a modern piece by a French composer in the 30's (strings and timpani), and finally a 20-min piece commissioned by the symphony (and a couple in attendance), written by a Florida resident (also in attendance) on variations of that familiar circus song... famous as The Most Wonderful Night of the Year. I had visions of Dick van Dyke pretending to do the tight rope in Mary Poppins all night.

It was Michael's birthday, Thursday, and unfortunately, the Yankees dropped the game that to Baltimore... but we Skyped afterwords, and talked for ever and ever, just like old times... and it was really nice! Had a king bed at the Hampton downtown... and it was awfully comfy!

Got up Friday morning, not believing how much time I still had off, and had a continental breakfast in the lobby, the returned to my room to watch Hachi: a dog's tale, an updated rendition of the real thing in 1920's Japan. When the widow discovered the dog was still waiting for her husband at the train station ten years later... that made me cry. It was a sad story, but fun to watch. Since it was time then to check out, I capitulated and gave up my room.

Went to the nearby Museum of Science and History, mostly to watch the planetarium show, as it was supposed to be geared for kids. I loved the two shows they let us see... one on the night sky and constellations, and the other talking about how Earth is an oasis in the universe. Every time I remember that, and think about how huge and ordered everything is, it makes me consider how much God loves me. When I see the Earth from space (as in the animations) I think about how God condescended to come down to that little planet and do what he did. And that made me cry too... for joy. They had other neat things at the museum... a whole room devoted to Florida's marine mammals, and another with a mini zoo... and then a walk-through of Jacksonville's history.

From there I crossed the river back to downtown and checked out the toy soldier shop I found out about in a visitor's guide magazine in the hotel room. Troops of Time... finely painted tin soldiers from all sorts of periods of warfare... I ended up buying two... a WWII Sailor, and a crusader knight with a horn. The guys in there were very happy to show me everything as I was the only customer. Even gave me an orange juice to drink from their fridge while they packed them up for me.

On my way to the toy shop I passed a busy small-town sort of main street and an antique store with a 48-star flag in the window. When I stepped inside to take a look, I was amazed and pleased to find that it was a cloth one in great condition for an affordable $19. Very happy indeed! I've been wanting something like this for years! Then I had a small-size sausage and mushroom pizza at a local shop next door... a place that's been running since 1976! After finishing, I hopped in the car and decided now was a good time to go down to Marineland for the next day's adventure. Stopped at a local motel (villa) in Palm Coast. They had a rustic stone wall covering inside and out that felt very extravagant... but wasn't. :) Turned on the TV for more baseball, but found a family station that was playing a very funny episode of We Love Lucy, one of the later seasons, I presume. When that ended, I turned it over to the game just in time to see the Yanks clinch the series. After talking with Mike for a short while, I stayed up watching a couple episodes of WENN (2 for the Price of 1, and Hilary Booth, Registered Nurse)... and some snippets... I Gotta Sing, Grace Cavendish, and the beginning and ending of Happy Homecomings. It was a wild mash, but it was also lots of fun. Turns out the snippet from Grace Cavendish and the end of Homecomings both have those silly slapstick routines. It was good random planning. :)

Next morning (Saturday the 13th), after a bagel and a banana, I headed back north a bit to the Fort Matanzas National Monument, which turns out to be a bookend to the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument I saw in St Augustine the very first week! It's just down the river from San Marcos, and was built 50 years afterwords to defend that approach to the city. There was a free ferry ride across the river, and a 1/2 mile nature trail that allowed for a beautiful walk in the woods. And across the street from the monument, there was a public beach access. Took another walk on the beach and enjoyed it a bunch. Just a beautiful day! After that it was back to Marineland for a lunch (burger!) and a swim with the dolphins.

I was hoping for a session all alone, since I was the first to register for this time slot the day before, but 4 other women had signed up as well (one from Lebanon, and two from Germany!). First they told us all about the 12 dolphins they keep, especially the record-breaking oldest dolphin in captivity... turning 60 yrs old this February! Life expectancy is estimated at 30 years, so it is indeed remarkable. We learned a bit about their skin, how it's best to not scratch them, then we changed, got into life vests (really? the pool is only like 20 feet deep... lol), and walked out onto the concrete "beach". We got to pet, rubbing sides, belly, fins and flukes with flat hands. We got to throw her little fish (our dolphin was a female named Pebbles), watch her swim under us, and tell her to do things with trainer's hand signals (I got to make her open and close her mouth when she was right up next to me!). There were also lots of pictures taken, but we'll see if they ever upload them to their site.

After drying off and changing, I made my way to Red Lobster for dinner... of shrimp and snow crab. I read quite a bit in The Hobbit between courses of my endless shrimp scampi. LOL! Stopped by Panera in Jacksonville Beach for coffee and a cookie, and I felt fully at peace as I drove through soft rain, listening to soothing piano music. And then I made full circle, returning to the Best Western where I started out at. The Yankees went into extra innings again, due to Ichiro and Ibañez catching up the 4-0 deficit in the ninth with 2-run home-runs each, but maddeningly, lost in the 13th... because they couldn't hit anything else, while the Tigers did. Chatted and put all the pics from the weekend on Facebook... and after Mike and I finished talking, read a bit more in Bilbo's adventure with the dragon. It's hard to put down.

Today, I got up in time to take a shower before church and get there just in time after checking out. Another fine sermon from 1st Peter... and very pertinent to the congregation as they decide on a new pastor next week (it's all about what church elders should be like). A couple sitting next to me chatted me up during the "greet one another" time and ended up inviting me to lunch with their friends afterwords. They treated me out too... so very nice of them... and we chatted a long time about the Navy (he was a retired O-6 - captain-) and about our various marriages. They gave me their phone numbers, and said I was always welcome anytime! I really feel like I've been led to my new church home, if the home-port shift is for sure. They blessed me (and Mike in spirit) as we hugged and said goodbye. How good God is to me!

Afterwords, I got some orange juice from CVS to combat my little head cold (it's developed into a runny nose/cough now), then went to the NEX and bought more than I was planning (but also found a Christmas present for someone), and then stopped by Walmart to get a new cheap pole for fishing this week. And here I am at Panera again (chicken noodle soup!) while I write.

What a great time! My bank account is signing with relief that I will be back on duty tomorrow! :)