Saturday, November 15, 2008

More From the 904

On Thursday, my parents and I visited the town of Fernandina Beach and the historic Fort Clinch. We drove up A1A through Ponte Vedra Beach, Jacksonville Beach, and Mayport. Once arriving in Fernandina, we ate a nice lunch at the Marina Seafood Restaurant before doing a little sightseeing. Afterwards, we took a leisurely tour of the fort. We took the scenic road home along the river and stopped at The Loop for dinner. An action-packed day!

On Friday the three of us and Susan watched a matinee showing of Quantum of Solace. We all liked the flick; I personally found it great in its use of action, locations, and supporting cast. I find Daniel Craig's hard-edged Bond to be more realistic but a big departure from most of the previous actors' version of the character. It seems like the sense of humor from past Bond films is missing, but it almost seems like that is intentional on the part of the directors.

After watching the movie, we went to the Mandarin Ale House where I ate way too much food and required several hours of recovery. After this gorging, we had a relaxing afternoon and evening at the house. In the evening, we all went outside to watch Space Shuttle Endeavor launch. Due to clouds, we could only really see a blurry orange plume from the exhaust. But it is always fun to watch the night launches which are clearly visible even though they take place 125 miles away.

Today was a pretty slow day; we had a lunch at Larry's and stopped by the Penzey's Spices store where I filled orders for various interested parties. Hopefully it will all fit in my suitcase! After shopping, we made a quick drive-by of the Paxon Lounge, a venue where my Uncle Gary once entertained crowds with his virtuosic guitar stylings. The rest of the day was consumed by football watching, including the Gators beating down the Gamecocks. Go Gators!

Tomorrow I catch a flight at 6:10am to begin my cross-country trek to Boise. The five-hour flight from Cincinnatti to Seattle should be pretty miserable. Hopefully I make it home with my sanity intact, since I'll need it when I begin my new job on Monday!


Mom and Dad at Fernandina


Fort Clinch seen from its parapet


Amelia Island Lighthouse seen from Fort Clinch State Park


Launch of Space Shuttle Endeavor, seen just outside the Vickery abode

No comments: