seeing sights.

Ok, so it's been a while since I've blogged...so I'm going to do a couple posts on the busy things we've been up to!  I know you're probably thinking: So, they're living where again? Lake City...super small town, just starting to make friends, how in the WORLD are they so busy? Valid thoughts my friends.

 

First up, Jacksonville. Clay and I had only really explored the beach areas so we decided to check out some other spots in town.  (Not the most exciting set of photos but we also watched the Duke/NC State game 1/2 the day...when State won and began the court-storming craziness.)

 



Jacksonville: Cummer Museum of Art

 

Beautiful gardens outside the Museum

  

Main Street Bridge



 



Jacksonville Landing: lots of restaurants, sports bars, shops, etc.



Here are some pics from my last birthday of my twenties. It was a really great day. The kids were SO well-behaved, Clay cooked & did the dishes, and a teammate made me a delicious cake!



Gorgeous sunset...probably one of the best we've seen!



Mmmm...we had sushi and filet's for dinner at the house!

 

A sweet teammate of mine made me an incredible
two-layer Reese's peanut butter chocolate cake...to die for!

Another weekend we headed to the Stephen Foster State Folk Culture Center (aka museum and park) and headed to the Suwanee River to go for a walk.  I only have a picture of the Suwanee River...the Stephen Foster part was a little boring - picture a TON of old photos and info. on Stephen Foster (the guy who wrote "Oh! Suzanna" and other tunes.) He never visited Florida: just looked on a map and picked places here to write songs about.



Hopefully this will be our next kayaking adventure!

The next series of photos are from Alligator Lake here in good 'ole Lake City. It was a colder day (mid 50's) but we still went to check it out. It took us about 1.5 hours to walk around the whole lake and this was of course our first gator sighting!



How cute are these leaves? <3



spanish moss is EVERYWHERE



Our first live gator! (They don't move unless they are
threatened and they don't just come chasing after you.) Totally safe!



Gator # 2 - look closely!



Told you it was cold!



This reminded us of a scene in Big Fish.
LOVE that movie.

 

Another weekend we headed to Tallahassee to see the Wolfpack play Florida State! Again, with a game involved, we didn't have a ton of time to really explore. We had breakfast before the game at a cajun restaurant called Angelette's Cajun Kitchen. It was pretty good...but I'd like to go back for lunch or dinner and try the more authentic cajun meals! Then we ended up meeting some State grads at the game (who are in GA in the Air Force) and met them at Mellow Mushroom after the game to hang out. It was nice to be in a familiar setting with people who knew about places from Raleigh. 

 

 

For dinner, we went to the Midtown Filling Station. We had a variety of plates and they were all delicious!  We will definitely be coming back here again. Of course I got a picture of our menu and not the food...newbie blogger mistake.

 

The next series of photos documents my first rodeo ever in my 29 years on Earth. Woah...what an experience it was! Clay's company was a big sponsor for this rodeo so everyone had to go at some point to show their support. I'd have to say that this was far less entertaining than any Friday night Wal-Mart trip (my expectations were set so high) but it had it's moments.

 

 

Once we found a place to sit, the fun began! I was having trouble focusing because there were so many cowboy hats, huge belt buckles, hilarious elderly cops, and camo. It was insanely overwhelming, not to mention that it was way out of my comfort zone (I wore a blazer.) HA! 

 

The first event was where the cowboys and girls dash out into the center of the ring chasing a calf, rope it around it's front legs so it falls over, jump off the horse and "hog-tie" the calf's back legs...all timed.  I was NOT a fan of this event...I felt so sorry for the little calves!

 

We found one of Clay's coworkers and sat with her and her daughter for a little while. She was appalled that it was my first rodeo (exclaiming it VERY loudly) and I was hoping no one else was listening.  

 

I thought this photo captured the scene well. *Note, the people
sitting right up front paid more for their tickets...hmmmm.



This bull was pissed and went after one of the emcee's
riding on a horse. This was entertainment!

 

Save a horse... (yep, it was blaring multiple times)

 

sneaky attire photos in the stands - not easy

 

 Several things I want to point out in the photos above of our police officer here. He moved super slow, was chewing on the end of a cigar, always kept his hands in his pockets, and the obvious - his age. (Also note the GMEN blanket!)

 

Successful country fried first rodeo. Yee-haw!

 

More to come...stay tuned!