A Trip to Jacksonville (And an inadvertent tour of the University of North Florida)

Did you ever just have one of those days where life just seems too much? Well I can say that I've had my fair share of them and most of the time the remedy is simply slowing down and breathing long enough to realize all the blessings I've been given in this life. I think that's one of the many problems plaguing the world today, we too seldom give thanks for what we do have and far more often obsess over what we don't. Well I'm happy to say that I typically have little difficulty in counting my blessings because I'm faced with the greatest one of all for the majority of my day. My girlfriend, Taylor Gail Lanning, is the most kind, caring, compassionate, and loving person that I have ever or will ever know and I thank God for her everyday. Having said that, it just so happens that we were both having one of those days or more correctly one of those weeks where it felt like we had taken Atlas' place holding the Earth on our shoulders. So when we both reached our tipping point Saturday morning we were struck by divine inspiration and decided to go to Jacksonville, Florida for the day. No plans, no itinerary, and no reservations which was just the sort slap in the face we needed. For the first time in what seemed like months, we let go of all our worries and our responsibilities and just did something. We didn't know what we were going to do when we got there, but by God we were going to get there and we weren't looking back. The two and a half hour drive seemed more like the length of a song for all I knew, between all the singing, laughing, and generally childlike behavior we barely had time to blink before the smell of the salty ocean air was upon us. After fighting some "wonderful" afternoon traffic we made it to the beach and headed toward the first seafood shack we could find. It just so happened we ended up picking a good spot and enjoyed a nice lunch of clam strips (Taylor) and a fried oyster po' boy. As we sat there and ate we looked out at the ocean and listened to the band play some reggae classics we both felt at home. I think she put it best when she said this, "Ya know how there are places where even though you have good memories of them, sometimes you have that one bad memory that ruins it? The beach is the one place where I have never had a bad memory, not one." She was right, when have you ever gone to the beach and not had an amazing time? After lunch we made our way to beach, and found a vacant spot and threw down all our stuff and headed off towards the water. Mistake! Let's just say that just because it's nice enough weather to be outdoors in doesn't exactly mean that it's warm enough to go jumping into the Atlantic Ocean, but you live and learn. After a few hours by the water we walked around the main strip and went to every shop they had (her idea of course) and finally made our way to a pizza place for dinner (our first experience with Chicago deep dish style pizza: amazing). So that was it and our day was done, we were refreshed and re-energized and had a calm, optimistic outlook on life. So we piled into my truck (which she affectionately calls Marty the Magic School bus because its yellow) and made our way home. Well that was our intention at least, as we were driving we looked off the roadside and saw a mall and came to the conclusion that we were young and there was no plausible reason why we couldn't just do it, after all today we were already rebels by our standards so why not keep with the trend? So to make a long story short we ended up getting lost, twice, looking for a gas station near the mall, and both times had to turn around inside the University of North Florida. Finally, we decided to just go to the mall and worry about getting gas late. Once again to make a long story short we wandered aimlessly around this amazing outdoor mall and got lost in the bliss of doing nothing but being together. With a full tank and a frappuccino in hand we made the long trek back home both becoming increasingly tired by the mile until we finally made it back and crashed into the bed with little in mind but how amazingly we would sleep that night. So after all that I came to the conclusion that sometimes all it really takes is to slow down and breathe, but sometimes you need to get as far away from the world as you can and get to that point where you can just hear yourself think and be at peace. Well I can say that this past Saturday I did and life just seems easier now, I guess it helps when you have someone who loves you to help shoulder the load too.