jacksonville, FL - Dec 31, 2005 - jan 2, 2006
If you've spent time readng through the archives of stories I've posted here, you know by now that the end of the calendar year is synonymous with college football bowl season. Not one to stray far from tradition or my love for the Hokies, the close of 2005 found McLean and me headed a few hours south for yet another Gator Bowl.
Now I can't say that I was too excited about a fourth trip to Jacksonville, FL since 1997. But living in closer proximity than years past and the fact that McLean hadn't before visited Jacksonville helped ease the pain that the Hokies were in the Gator Bowl at all (afterall, that flushing sound you heard in early December was VT's ACC championship going down the toilet).
On the final day of 2005, we packed up my Integra and hit the road for a 350 mile drive south, arriving in time to celebrate New Years Eve along the St. John's River. As in past years in Jax, the music was good, the beer was cold and the fireworks were abundant. Unlike past years, I wasn't forced to watch 1000 people kiss at the stroke of midnight - this time I was one of them!
If you've been to Jacksonville before, you'll know there isn't a whole lot to do there. A couple museums, some good restaurants, and a bunch of shopping . . . nothing to get the hardcore football fan away from New Years Day bowl games on TV. Having exhausted Orlando on previous Gator Bowl excursions, McLean and I decided to drive down the coast a bit to the historic town of St. Augustine. I wasn't really sure what to expect but it actually turned out to be a pretty cool place.
I should first add that - as has been a common theme of late (see the honeymoon trip to Costa Rica) - it was again reinforced that I'm an embarrassment to my Spanish ancestors for having the last name Rodriguez but not even knowing how to ask where the bathroom is in Espaniol. This may seem like an odd place to insert that note until I point out that St. Augustine was settled by Spanish explorers about 450 years ago. But I digress.
We started out at an old fort, Castillo de San Marcos, but since I couldn't read the sign we decided to just stroll the perimeter instead of going inside. After the fort, we walked over to St. George St, a narrow alley with several blocks of boutique shops that I endured as ransom for taking McLean across three states for a football game. (In all fairness, the shops were fairly interesting even by my standards.) After St. George St., we headed over to a place we all learned about in fifth grade history: Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth. The grounds contain everything from peacocks to a native American burial site, but the highlight is the fountain. Everyone is given a cup of the sulfer-odored, foul tasting water. No wonder they call it the Fountain of Youth: more than one drink and you'll drop dead from the taste.
But hey, it was still a pretty cool experience. Our final stop in St. Augustine was the old lighthouse, but we arrived near darkness and only observed it from the nearby beach. We elected to take A1A from St. Augustine back to Jacksonville so that we could check out the posh town of Ponte Verde Beach. The houses, er, mansions, didn't disappoint. Along one stretch, I swear the mailboxes read "Woods", "Gates", "Jordon", "Winfrey", and "Buffett".
The next day we set out for Alltel Stadium to watch the Hokies and Louisville Cardinals square off. The game started off ominously as the Hokies went down early. But a big 4th quarter comeback blew the game open and I saw VT win a bowl game in person for only the third time in seven games. McLean and I rushed the field, tore down the goalposts and then hit the road for the ride back to Charlotte. It was an uneventful return trip with the exception of the "Charleston, SC" signs off of 95. Somehow McLean hatched an idea in her head that we'd soon visit Charleston soon. Ahem, see the next Fotomat story.
As for Jacksonville, we had a pretty good time and I think McLean has come to the realization after two bowl trips that football really can be fun . . . so long as the destination city has an abundance of shops. Well, let' s just hope Jacksonville isn't in the cards for at least several more years!
Click here to see more photos of this trip.