Spring Ball, Part 1

Our first spring baseball came a little earlier than expected, with Jake's game on Tuesday eveing when we got back from St. Augustine.

Cole and Zoey weren't always really into baseball, but that's not unexpected.

It was a brisk game due largely to the fact that intelligent adults run the league, as opposed to the idiots who run Oak Park Youth Baseball. To wit: in this league for 7 and 8 year olds, they use a pitching machine, batters get three swinging strikes or eight pitches, there are no walks, and baserunners cannot lead off or steal bases. There is a defensive coach near second base in addition to the standard offensive coaches at first and third. This six-inning game was over in 45 minutes. In Oak Park, which has none of these features, the games at this level often lasted two hours or more, and the players learned nothing during the games. A total coaches' league, of the coaches, by the coaches, for the coaches.

OK, rant over. Jake' got a single and his team won their first game of the season, 5-3.

Tomorrow, it's on to Jupiter and more baseball.

St. Augustine

That's where we were today, and it was a fun trip. There is so much to see and do there, that it really warrants a much longer linger, so we'll have to go back again sometime and do a three-day minimum visit.

We started at the fort--Castillo de San Marcos--built in the late 1600s by the Spanish.

Next we went into the old commercial district and did a little shopping, before having lunch at Columbia--a very nice restaurant.

After lunch we went to the Gonzalez-Alvarez House, which is the oldest Euro-American residence in the USA. It was here that I passed a milestone, much akin to one's first 17-and-over-only movie, or that first legal drink: I was given a SENIOR DISCOUNT. Oh, happy day.

One of the last things we saw was The Senator, a 600-year old Oak tree.

Then we headed back to Jacksonville, stopping at a chocolatier's shop (not pictured) on the way.

Monday, Part 2

In the city, we stopped first at the main branch of the library, which was in a very nice, brand-new building across the street from a scenic old park, with folks playing chess and dominoes, people soliciting signatures for (Democratic) political petitions, AND a station for an intra-urban train that I did not even know existed!

Then we went down to the St. John's riverfront for coffee and/or ice cream, and Lori called Adam in his office across the river and we all waved at him, while he signaled us with a mirror from his office (his Morse Code read "Go away. I have a daytime job.").

As we headed back to the car, I was overcome with the sight of a statue of Old Hickory himself (the BFF of Indians and slaves everywhere), and just had to tip my hat to him.

Tomorow, Bonnie, Lori and I are off to St. Augustine.

Monday, Part 1

I woke up feeling all better from my 24-hour bout with hell--many thanks, I think, to extended naps the day and evening before.

Around noon, Bonnie, Lori and I met Kaci, Chris and Zoey at a place called Singleton's Seafood Shack, which is soon to be featured on Diners, Dives and Drive-Ins--much like our own favorite Chicago haunt, The Depot.

It turned out to be a whopping good lunch--four of us had the house specialty--the crab burger (see photo)--and Chris had the topless oysters and shrimp. The collards were to die for.

As you might expect at a good, waterside seafood place, it was also inhabited by a colony of pelicans and an indeterminable number of semi-feral cats.

After lunch, we said bye to Chris and Zoey, and the rest of us headed into downtown Jacksonville.

Sunday Afternoon

Overnight, I became rather violently sick, and by morning was feeling only a little better. But, I showered and went along with the crowd to the rec center nearby for an afternoon of shoot-em-up, dodge ball and kick ball.

I sat the games out, but had fun watching the others. I took some videos, but will wait until we get back to upload them as the file sizes are so large. For now, here are the stills.

Saturday Night Pizza Party

We went over to Chris and Kaci's for supper, and most of the gang was there--Ben was at a sleepover elsewhere, but everyone else was around.

We first had pizza and snacks, then moved to the living room to try out the new sofa--it was very popular and we all agreed Kaci and Chris had made an excellent choice.

Their house is a menagerie, with a dog, two cats, a snake, two Guinea Pigs, and a couple of fish. The dog Magic and Tango the cat are quite the item--it was kind of embarrasing, actually.

Late in the evening, Jake made himself some spending cash by giving foot rubs.

To Jacksonvile

We got on the road just before seven, going down the mountain through South Pittsburg to the interstate--a scenic drive, even in late winter. Too bad it wasn't lunch time, because there were some pretty cool little places to eat.

We hit Chattanooga first, but couldn't get a picture because the roadway wouldn't give us a clear shot--maybe on the way back.

Next was Atlanta, which we made at about 9:30. From the picture, it looks more like Grand Rapids because, once again, we couldn't get a good skyline shot from the road.

The same problem cropped up when we hit Jacksonville at 4:00, but we took a shot anyway. We're going downtown on Monday, so we'll get some better shots then.