Heading South and then North...

After our visit in Jacksonville, it was time to head a bit further south to Gainesville to visit Vivynne and Tony, whom we’d last seen in Switzerland in 2018. Our two nights at their house was very laid back with long walks around the neighborhood (where we spotted these crazy decorations for Valentine’s Day), delicious home-cooked meals and long soaks in their new hot tub. 

We had our longest driving day on January 18 with 10.5 hours on the road from Gainesville, Florida to Durham, North Carolina. We took a slight detour to Brunswick, Georgia, so we could enjoy a nice lunch rather than fast food at a rest stop. 

Definitely nicer views along the back roads. 

As we neared the North Carolina border, we couldn’t resist following the signs to Buc-ee’s, a chain of convenience stores on steroids that started in Texas. Besides having an insane number of gas pumps (over 100!) and the cheapest gas prices around, the store was enormous with an an entire section devoted to their signature beef jerky. Probably no surprise that we didn’t buy much, but we enjoyed gawking at this symbol of Americana. 

No doubt that Buc-ee’s has stolen most of South of the Border’s clientele as it was like a ghost town. Dating back to 1950, it offers much more than snacks, souvenirs and gas, but has never had to deal with competition just down the street.  
 

Hiking in a Nature Reserve...

The following day, Debbie and Dan took the day off of work to spend it with us. We stopped by the beach to search for shark’s teeth, but didn’t have great luck. Then we ventured a bit further south to go to Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estusrine Research Reserve. We were greeted by this gopher tortoise....  

….and a hiking path under water. 

Luckily there were other paths that weren’t waterlogged. 

We didn’t spot any alligators. However, I was thrilled to see armadillos, as I’d never seen alive ones outside of the zoo. 

Despite looking prehistoric, they were surprisingly quick. 

Afterwards, we made our way further south to enjoy a final fish camp dinner. We had such a nice visit! Dan is a lovely guy who clearly makes Debbie very happy. 
 

A Day at the Beach...

The following day Debbie and Dan took us on a golf cart tour of Jacksonville Beach, including going to some charming tourist shops....

….and the pier.

We stopped for a delicious key lime martini at the historic hotel Casa Marina, that opened in 1925. I enjoyed seeing old photos of the area along the hallways. 

It was a very fun way to spend a day with two people who really love where they live.
 

Recovering from the Party...

After helping to put the house back in order. we went with Debbie and Dan to a Habitat for Humanity House under construction. Debbie seems to be really thriving working there and it was nice to meet her colleagues. Then we went to Jimmy and Chloe’s house, which was very nice...

…with an amazing yard. Amazing to realize that he’s only four months older than Ashlynn and he’s already married and owns a home. 

Afterwards we went to a nice street market downtown under a bridge, where we grabbed some lunch,,, 

…and that evening Buddy joined the four of us for a traditional fish camp dinner. 
 

Special Guests at the Party...

Roscoe was very well behaved at the party...

…while Rambo was a bit more rambunctious. 

Cornelius the snake also made an appearance.

He seemed to like Aunt Peggy...

…but wasn’t crazy about me... 

…as he quickly went into strangling mode and our nephew Jimmy had to do an emergency extraction.

Cornelius obviously adores Jimmy since there was no choking involved. 

 

Buddy’s Surprise 85th Birthday...

Jimmy and I hung out at Buddy’s apartment for awhile before bringing him to his surprise party that was conveniently on his actual birthday. Debbie did a great job planning the party with delicious food and guests from different phases of Buddy’s life.

He was especially impressed with this incredible gift from a woman who worked for him when he owned Jacksonville Magazine.

He was also all smiles that his three sisters could all be there.

It had been a long time since we had seen them as well...

…and also Missy, who kindly hosted us for a pizza dinner at her place a few nights later.

 

Heading to Jacksonville Beach...

Jimmy was happy that the Florida Welcome Center still gives out free orange juice.

Crossing the St. Johns River. 

When we last visited Jacksonville, Debbie was living along the river. Now she has a great house in Jacksonville Beach with her husband, Dan, and their many pets. 

Although Jimmy had seen them more recently, I hadn’t seen Debbie or Buddy since Easter 2014. 

While Dan and Buddy drove together in a car, Debbie took us to the restaurant in her beach buggy: a decked out golf cart.