Friday, July 23, 2010
Jacksonville, FL (USA)
It was hard to wake up this morning - probably only got about five hours of sleep before the alarm rang at 0600. Started at work (next inspection) by 0730. I was pretty amazed at the number of guys walking around in the building today, but I guess it was because they planned to work through the weekend. Spent several hours this morning with Randy and Ramon - got a lot done. Took a break at 1100 so I could meet up with Rob (see yesterday). We had lunch at Mulligans and caught up on Checkmate news - what a great thing to get a chance to visit with him (it's been at least 10 years). Tried to meet with Base Safety staff but they were off at a meeting. Got back to work around 1300 and made it through about 75% of my work. Had our routine 1600 debrief and then went back to hotel. Brett had asked me to show him around town - he is looking for a place to live. It had been at least five years since I had time to look for real estate in the area, so I was happy to have the opportunity. We started in Mandarin - I showed him some of the old neighborhoods along the river (near our old home). We found some good places. Took San Jose south across Julington Creek and got stuck in a bad traffic jam (blocking northbound lanes). Decided to eat dinner (Firehouse Subs) and wait for it to clear. Around 1900, started north again and looked around on Loretto - then got on I-295. FL-9A is now completed, so we drove over to see some of the newly completed homes and condos between I-95 and J. Turner Butler Boulevard. Turns out most of them are for 55 and older (no kids). Still, the neighborhoods were really classy. Took Baymeadows back over to San Jose, looking at a few more things on the way. We drove down Sunbeam and found Brett's old apartment (mid 1990s). He said it looked the same - although there were no little alligators in the community pond... Drove back over to Orange Park and looked around on the waterfront behind the Dog Track - some nice places there. Brett took me back to the NAS Jacksonville Navy Gateway Inn and we had a drink and chatted until late. Fell asleep much earlier tonight (tired!)...