The River City (Part Two)

So I'm back with part two of my trip to Jacksonville, Florida. If you missed part one, you can check it out here. I know I've been home for a week now, but I just haven't had a moment to sit down and write anything. And I've realized that I have a lot of little projects to update you on, but one thing at a time. So here are the rest of the pictures that I took on my trip. Please remember that these are all from a cell phone camera (I'm really looking forward to an upgrade!).

 Rooftop pool

 View #1 from rooftop pool - Gorgeous!!

 View #2 from rooftop pool

 View #3 from rooftop pool

The next few photos were taken when I took a little walk along the water after one of our afternoon meetings. I was hoping to walk across the bridge to see the fountain & park, but I couldn't find anyone else who wanted to do it that day.

 This was the fountain I wanted to go see.

Our last night in Jacksonville, we all decided to out for dinner as a group. I'm telling you we all really bonded over the course of 4 days. I feel like I could call up any of those teachers/professors for help, and they wouldn't hesitate. We had dinner at a restaurant in the Jacksonville Landing named The American Cafe. There was plenty of food being passed around the table. My favorite appetizer was this stringy fried onion thing (sorry, I wish I had a name for it, but I don't see it listed on their online menu...). I'm not an onion fan, but this was delicious! For my dinner I had the Cajun Chicken Pasta (minus the peppers & onions). Really good! Not quite as good as what you get at Chili's, but then again, their my favorite restaurant, so maybe I'm a little biased.



 View of the bridge from the staircase

 View #1 from our balcony table

 View #2 from our balcony table

 Same shot from the staircase, but with the bridge lit up

 I thought this was cool. Reminds me of how Orlando came together for the Magic

The next morning (our last day) I woke up crazy early to meet up with two of my colleagues and we walked across the bridge. It was so relaxing! I didn't realize that the bridge was a "draw bridge." Well, not technically, but still. Basically, from my understanding, it lifts up using a pulley or hydraulic system high enough for ships to go underneath it. The last picture in this set shows what it looks like when it goes up.

 Picture of our hotel from the bridge

All in all I had a really good time. I'm glad that I decided to go. The only downside was that I really missed the fiance and my cats. I know it sounds silly, but I haven't been away from both of them that long. Usually I'm only away from one or the other, but to be away from both was pretty hard.

Anyone else have separation anxiety when they leave their family behind to go on a trip? Any advice on how to make it easier? All I can think of is that scene in Kids by the Dozen where the mom asks room service for a bunch of pillows.