Jacksonville 1- Children

Free Day

SUNDAY FUNDAY!! We had a blast Jacksonchillin’ in Jacksonvillin’

 

After a wake-up call that was a little earlier than our sleepy selves wanted, we plied into our cars, one heading to Mass at a local church, and the other checking out the beach. We took a frosty stroll down the sand, frolicking with the birds and freezing our behinds off. 

In order to defrost from the beach, we visited our new favorite coffee shop, Bold Bean. Here we casually held a small photo shoot and sipped on lattes. 

From there, we reconnected and took a road trip to the nearby town of St. Augustine (the 45 minute drive was NOTHING compared to the 15 hours it took to travel here from Columbia!)! While it was a little odd wearing peacoats while passing by palm trees, we had a blast running around and exploring! Did you know St. Augustine is the oldest city in America?! Established in 1565! Though, I bet when Juan Ponce de Leon discovered the town, there weren’t two Le Macaron locations. 

After spending half an hour in the cutest macaron boutique, nibbling away and taking perfect pictures, we began our search for the perfect local lunch.

Sticking true to our roots, we decided on a restaurant that reminded us of our beloved Broadway Diner in Columbia! When asked to describe the signature omelet, one participant immediately described it as “Cheesy goodness!” Though our bellies were full, we then began a hunt to make our wallets empty. Many souvenirs later (SO. MANY. COMFORT. COLORS.), we wandered over to the local St. Augustine school, Flagler College. While we joked about transferring, we all agreed we probably wouldn’t be as productive in our schoolwork if the view from our dorm room was the beach and instead of the Columns. 

We then left the sweet little town, making quick stops at the local Lighthouse and The Jacksonville Landing. Afterwards (guys- SO MUCH WALKING TODAY), we spent faaar too long at the St. John’s Town Center. The cool, beautiful weather provided the perfect outdoor shopping environment! While most enjoyed the Lush and the Lululemon stores, a few participants found their ideal lip color in the Mac store. Did this take over an hour? Yes. Do they regret anything? Not at all. With perfect pink pouts, we headed to the Jacksonville TopGolf and put our swings to the test! In awe, and with our priorities straight, we looked above the beautiful golf bays at the screens advertising the venue’s famous Bacon and Mac’n’Cheese Spring Rolld and decided to indulge. After a delicious oncourse dinner, we had a ball with some friendly, virtual golf competition (Things you didn’t think you’d learn on MAB day 3 but you definitely did; some participants were on their highschool golf team)

Lots of laughs later, we got to have a moment to sit and reflect on our fun-filled day! Then, with our air mattresses blown up, we discovered the projector in our living room, and watched The Blind Side as we fell asleep. We love you Jacksonville, and we love you Sandra Bullock.

 

Loving our fun, funky, and fresh time in Florida, and also so excited for our first day of service tomorrow !