Jonathan and I celebrated our 8th anniversary earlier this week. The two of us went out to dinner at MT’s Chophouse in Gainesville and enjoyed an amazing meal. Jonathan had ribeye and I had filet with the most incredible macaroni and cheese with truffle oil. So good.
Day 1 – Jacksonville Beach
The next day, we all headed to Jacksonville to spend a few days away as a family. We usually travel on our anniversary and this was the first year we went all together.
Our first stop was Jacksonville Beach. We grabbed a bite of lunch at Wendy’s before heading down to the beach.
Charlotte hung out in the tent a lot again this time.
A sweet little Peine girl in her pineapple suit
(A photo of Rosemary at about the same age at the beach is here)
Ben had a blast running around and splashing.
Charlotte got to feel the ocean for the first time this beach trip. Even though she’s all smiles here, she wasn’t a fan of the water.
Rosemary and Ben got good and sandy!
After a few hours on the beach, we loaded up the van and headed for our hotel. We stayed at a Best Western Plus a little ways from the beach, but the hotel room was great. It had a separate room with bunkbeds for the two older kids and plenty of room for the pack ‘n play for Charlotte.
We were within walking distance of a Cracker Barrel so after cleaning up after the beach we walked over for dinner.
After a full beach day, just about everyone cleaned their plates.
Jonathan always finishes his Cracker Barrel meal with a biscuit and blackberry jam.
The kids rocked a bit before heading back to the hotel.
Day 2 – Jacksonville Zoo
The next morning we got up, grabbed some breakfast, then made our way to the zoo. The Jacksonville Zoo has a promotion this summer where if it’s forecasted to be over 92 degrees on a given day, you get in for half price. Well, sure enough it was going to be over 92 the day we were planning on going so we printed out the coupon in the hotel’s business center and were able to save on the tickets.
Jonathan pushed the three kids in the Sit ‘n Stand.
Heading in
A bongo
Rhinoceroses
The kids got to hear the lion roar, which they’d been looking forward to since the day we told them we were going to the zoo.
Feeding the giraffes
This was one of the highlights of the day. The kids really liked this part.
Washing up afterwards.
It was really fun watching Rosemary see animals that she recognized from books or shows she has seen. She was really excited to see the anteater after seeing one on the Cat in the Hat.
And here she is in front of the fruit bats. We’ve recently read Stellaluna by Janell Cannon so it was cool to see a real fruit bat.
Ben was my buddy almost the whole day. He wasn’t interested in riding the stroller so he and I walked together. His little legs just kept going.
The kangaroos. Rosemary wanted them to start kickboxing, however, since it was so hot they, like most of the animals that day, just laid in the shade. This one just happened to get up to get some food.
Ready for some lunch!
Charlotte was such a little trooper that day too. We had a fan for her stroller so she stayed pretty cool, but she was happy to get out for a bit over lunch.
After lunch we headed over to the train station. Guess who thought that part was awesome.
Our train.
Such a happy little boy!
In one of the aviaries, the birds just walked and flew all around us. This bird was right on the path.
We saw a couple of bald eagles.
The kids brushed the goats
After the zoo we grabbed a bite to eat at Red Lobster then headed back to the hotel. Jonathan took the kids for a quick swim while I fed Charlotte. It was a full day!
Day 3 – Fort Caroline and first homes
Our last morning we took our time getting ready. The kids cozied up in our bed to watch some Disney Junior. Right before I took this picture, they all looked so cute propped up on pillows.
As we were checking out, Rosemary tried out these chairs.
After we were checked out, we headed over to Fort Caroline. Jonathan wrote a research paper on Fort Caroline for his Iberian Atlantic history class a few years ago so it was interesting to visit the actual site, although the fort was a reconstruction.
The fort is right on the St. John’s River
After Fort Caroline we stopped at Sonny’s for lunch.
After two days of no naps (besides little catnaps in the car), Ben was starting to get a little crazy so lunch was interesting.
Rosemary once again cleaned her plate!
Jonathan was born in Jacksonville so before heading back to Gainesville we visited the two places where his family lived while there. I didn’t get a picture of the apartment, but did get a photo of the house.
We headed back home after this. It was a quick trip, but it was definitely a fun one!
