Cross Country

Jacksonville Beach was wonderful, but I was ready to explore another area. I chose to relocate to one of the farthest areas from Florida....Seattle! Since it was such a long trek, we first stopped in Missouri to see family and friends. Mainly to see the growth progress of my sweet nephew, Oliver!
I hadn't seen him since the day he was born, so he was such a big boy to me when I saw him in June of '08! He started smiling, which was so neat to see! We played, and he slept (a lot)!



Here is a picture of my brother, Justin, with Oliver and Sarah! We only were able to stay there for a few days, but I was happy I got to see them at all! We had to hit the road, so we could stop in Springfied, MO, before taking a short break at Yellowstone National Park....all on the way towards Seattle!

Back to the Sunshine State

After the holidays, Eli and I spent another couple of weeks in Kansas City before heading down
to Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Our condo was amazing!! It was huge and right on the beach. We loved hanging out on the balcony. Jax Beach (as it's called) was nice for several reasons! The weather was good, we were able to make a lot of weekend trips and we also made some friends! Eli and I rode our bikes everywhere!

One of our fun weekend adventures, was a trip down to St. Augustine, which is supposedly the oldest city in the US. Whether it is or not, I didn't care. We enjoyed many of the tourist attractions there (without a tour guide, of course). My favorite part of the trip was dinner at a restaurant recommended by a friend. It was on a barrier island, so we had a beautiful view of the sunset.

Later, we took a long weekend to explore Orlando, which was only a couple hours away. Instead of Disney World, we opted for the less-kid crowded Universal Studios! I hadn't been on a roller coaster in years. After a few doses of Dramamine, I was good for the day!

The waves are bigger on the Atlantic side, so Eli and I did a lot of boogie-boarding! Sometimes it was difficult because the currant was incredibly strong. Our nights were spent hanging out with some other Missouri PT travelers we met down there. I also worked with many fun ladies that were nice to hang out with! Towards the end of our assignment down there, we had some visitors - two of Eli's friends, Jon and Brett, and his brother, Luke. We took some time off work, and enjoyed exploring the area with our friends. The weather was perfect every day they were there, so we were able to enjoy the beach at it's fullest!

I really enjoyed Jacksonville Beach and have contemplated moving down there. It is just so far from my family........plus I still have more exploring to do before any decisions are made!