Florida

Hey guys!

Even though this isn't a project, I thought after reading John's travel blog, that this would be a good place to post pictures and talk about the trip. I will probably post every few days, depending on when I have time. :-) I hope you enjoy.

Last Friday was my last day at ChildNet. I had thought my last day would be relaxing. I would wrap up what I was doing, walk around and say goodbye to everyone, and look back at the building with a sense of loss - the building where I had been practically living the past 2 years - before taking off. Yeah right! In typical MJ fashion, it didn't quite happen that way... I got to work about 5:30 AM as there was still a lot left to do! I had a last minute procedure scheduled inconveniently at 3 PM, so the day was cut short. The last 2 hours were spent running around like a chicken with my head cut off, going through paperwork, cleaning my office, returning my laptop and keys... With about 10 minutes to make it to my appt, I rushed out of the building, taking little more than a glance back with pride at the mark I left behind - my 24,000 piece puzzle that decorated the lobby.

Two good friends in FL wanted to take me to dinner to say goodbye - one in South FL and one in Jupiter. Instead of picking one over the other, I told my stomach to prepare itself for 2 dinners. :-) With work done, the appt over, and my PO Box keys returned to the post office, I met up with my South Florida buddy at our favorite pizza place and was finally able to relax a little. Our Friday night dinners and bottles of wine will be missed. When we said goodbye, it hadn't really sunk in yet. So instead of thinking about it, I drove back home to pack everything into my car. It took a couple of hours, and I was once again in a rush to get to Jupiter in time for dinner #2. The drive to Jupiter went quickly and I met Bob at Nick's Tomato Pie for some great pasta, company, and wine. After Bob and I talked for awhile, it was time to crash for the evening. I went up to my former bedroom, looked at "Blood and Guts" - the model plane Bob and I put together, and thought about how it wasn't that long ago I drove here from AZ.

Saturday morning I took off and headed toward Jacksonville for the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, which is probably the best car show on the East Coast. For those of you wondering, yes, I coordinated my last day of work with this car show. Nothing like leaving FL on a good note! :-) There was a bridge in Jacksonville that looked like it was made up entirely of concrete bowties. I'm pretty sure this was the highest point in FL. Over the bridge and right before entering Amelia Island, there was a lot of smoke and flashing lights. The Sand Dollar Bar and Grill, which would have been a nice place to stop as it had a magnificant view of the water and islands, had burned down. I pulled off the road a few miles up to take it all in. So different from South FL! White sandy beaches merged with the swamplands. Forests adorned the background. No people in sight.

Amelia Island was the next stop. This is a quiet town, with small "ma and pa" shops, nice restaurants, and an amazing view of the ocean. I spent most of Saturday and Sunday looking at cars - old classics, 50's and 60's racing cars, newer concept cars and exotics...





















I met a racing groupie and had drinks at the Ritz with a couple of guys who brought the Bugattis. Enjoyed meeting people and hearing stories about restorations, races, and so on. I even ran into a couple people from the GT forum!









It was a lot of walking, but felt great (other than the blister I got from the cowboy boots I was wearing). There aren't likely to be too many GTs on the trip as this isn't exactly a "car" trip, but I have to post pictures as I see them. :) Here is Nardo's red GT. I saw him and his lovely daughter at Amelia Island.



I should note that my favorite car is the Ferrari 250 GTO. There were quite a few of them at the show, but since they will forever be out of my price range...I opted to buy a book instead. :)



From here, I will be leaving FL and heading to GA...