A Lot About Living and a Little 'Bout Love
The second stop on our journey was Ponte Vedra, Florida, just outside of Jacksonville. Only a couple hours from Savannah, James’s Aunt Martha and Uncle Tom hosted us for a week.
I feel like I learned a lot about living and a lot about love in the short week we spent there. It was my first time meeting Martha and Tom in real life—we had met via Zoom a few times since James and I started dating right before the pandemic lock down. They are two of the most selfless, intelligent, loving people I’ve ever met. They made us feel right at home. It reminded me of when I went to Ireland in 2015 and my dad’s relatives, many of whom I’d never met or had only met once or twice when I was very young, took me in and made me feel welcome, loved, and well-fed. It’s funny how family can do that. I think that’s what love is all about—feeling at home.
Martha reminds me so much of James’s mom; it’s obvious that they’re sisters. They share a love for gardening and nature, a caring and nurturing demeanor, a slight New England accent, and a knack for baking (and keeping our sweet tooth satisfied). She and Tom balance each other out perfectly—he’s always on the go, backpacking through the Appalachians or training for another trip or triathlon. I think I needed to start 5 years ago if I want to be in shape the way he is during retirement. The way they show love is what I aspire to in my relationships, with James and with family and friends. They picked up their lives and moved to Florida when their family was in need and never looked back. I just about cried at the dinner table on our first day there when I found out that Tom is color blind to red and green and he said “that’s how you know she loves me, she only plants blue and yellow flowers in her garden.” Their love is just so special, it’s like they know all the secrets to life.
At this point in the trip, I was still working full-time hours (I’ve since cut it down to 20-30 hours a week) and it was one of the busiest work weeks I’d had in a while. It made me feel guilty that we didn’t take the week off of work to spend more time with Martha and Tom. My only regret so far is that and not taking more pictures with them. But we had a fantastic time talking and sharing meals together, going to the beach to watch the sunrise, kayaking, and taking day trips to St. Augustine and Amelia Island. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked Jacksonville and the surrounding area. It wasn’t originally on our list of potential places to live—we were there more for visiting family than we were for scoping out the area—but it was really lovely and definitely not off the list. We visited in late April, though, and I’m well aware that June-August in Florida are much different story than April is.
We had plenty of suggestions on what to do and where to go in the area, especially thanks to my friend and colleague, Ashlie, and I’m positive that we’ll have plenty to do the next time we visit because we were hardly able to make it through a portion of her list. It worked out perfectly that a lot of her suggestions were also some of Martha and Tom’s favorites. Here are a few highlights, just in case you, dear reader, find yourself in the area:
Dinner at Caps on the Water — absolutely beautiful views and some great seafood.
Kayaking on the Guana River Preserve — this was the best part of the trip. I’m so glad I ditched work for a few hours to do this. We got Hyppo Pops afterwards and it was just the perfect day.
Five Points — super cute area in Jacksonville where we got some great coffee at Brew and worked for a bit. We took the scenic route there so we could drive through San Marco and over a pretty bridge per Tom’s suggestion and it was a great idea.
Cake from Biscotti’s in Avondale. Worth the price.
Boneyard Beach aka Big Talbot Island State Park — I’ve never seen anything like it before.
Taking a ferry to Amelia Island and getting seafood at Safe Harbor and pie at Pie Heaven.
St. Augustine in general — just an absolutely gorgeous town. We saw dolphins, ate at The Floridian, and walked around beautiful Flagler College. It was so dreamy! And is apparently the oldest city in the US. So definitely worth checking out.
We really had the best time and I can’t wait to go back and visit again soon. I now think of Martha and Tom every time I feel short-tempered or impatient and remember how they look each other in the eyes, speak to each other with respect, and figure things out together. That’s love. And that’s home. ♥️
