This past weekend we went to Jacksonville to visit our good friends Austin & Ashley Henkel. They moved there about a year ago from Niceville. Lately Chip and I have been suffering from a case of the Henkel-withdrawals, so we packed our bags and headed east for the weekend.
Above is a picture of Austin & Ashley we took in front of the surprisingly polluted St. John's River. We forgot our camera this weekend (!) and took this picture with our cell phone. Hence the poor quality.
Austin and Ashley are doing well. Ashley is still enjoying being a nurse and Austin is getting closer and closer to his goal of going to medical school to become an ophthalmologist. Congrats to Austin for getting straight A's this semester!!
We had a great time with them while we were there, as always. We went down to the Jacksonville Landing and even went to the Jacksonville Zoo. I love zoos, and this one was pretty good. A few of the highlights were the giraffes, the monkeys, seeing an anteater (I don't believe I've ever seen one in person), the train ride, and the Hawaiian shaved ice.
Another thing I saw at the zoo was a century plant. I hate those things! They are like a giant, freak aloe plant. They are huge and ugly! After a bunch of years (25 I think), they grow a big asparagus-like stalk out of the top. The stalk gets about 20 feet tall. It blooms a few flowers and then falls over. Then the whole plant dies. Great, huh? I don't know why I hate these plants so much, but I do. I think they are disgusting in a way. It looks like it could lie in wait for a person to walk by and then swallow them up in its large "arms". Eww! (This century plant rant is for Stephanie)
While we were in Jacksonville we met up with one of my former college roommates, Lindsay, and her new husband Stephen (they have been married for 4 months now). I hadn't seen Lindsay since my wedding almost 4 years ago. It was great catching up with her and reminiscing about life in our old apartment. We also enjoyed meeting their dog, Bella.
While at Lindsay & Stephen's house, she showed me her craft table. I was way impressed with Lindsay's jewelry and other artsy projects she was working on. She is a music teacher by trade, but she could have a side career with all of her projects. I was inspired by a t-shirt she created for her sister for her birthday. It looks like something you could buy at Anthropologie, but obviously way cheaper and a one-of-a-kind. Maybe one day soon I'll try my hand at doing something like that. Thank you Lindsay for the creative inspiration!
Since we forgot our camera I didn't get a picture with Lindsay, so I dug through my photo albums from college and found these two. The first one is Lindsay and I at our BCM's State Student Conference. The second is Lindsay and I at our friend's "tacky mismatch" party. Good times!
After a full and fun weekend we had to leave and come back home, darn real life! Thanks to the Henkels and Kellers for hanging with us. Come and see us in Niceville anytime!
Posts
