2008 Light Parade, Jacksonville

Christmas is in the air in Jacksonville...actually in the water too!

We trekked down to the waterfront, the St. John's River, for Jacksonville's annual Boat Light Parade...

Thousands (it seemed like thousands) crowded the riverfront near Jacksonville Landing to see the fantastic festive flotilla. Beautiful (and expensive) boats all lit up with all kinds of themes cruised along the shore. The weather was perfect for the show, as the light breeze capped a day in the mid 70s.

Sons of Norway Entry

Our favorite was the Sons of Norway, whose yacht looked like a Viking Longboat with all its lights. They had a crew wielding lit oars, and wearing neon Viking Helmets. We found out today in the paper that it won best in show. All the craft were not hugs, as one of our favorites was a 16 foot John Boat with some kind of structure carrying lights that looked like an alligator head, and it was pulling a lit alligator tail some 25 feet behind it. Unfortunately, I did not get a good photo of it.

It was a fun experience to see all the creativity and fun involved in this annual event.

Civil War at Fort Caroline

Saturday we made a short trip to Fort Caroline, a National Park Historic Site. The Fort was a 16th century bastion of safety for the early settlers of the Jacksonville area. It was shaped like an arrowhead, with the tip pointing towards the bay.

The fort itself is a reconstruction and was somewhat of a disappointment, but we were glad we made the trip as area history nuts put on a great Civil War historical program. There must have at least 100 men women and children in authentic period costume, with Rebel and Union tents housing historical items of interest...one tent had medical utensils and paraphernalia, one had a display about naval operations in the area, another the guy talked about mapping and scouting, and on and on. The folks were roasting hams over campfires, women were knitting, and soldiers were taking care of their weapons.

Musket and cannon firings were also put on. I did capture a small troop marching along. Weather was not the best, very windy and chilly by the fort which overlooked the inlet to Jacksonville harbor.

Three days of fun

Well, it has been three days of 'fun'...I finished my three day work up at the Florida Proton Institute. Don't want to bore you with the grisly details.

Well, maybe a little bit....It could have been worse, but I had several CT Scans, MRIs, and a 12 point needle biopsy, plus the insertion of 4 gold markers stuck in my prostate to help guide the proton beam to the target. With the gold, I came out worth more than I went in, particularly as the stock market was plunging yet again.

The great thing is I am in a fantastic program for my cancer treatment. Every person at FPTI we have come in contact with has been "up", friendly and helpful, as well as understanding. There is such a grand feeling of community here, with the ease of visiting with other patients, and learning from those that are in the later stages of their treament and bonding with the other 'newbies'. Ellen was at her first Wive's Support Group meeting today, where one wife is the cousin to Bob Monteith---fellow teacher at Fort Dodge Senior High! Way down here in Jacksonville! Small world! We are so thankful at this opportunity.

I have my start date for daily (M-F) treatments, and that is Monday, December 15. I will have 39 treatments, and should finish in Mid-February. It has been three days of 'fun', so much so that I crashed for an hour when we got back to the RV at 3 pm.

thought: Two things are infinite: The universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Einstein

Soup and Salad place with an accent

This week has been pretty quiet. Saturday night they had a country band at the rec hall here at the Park, and we had a pretty good time. Tonight there is a jam session and we intend to go to that too, and maybe remember some of the steps we learned from Harold at the Eagles Club.


Spent some time at the beach, and that always is good for Ellen. She loves the sand between her toes.


On one trip around Jacksonville, we were at a Hobby Lobby and asked a clerk how to get to certain restaurant. She said "Go out of the lot, turn raght and then make another raght at the Tar Place." We were kind of amazed an asphalt company would be in this retail area....and then as we were following her directions we made the second right at a Goodyear TIRE place. I guess she thought we talked funny too.


By the way, the restaurant we were seeking is a Sweet Tomatoes. Wow, what a great place to eat! A salad and soup buffet that cannot be beat. I think our bill (with a coupon) was $13.00....and there must have been 10-15 different salads and 6 different and wonderful soups--shrimp bisque, Irish potato and leek, chicken pot pie stew, and more. mmmmm. Plus a bunch of pasta choices, fresh fruit and breads...very fresh breads and rolls. Two thumbs up on this one. Find one at www.sweettomatoes.com

The Oldest City

Today we had the pleasure of visiting St. Augstine, the country's oldest city. We actually went the day before, but got there 'late' in the day and purchased a multiple day trolley pass...so we scouted things out and when we returned on Friday, we got discounted tickets for the activities we wanted to do.

First stop was the earliest and largest masonry fort built, completed in 1695, the Castillo de San Marcos. It was built by the Spanish, as the city had been plundered by English corsairs, including Sir Francis Drake. Walls are several feet thick, and made of cochina, native to the area, a porous rock made of sand, earth and shells. When struck with a cannon ball, cochina does not crack or break apart like firmer masonry. The fort was never 'taken' by military force.

There are musket and cannon firings through the day, performed by guys in period military clothing. Lots of interesting displays, information and cannons. It was interesting to find out that the U.S. Government actually put some 70 plains indians here as 'forced inhabitants' and the Captain in charge tried to make them 'white', through indoctrination..he used the phrase "(to) kill the Indian and save the man". Yet another stupid chapter in our nation's history.

We also toured Flagler College, a 4 year private school, much of which is in the building previously known as the Ponce de Leon Hotel, built in the late 1880's by Henry M. Flagler, a wealthy man who co-founded Standard Oil. He also created the Eastern Florida Railroad, with tracks running down the eastern seaboard of Florida...including that RR bridge he built to the Keys!

All along the route he built posh hotels for the infant, yet blossoming tourist trade heading for sunny Florida. The Ponce de Leon is a remarkable structure featuring Spanish influenced details, and poured concrete. His hotels were vanguards in the use of this building process. There is amazingly handcarved trim and pillars throughout the building, and the grand dining hall is now used by college kids to snack, eat and text message in. Each original chair (there are many still in use!) is valued at $2100. Lots of 24 carat gold leaf, and marvelous murals, plus a ton of Tiffany stained glass.

Surprisingly, the student tour guide said the tuition, room and board for this private liberal arts college is only $19,000 a year!!! Flagler College is rated in the top 200 4 year schools in the country.

Flagler College, previously the Ponce de Leon Hotel

We then walked around a bit, as this old city has tons of charm and beautiful buildings and churches. We took a scenic boat tour of the harbor and waterway leading to the lighthouse, and along Anastasia State park which used to be an island, but through natural processes became part of the mainland. We saw lots of birds including brown pelicans, egrets, herons, and osprey, as well as some dolphins. The sunset was gorgeous.

There are many more sights to see, as well as shops and galleries and restaurants to try, and I am sure we will return in the near future. St. Augustine is about an hour south of our RV Park.

The sunshine state????

Wow, I always believed the license plate slogan, but this is like the 5th overcast day in a row. At least it is not raining...supposedly the sun was supposed to break through yesterday. It did not. Then it was supposed to break through today. So far no luck. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

What a fantastic day for the United States yesterday was. It is so amazing that this breakthrough has happened. Yeah, I was choked up pretty many times last night as we watched the results. I thought John McCain's concession speech was excellent as well. Lots of things to fix here in the U. S. of A., but to use a positive phrase, "yes we can!"

To make things exciting Ellen got juror's summons for Hanson County in our home state of South Dakota. How unsettling. I know jury duty is a citizen's obligation but we are vagabonds. Maybe if the county court can give us a free hook up in the parking lot. We'll see how it works out. Ellen dutifully filled out the forms, and hopefully a summons won't materialize.

I made my choice

Well, I made my choice, and I am not talking about the election. I have chosen Proton Beam Radiation treatment for my prostate cancer. With all the research and looking I have done, this seems the best way to go.

I will be starting my proton therapy program with a three day workup, Nov. 18, 19 and 20. Lots of tests, bloodwork, scans and measurements. About 3-4 weeks after that I will have my first of some 40 treatments.

If you are interested, you can click on the Florida Institute's site and look at how it works. I hope to continue more regularly with blog posts about my experience with the treatment.

http://www.floridaproton.org/

Twas the night before the election...

Well, here we are on election eve, we're not yet tucked our bed, but we have sugarplums dancing in our heads. It is unbelievable how some folks think up scams to intimidate would be voters, and a lot of it has to do with race...But we are deep in the south, in Duval County Florida, where John McCain leads by 20 points. I don't want to get too political...but cold calls about the INS being at the polling places (to get you illegal relatives), cops there to collect or issue warrants for past parking/traffic violations., Republicans to vote on Tuesday, Democrats to vote on Wednesday...

It is nice to live in a country where each citizen has the right to freely vote. It sounds like the turnout will be huge. Florida and Georgia had early voting, and there were BIG lines! This is so stirring... Although the campaign has gone on too long, and has cost too much ($8-10 per vote!), it sure beats what a lot of other countries have to deal with. Can I be patriotic and still maybe vote Democratic?

Whatever happens, it sure has got to be better than the last several years. I sure hope you all had the chance to vote!

We are at a nice RV Park on the north edge of Jacksonville, but I have to admit, I am hesitant to wear my 1-20-09 ('Bush's Last Day' T-shirt with "End of an Error" on the back) after seeing our neighbor's motorhome, beautifully decorated with the mural you see below.