Greetings from Jacksonville

Well, we are here in Jacksonville and getting settled into our temporary place! We flew into Jacksonville on Tuesday and got in really late at night. That night we stayed in a hotel near the airport. The next morning we were able to sleep in, which was so nice. We then checked out of the hotel and ate lunch at Panera (yes! They have Panera). After we were finished with lunch we arrived at our temporary housing. The relocation company put us in a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment for 30 days so it gives us an opportunity to get to know the areas and to not be rushed in finding a place of our own. When our belongings get here they will be stored at a storage facility until we move into our permanent place. Wednesday afternoon was spent unpacking and relaxing a bit. Late afternoon, we headed out to explore Jacksonville. First we drove out to the coast and walked along the beach. The beach was gorgeous! I can't believe we are going to be living so close to the ocean. Gavin was able to stretch his legs and run on the beach for a bit. We let him run around in his diaper and shirt so he could get his feet wet. The tide was out really far so the water was really shallow to a good distance of the beach. He so badly wanted to get in the rest of the way, but he didn't have his swimsuit or lifejacket, so he was mad when we told him no. haha. After the beach, we walked to a restaurant by the beach for dinner. It was a sports grill, we sat outside looking at the ocean and had burgers. It was really nice! Then after dinner we drove downtown to look at the city. We loved the city and how clean it is. There are a lot of really cool bridges too!

Today (Thursday) we went out to get groceries and to stock up on food, cleaning supplies, and essential items. We ate lunch at our place and then headed out to do some more exploring and to start looking for different places to live. So far we really like Jacksonville and are having fun getting to know the area.

lunch at Panera. Gavin loved the mac and cheese because the shells were the perfect fit to put on his fingertips. 

Jacksonville Beach

Gavin happy to play in the water

 

Dinner at Sneakers Sports Grille

The whole moving process was pretty exhausting! We did have packers and movers take care of all of our stuff so that was really nice to not have to pack at all. We didn't get a lot of sleep the 2 nights before we left. Saying goodbye to family at the airport was really hard to! There were a lot of happy and sad tears shed by everyone there. We all ate lunch at Cafe Rio before so we could have it one last time before we moved!

Saying goodbye at the airport

Endless boxes while packing up our apartment

Gavin watching as the moving truck pulled up

One last time at Cafe Rio before we moved!

Saying goodbye to our empty apartment

After a long day we finally made it to Jacksonville!