So…I thought I was in love with California…but I may be more in love with Florida. I can’t get over the fact that it’s winter and I’m getting a tan. It’s so bizarre.
Also, I’m sorry all these posts are massive…we’ve been so busy that I haven’t had any time to blog. But soon we’ll be back in Canada, in slightly less-than-exciting Ontario towns, and I’ll have nothing to do but blog! I promise.
So, I’ll start with Jacksonville…we arrived late last Sunday night and were a little underwhelmed. As much as we were able to squeeze some awesome times out of our 3 days there, I really wouldn’t recommend Jacksonville as a prime Florida vacation spot. It’s not a very safe or pretty city…however, I was there with 2 of the best girls to vacation with and we dubbed our time there, “Girls Gone Wild Spring Break 2013” so we were determined to have fun.
Our first day wasn’t too exciting…we all decided to sleep in (as we hadn’t slept at all in LA) and then we went for a walk to the downtown area and had lunch by the water. We then did a little shopping but there isn’t much to do in downtown Jacksonville so we ended up calling it an early night and picking up some beer and heading back to the hotel where we drank it by the pool in our jackets and long pants…our dreams of lounging by the pool in our bikinis all day had been crushed as Jacksonville is so north that it never really got warmer than 15 degrees.
Our 2nd day off was a huge improvement from the 1st day. After doing a lot of research, we figured out where the “cool” part of Jacksonville was (and also the safe part where there wasn’t a security guard on every corner). We went to this cute little area called Five Points and did some serious shopping, dining and drinking. I had my first Tasti D-lite, bought some adorable new sundresses and drank on patios all day. We also got to ride a very cute little trolley to get there, it was so much fun!
We had to have another early night though as we had a ridiculously early media call the next day…we were getting picked up at the hotel at 4:45 AM and had to be in full hair, costume and make-up so Amelia and I had to get up at about 3 AM (or midnight, West Coast time) as it takes so long to get ready. The woman who picked us up was a young, fun girl named Kendall who worked at the theatre in Jacksonville where we would be performing and we all clicked immediately. We headed to the TV station and did our usual little 3 minute interview and then had the rest of the day ahead of us and it was barely even 6 AM! Since it was so early and Kendall wanted to hang out with us, we all went for breakfast at this cute little restaurant right near the beach. I had southern grits for the first time in my life and loved the crap out of them. Then, Kendall took us to the Jacksonville Beach (as we all really wanted to go but it was too far to take any public transit to from our hotel and she graciously offered to just drive us) and we all watched the sunrise together. Afterwards, she dropped us off in another little shopping/dining area near Five Points and we had another girls day of shopping and drinking. We went to this amazing Mexican restaurant and had lunchtime margaritas and I ate alligator for the first time – it was so awesome.
The rest of our cast got in around 5 that day so we headed back to the hotel to nap before they arrived and then we planned to take them out on the town that night. There was this big event downtown called “Art Walk” happening and it was basically a big party where a bunch of theatres and galleries open their doors and have funky art exhibits and installations that you can walk through as well as food trucks and bars and music…it happens once a month in Jacksonville and is a big deal apparently and thankfully, we were all lucky enough to be there on that particular night. I was so excited to see everyone again too – 3 days was too long to be apart, haha. But yeah, we all went to Art Walk and drank and hung out. We met up with Kendall and introduced her to everyone and just had a great time. It was so great to be back together again.
The next day we had our show in Jacksonville which went really well and then afterwards, we had a quick farewell drink with Kendall before heading down to Clearwater.
We got into Clearwater late that evening and then the next day, I finally felt like I was in Florida. I got up and went and sat by the outdoor pool with my coffee and was the happiest girl in the world. It was hot and sunny with not a cloud in the sky…so amazing. We then got to go into downtown Clearwater to kill time before our show and it was GORGEOUS. It’s right on the ocean and the water was so blue, the beaches were stunning…I felt like I was on vacation. Our show also went really well that day, however the theatre was right next to a swampy area and there were all these “Caution: Alligators” signs everywhere so I kind of didn’t leave the theatre until we had to…not really a fan of alligators. They’re the one downside to Florida, haha.
The night, we had another late night drive to Coral Springs, which is just outside of Miami. Our theatre was super nice there though and had this beautiful courtyard so we did our pre-show warm-up and ate our lunch outside that day. It was glorious.
After the Coral Springs show, we had one more post-show drive to Melbourne, which was our last Florida stop…and I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. Joe booked us into a hotel right on the beach – it was AMAZING. We all went out for dinner that night and sat on an amazing patio and had wine and seafood (I tried oysters for the first time) and just really started to enjoy Florida.
The next morning, I got up early to go for a run on the beach and catch the sunrise. It was so insanely beautiful, I truly felt like I was in a dream. After my run, I met up with Kaitlin, Gillian and Tim to do some yoga on the beach before we headed to the theatre for our show. The show went well and we were back at the hotel by about 3 PM with a day off the next day so we officially started our weekend. We all went and laid on the beach, soaked up some rays, had a couple drinks, listened to music...then I had dinner with B and the boys on the hotel patio before we all went to Joe’s room that night to drink and watch the Grammy’s. It was so much fun, just to hang out and feel like we were on vacation…B, Gillian and I even ran back down to the beach late that night to look at the stars, skinny-dip and just enjoy being alive. I sound like a huge hippy…but it was amazing. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I’ll never forget. I’m so thankful to be on this adventure with so many amazing people. I’m loving every second.
Monday was our big day off in Melbourne – FINALLY. The boys went golfing while all of us girls made drinks, bought snacks and hit the beach first thing in the morning. We then spent the entire day sunbathing, swimming, drinking, napping and just having the time of our lives. Plus, because Melbourne’s kind of a small town and our hotel was in a less-populated area, we literally had the entire beach to ourselves. It was amazing. I’ve never been so happy.
Today, we had a long drive day to North Carolina, but I wanted to soak up every last minute of Florida so I got up early again, made a coffee and then went on a long walk on the beach. I met up with Tim afterwards and we went for breakfast and asked the waitress if we could sit outside on the patio that overlooks the water. Generally, they don’t serve breakfast outside however she let us and I’m so thankful she did because halfway through our breakfast, we saw a whole school of dolphins out in the ocean! It was amazing – I’ve never seen anything like it. It was one of the best mornings on tour, by far.
Now, I’m in Charlotte, North Carolina…we had a super long drive today so I’m ready to go to bed. It’s much colder here than it was in Florida…it’s amazing how quickly the landscape changes. I miss the palm trees already!! However, as sad as I was to leave Melbourne this morning…I’m so incredibly thankful for our entire time in Florida. It was AMAZING. I still can’t believe my life sometimes. This is by far the best experience I’ve ever had. I’m so incredibly lucky and thankful – every day.
No comments:
Post a Comment