Trip to Florida for a reunion with good friends.
On 19 May 2024, together with our long-time friends Doris and Dieter, we set off to visit our mutual friends Uschi and Charles in Florida.
Uschi was born in my home village and moved to Florida with her husband Charles when she reached retirement age. Uschi and Charles live in Jacksonville, in the north of Florida.
We flew DELTA Airlines with a stopover in Atlanta. The waiting time was made much shorter by a cold Becks. Nevertheless, we were delighted to be greeted warmly by Uschi and Charles in Jacksonville.
Jacksonville
Jacksonville is the most populous city in Florida and with an area of 2264.5 km² the second largest city in the continental USA. The city is part of the Jacksonville metropolitan area with a population of over 1.6 million. It is located at the mouth of the St. Johns River into the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean in northeastern Florida.
Jacksonville is predominantly industrial. This is mainly due to the industrial port, which is one of the most important shipping ports for automobiles in the USA.
Swimming and surfing are popular activities at nearby Jacksonville Beach (Jax Beach) and Neptune Beach. Championship golf courses in the area include TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, home of the PGA Tour.
Uschi and Charles took us on a short tour of the city. The best and most relaxing view was from the rooftop bar of the River&Post restaurant.
A trip to the surrounding area took us to picturesque Jax Beach, where we enjoyed a few hours of beach feeling in a relaxed atmosphere. Uschi, Doris and Sabine even found a pub serving Guinness. Dieter preferred to sunbathe on the beach, but he was a bit grumpy afterwards because he was denied the pleasure of Guinness.
We rounded off the day with dinner at the trendy restaurant Whiteys Fish Camp. The restaurant can be reached by land, as usual, but also by boat from the water. One of the specialities is deep-fried alligator tail, which I of course tried.
St Petersburg
Saint Petersburg (nicknamed ‘St. Pete’), also known as Florida's Sunshine City, is a harbour town in Pinellas County on Tampa Bay.
Special attractions are the harbour and the pier, the ‘Tropicana Field’.
For those interested in culture, the city offers several museums, galleries and theatres. Sabine treated herself to a visit to the Dali Museum and was thrilled.
Uschi had booked a very nice holiday flat for the 3 days, where we were able to really enjoy our stay.
After a walk along the pier and a visit to the beach, we ended the day in the tiki bar at the marina. In addition to live music and delicious craft beer, we enjoyed fresh oysters. For some of us, this was a first-time experience. Even Dieter overcame his initial scepticism.
St Augustine
St Augustine is a city on the north-east coast of Florida. It lays claim to being the oldest city in the USA and is known for its Spanish colonial architecture and Atlantic beaches such as the sandy St. Augustine Beach and tranquil Crescent Beach. The Castillo de San Marcos is a 17th century stone-built Spanish fortress that offers a beautiful view of the St Augustine inlet.
Uschi had again rented a very attractive holiday home in the old town, where we wanted for nothing.
We used the tourist railway to get a relaxed first overview of the old town. Later, of course, we explored the many shops, pubs and restaurants on foot.
A 1.5-hour harbour tour rounded off the exploration programme.
After a visit to the beautiful beach, we quenched our thirst with various thirst quenchers and treated ourselves to a good dinner.
Golf
Florida, the sunshine state in the USA, is the golf mecca par excellence with over 1400 golf courses. By comparison, there are around 700 golf courses in Germany. The PGA of America is also based here. Probably the most famous course is the TPC Sawgrass, but with a green fee of over $700, it is well above our budget. Nevertheless, it was well worth a visit.
Beautiful courses in our neighbourhood were Eagles Landing, Bent Creek and Mangrove Bay. Charles and Uschi celebrated the end of the round with us in the beautiful club restaurant at Eagle Landing and decided to add the restaurant to their list of favourites.
