PorchFest - Music and Food in Historic Springfield

Springfield is the oldest residential neighborhood in Jacksonville. The area has had it's ups and downs over the years but it appears to be in recovery mode. 

We enjoyed a nice walk through Springfield today as we took in the sights and sounds of Porchfest. This is the second year Porchfest has been held and it appears this free, family friendly event is a success.

What is Porchfest?

"A Music Festival on the Welcoming Porches of Historic Springfield."
Jacksonville Porchfest

Nice crowds of people roamed the shady, tree lined streets.

 Food trucks provided enough variety for any appetite. 

The porches provided the stage and chairs and blankets the seating as local talent entertained the crowds. 

Indie band Complicated Animals

R&B and Soul - Groove Coalition 

There were twenty different bands playing in two sessions on various porches scattered throughout the neighborhood. Something for everyone. 

It seemed that all the neighbors were getting into the spirit of the event. 

Porchfest was celebrated on a beautiful, sunny Florida day. A day filled with fun, food and music bringing a community together and showcasing a lovely neighborhood.

eXtra Big oX

The neighborhood where we live used to be a dairy farm and there's reminders all around. The roads in our neighborhood are named after the dairy owner, his wife and a son  who died young. There's an old milk processing plant that's now a church and daycare, grain silos here and there

And this eXtra big guy.

 I called him an oX for the sake of this X post but I think he's probably a bull or steer. 

Sorry, I may live on an old dairy farm but I know very little about cows...

He stands about 20 feet tall and he has bright red eyes. I have no idea what he's made of but he's been here for as long as I can remember and he looks pretty good. 

It's eXceptionally eXtraordinary to see this eXtra big oX standing eXactly in this same spot everyday.

Want to see more X posts? Check out Jenny Matlock: Alphabe-Thursday

Walking by Fences - A View of Our Neighborhood

This is my view when I walk in my neighborhood. 

The fence in the background is a three board painted wooden fence and the gate is made of  welded wire. Patch and Penny are friendly and will usually come to the gate hoping for a treat.

Finding Street Art - Gazebo Mosaic

Yacht Basin Park is a small park located in Riverside on the west bank of Willowbranch Creek. From here you can watch the creek as it empties into the St Johns River.  This park is one of our many favorite stops as we walk this neighborhood. The park is also known as Moms Park. In 2003 the park was dedicated to the memory of Patricia Austin (1934-1996) wife of Mayor Ed Austin. She was a community volunteer and leader and according to the plaque she liked to stroll here. I think I would have like her.

In the center of the park is a gazebo that is covered in a beautiful mosaic. This lovely piece of art was created by local artist Kate Garcia Rouh co-founder of Roux Art, Inc. 

Tired of cleaning up and painting over the graffiti Ms Rouh decided to paint a mural and then later to cover it with mosaic. Now the gazebo offers a quiet place to retreat from the Florida heat and enjoy a cool breeze from the river. 

Unfortunately my photographs don't capture the real beauty of this gazebo. Gives me an excuse to visit this park again...

Yacht Basin Park
2941 St Johns Ave
Jacksonville, FL


I'm sharing this over at Oakland Daily Photo-Monday Mural

Walking Blues - Along the St Johns River

Walking Blues

Riverwalk Downtown Jacksonville, Florida

This is a view from one of our favorite places to walk. Jacksonville has a beautiful walkway on both the north and south banks of the St Johns River. A perfect place to see blue skies and water and to enjoy the Florida sunshine.

The St Johns River is the longest river in Florida and one of the few rivers in the United States that flow north. The river begins its lazy travels in the marshes of Brevard County and slowly flows 310 miles north to mix in with the Atlantic Ocean at Mayport in Duval County. The St Johns river is a focal point of downtown and one reason we're called the 'River City'. Believe me you can't go anywhere in this town without crossing a bridge!

You can cross the St Johns River by walking over the Main Street Bridge (pictured here) or the St Elmo Acosta Bridge. You'll have beautiful views of the river and the city from either bridge, But if it's blue you're after take the Main Street bridge.


Click here to see more of the Riverwalk.

I'm sharing this post at

Sky Watch Friday

Walking the Fence Line - Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation

A beautiful day to walk at one of the prettiest Historic sites in Georgia. Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation near Brunswick. We walked along this fence line surrounded by large old oak trees. This is an example of a common post and wire field fence and a four board, black painted wood fence.

To see more of Hofwyl-Broadfielf Plantation click here.

You can see other fences at Good Fences.

Walking Wednesday - Walking the Zoo

No doubt about it my favorite place to walk this week was at the zoo. 

Now our zoo is pretty nice and with a yearly pass we spend a lot of time visiting and walking there. If you follow the path and walk by all the exhibits you go about 4 miles. No traffic, interesting things to see and lots of shade makes the zoo a great place to walk. 

 But what made this my favorite walk was this little guy. 

This is our 3 year old grandson. He spent the night with us and the next day we took him on an outing to the zoo  He was like our tour director. He knew exactly what animals we would be seeing next. He also knew where they sell the red shaved ice! Even though he's been here a few times he still showed that excitement and joy only a little one can have.

It's true what they say. Having grandchildren is wonderful. Your only job is to  love on your grandchildren and spoil them rotten and then take them home to mommy and daddy. 

And we did our job very well!

Lace up and take a little one for a walk!

Fun Things to do on a Walk - Pick a Color to Photograph

When our children were young we would take all three of them out in our canoe. The way I'd get them to sit still was to give them something to look for as we canoed down the river. One time it would be insects the next flowers another time birds and so on. If they spotted the assigned item they'd call it out and I'd keep track and pay them a quarter for each one they found. If they stood up, fought with a brother or wiggled too much they'd lose what they earned. 

OK it was bribery but it got them to sit still. And to get three little boys to sit still in a canoe is no mean feat. They learned the important skill of observation, earned a little spending money and we never tipped the canoe over!

Once in a while when I walk alone in my neighborhood I employ the same idea using color. I randomly pick a color and as I walk I photograph things of that color that catch my eye. 

On this day I picked the color yellow, grabbed my camera and set off in my neighborhood...

What's your favorite color? 

Walking Wednesday - Black Rock Trail, Big Talbot Island State Park, Florida

A stretch of beach in the Big Talbot Island State Park is supposed to be littered with unusual black rocks. Not really rocks but compressed sand and decaying vegetation shaped by the waves to mimic rocks.

Where else to find black rocks than at Black Rock Trail? We parked at trail and headed towards the beach. We could hear the roar of the ocean as we approached and I was looking forward to a nice long stroll by the water.

Unfortunately it was high tide but not only that the trail abruptly ended at a small cliff. Straight down about 5 - 6 feet to the shore. Not a long ways down but far enough.  Getting down wouldn't have been too bad but getting back up would have proven to be difficult. Even if we could have figured out how to shimmy up and down there was no beach to walk on. High tide, made even higher by the full moon the night before.

The shore was eroded away. Only way to the beach was to jump down. 

The water and the waves were powerful and the trees that were laying over in the waves were

strangely beautiful. All due to the ugly face of erosion that is effecting much of the coast line. 

You can really understand the power of the ocean when you see these mighty trees bobbing in the waves. 

Even though we didn't see the black rocks or get to walk along the ocean it was a fun walk. I never get tired of looking at the ocean.


We're experimenting with video and this is our first try. Check it out and let me know what you think!

That was just a quick look at one of the favorite places I walked this week.

Travel Tuesday

A Morning Walk - 4 Miles Through Old Ortega

It was actually cool on Sunday morning which was a good thing. We were suppose to get up early to beat the heat and get our walk in but someone overslept. (That would be me.) But it didn't matter because it was only in the seventies! Perfect walking weather.

We decided to go somewhere new and ended up walking in the Old Ortega area of west Jacksonville. We parked near the Chick-Fil-A and started our walk by crossing the Ortega river on the Roosevelt bridge. Then we meandered through the neighborhood crossed back over the river on the Ortega drawbridge. We were able to get in 4 miles of walking!

Drawbridge across the Ortega river

We saw lots of beautiful flowers along the way

A view of the downtown skyline

One of the many cute houses we saw. This one is tiny compared to others but still has charm.

Perfect weather and a beautiful neighborhood to walk. 

Wednesday Walking - Bridge Walking and Prepping for Vacation

Florida is a gorgeous state and the area we live is one of the prettiest. Sandy beaches littered with shells, dense pine forests, moss draped oak trees and frog filled wetlands provide ample walking opportunities. Unless you're over towards the panhandle one thing lacking is hills and there are certainly no mountains!

Flatland walking is pretty easy and we can walk miles and miles with no problem. The problem comes when we travel to a  place that is actually above sea level with the dreaded hills that you have to walk UP!

This was a running joke on our trip to Germany. We found this card at the desk in one of our hotels, an advertisment for something or other but it was perfect! We were standing in the parking lot at Marksburg Castle on the Rhine in Germany trying to decide if we wanted to walk UP to the castle.

Training for our Next Trip

(Training may be a strong word!)

Soon we'll be heading for Italy and we already know there will be some hills to traverse so we've been working on our hill walking legs.

The easiest way to simulate walking up a hill is to use a walking machine. This may be most convenient way but it is also boring...

To counteract the boredom I watch YouTube travel videos and that helps a little. But I deem the walking machine as one of those necessary evils. Good for when it's raining or too hot to get outside.

Another option for practicing hill climbing and one that's much more fun is to head downtown and hit the bridges. This past week we did just that when we walked the Acosta bridge in downtown Jacksonville.

OK so it's not a mountain but it's a pretty steady climb UP. 

I have to admit that I have more trouble will incline walking than John does. But he's a very patient walking partner and for that I'm thankful.

Grab a partner, lace up your shoes and get a little work out!

Lunch at the Florida Creamery and a Four Mile Walk

Well summer is officially here. Temperature wise at least. 

Because of the heat we walked at the mall yesterday but wanted to get outside today. My only stipulation was SHADE! So we went to Riverside hoping to have some shade and a breeze off the river. 

We walked a couple miles to Avondale and picked up a Geocache behind the Old School Barbershop.

Due to it's location this cache was appropriately called the Mustache Cache Stash and the hidden box contained fake mustaches. The owner requested finders to post a picture of themselves with a mustache so we accommodated...

John brought his own mustache!

Since we were in the shopping area of Avondale we decided to eat lunch at the Fox diner but we got sidetracked along the way. The Florida Creamery caught our eye and we stopped in for a quick bite to eat and a nostalgic trip to Florida in the fifties.

Florida Creamery on St. John's Avenue in Avondale

Old fashion candy and drinks

Just a sample on the Florida wall art

The menu is mostly ice cream. Yum!

Obviously this place focuses on ice-cream but they also serve a Nathan's hot dogs. The only non ice cream food on the menu. That makes ordering easy! We both had a hot dog with slaw and onions and shared a bottle of ginger beer and a bag of chips for ten bucks.

The hot dog was good and the slaw was tasty. Finely chopped like hot dog slaw should be with a hint of celery seeds and pepper. 

 I loved the Reed's Extra Ginger Brew it was not too sweet with a little kick of heat and made of real ingredients!

From the Reed's website:

Extra Ginger Brew

Ingredients: Sparkling Filtered Water (Sweetened by a blend of raw cane sugar, pineapple juice from concentrate and honey), Fresh Ginger Root, Lemon and Lime Juices from concentrate and spices. Non Alcoholic. Free of Preservatives, Caffeine, Gluten & GMO’s.

Just right to quench the thirst on a hot day!

I'd love to sample the ice cream but not today. We have more walking to do!

A few of the sights on our walk through Riverside and Avondale

There's the shade!

Standing guard

Loved this!
LittleFreeLibrary.org
Take a book, leave a book. Too bad I didn't have a book with me...

That was our day. Where did your feet take you this weekend?

Weekend Walking - Two New Trails and A Few Geocaches

This past weekend we walked two new trails, New for us at least. The trail system at University of North Florida and Jacksonville Arboretum & Gardens. 

I ask myself "why have we never walked here before?" I don't know but I'm glad we finally did! 

University of North Florida 

Wildlife Sanctuary

Robert W Loftin Nature Trails 

Go here for a map of the UNF trail system.

Three main trails and two loop connectors are open from sunrise to sunset. Parking is free on the weekends but during the week there is a small fee. Even if you have to pay it's small price compared to the beauty of this wildlife sanctuary.

In some spots the trail was narrow and muddy and there were several wooden bridges across the creek. In other places the trail was wide and sandy. Other than a few muddy spots this was easy walking without a lot of roots across the path or hills to climb.

This section of the trail was wide and sandy. Easy walking...

Part of the trail went by a Cypress Swamp

We did find three Geocaches along these trails! Never heard of a Geocache? Neither had we until a few months ago when my sister-in-law introduced us to this new hobby. Basically people hid things all over the world and you track them down by the GPS coordinates. The cache usually contains a log book for you to sign and maybe some goodies to trade out. It adds a little fun to our walking.

Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens1445 Millcoe Road
Jacksonville, Fl 32225

The Jacksonville Arboretum & Gardens is 120 acres of woods, trails and a 2 acre lake. This was a great place to walk. The trails wind through several different habitats and many of the trees and bushes are labeled. I liked it because of the different elevations as we walked the trails. You don't find many places that aren't flat around here!

There were lots of people here. It's so good to see people out and about enjoying nature. Especially the kids. They need to get out and run off some energy. Dogs are welcome as long as they're leashed and there were quite a few on the trails.

Interesting art was scattered around the gardens...This was Mr Wild and His Friends.

Just a sampling of the many beautiful trails in the park...

They also have a program called Step Out in Nature aimed at promoted a healthy, active lifestyle. Schools and indivduals can logged in their steps for a chance to win prizes. Check it out and step out!


Only one Geocache to be found here...

Why not lace up and discover some new 

places to walk in your town?