November 17, 2009

Do they ever have cloudy weather here? At this point...I'm going to say...not that I can imagine. Today was another perfect day with temps in the high 70's and a light breeze coming in off the water, a blue sky overhead and the fragrance of flowers in the air. There is some humidity but its not enough to be really uncomfortable.

I don't want you to think that it's all a bed of roses though.....there has to be something that isn't soooo lovely and perfect and this morning it came in the form of a sign. Not the kind of sign that you might think....it wasn't a particular kind of bird flying overhead or a moment of deja vu....not any kind of an omen at all.....just a plain old sign that said, "Don't feed the alligators or they'll expect it and become aggressive and begin to eat people which will result in having to destroy them." Yep.....right outside our door (well...5 minutes away)....that sign exists and it's real!

Started our day with a study session and then hit the streets with the closest ferry launch as our destination. Our plan was to see just how much time it would take us to get to the Convention Centre as our first class begins at 9:00 in the morning and our hotel is across the river from the Conference facilities. The short stroll took us just over 5 minutes and the ferry ride was another 25 so in total...we should be able to make it with time to spare by catching the 8:20 ferry tomorrow morning. Alternately, there is a shuttle that will come by our hotel to pick up LERN delegates at 8:20 so if we don't make the ferry...we have a back up plan :)

We continued our ferry ride (it appears that all public transit - ferries and buses- are free here) and hopped off along the river front where we ambled along a little way before hopping on the red dot bus that took us up the hill to the City Market area of the historic district.

This city is amazing! The Market area is filled with artisans and touristy shops, horse drawn carriages, and restaurants. A 2 block section of the Market is pedestrian only and we can't help but think what good idea it is to have pedestrian only areas in a town.

We hit a few of the shops before sitting down to a lunch of grouper fish burgers where we took the time to do a little people watching. Both Linda and I are feeling like time has slowed down for us - a welcome respite from the busyness of the past few weeks. Our burgers were excellent (grouper is a mild soft white fish) and when we were ready to press on....we did just that.

One of the shops that called to us was an old fashioned candy store and wasn't that like a trip down memory lane! There were real candy cigarettes, wax lips, wax bottles filled with syrup, hubba bubba bubble gum, and the kind of toffee with nuts in it that I remember thinking was like hitting the jackpot. I tried one of the wax bottles of syrup and you know what???.....it's even more disgusting than I remember it as being but heh....a trip down memory lane is worth a little waxy residue stuck in your teeth right?!

Our afternoon consisted of shopping and walking and shopping and walking and then when it was time to do something different....we shopped and walked some more. Along the way we visited more of the 22 parks in the historic district, ogled the architecture, and sat on a bench or two (one of which was Forrest Gumps famous "box of chocolates" on a bench spot).

The historic district is divided into East and West by Bull Road which runs straight down through 5 little parks from the river to the largest of the parks, Forsyth Park, for 7/10 of a mile (about 1 km). We zigzagged our way along the streets while we oohed and aahed at the homes that lined them. We're both thinking that it would be amazing to have grown up in an area like this....where the houses all look like they're likely to have secret passageways and stairwells throughout. The sidewalks are challenging to walk on so ogling the homes is like taking your life in your hands.....watching your step is critical. The sidewalks are in such rough repair as the trees all take priority and there are a LOT of trees! They line every street and many of the streets also have tree filled boulevards down the middle of them. All of the 22 parks have virtual roofs over them in the form of massive branches from the ancient oaks that rule over those green spaces. The sidewalks are interesting and beautiful as well as a little rough. Some of them are brick, others of them are concrete that has been enhanced by sea shells embedded in it, others are cobblestone, and some are simply pavement.

Linda is beginning to recognize people on the street so that is sure sign that we're 'almost' locals and I'm certain that soon the mayor will be stopping round to present us with a key to the city or something equally as important :) Truthfully though....we do feel really comfortable and at home here and the people have all been so hospitable, helpful and pleasant. As you meet them on the street (and there are a lot of people walking here!), or in the shops, they smile and say hello as you pass. It's a city that feels like a town where everyone has a little extra time or maybe there are more hours in the day here as we seem to be able to accomplish a lot in a day.

All in all from our departure from the Mulberry this morning when Mr. George bid us adieu....we had a wonderful day and are looking forward to another one tomorrow.

L & L