Block Leave in Florida-Jacksonville

After a few busy weeks at the office for Josh, we are finally on block leave and our little vacation away. We're starting our two weeks down in Jacksonville where Josh will be speaking at and attending an Army conference.  Yes I know "working" on vacation but really it isn't too bad.  Mara and I are tagging along for the ride and trying to keep ourselves busy while he is in presentations during the day.

I think somebody already misses Buddy

Our flight down was uneventful (thank goodness!).  We had to fly separately and I was a little nervous about being on my own with Mara.  She's getting older and more and more mobile.  Frankly it can be hard to corral her and luggage in a terminal.  Thankfully I did some skillful packing and really it wasn't bad at all.  I give huge props to my girl though.  She's a great traveler!!

Relaxing after a long day of traveling

Once in Jacksonville we headed to the base.  We would be staying at the Navel base suites here.  Josh got checked in and we headed outside to enjoy a small meet and greet.  Mara loved being by the water (we're right on the river here) and running around on the deck.

Ringing the bell

Running around down by the water

The next day Josh headed to the conference and Mara and I went to Target to stock up on supplies.  Yes while I'm on vacation I go to target.  I mean what mom wouldn't?! Unfortunately we also lost our favorite Mickey stuffed animal there.  Mara seemed oblivious but I was just sick about it.  I know she didn't know but I just felt so bad.  We searched the store but he still wasn't anywhere to be found.
The rest of the day was spent around the hotel.  We had lunch with Josh during his break and then went back up to the room for a nap (Mara).  Once she got up we headed over to a small park to let her run off some energy before dinner.

Swinging in the park

Dinner that night was spent at a fun local fish place.  It was uniquely decorated with taxidermy from around the world and a live alligator.  Mara loved looking at all the animals.  That night our heads were too big for our stomachs.  We ordered way too much food and ended up going home with almost more than we ate.  Although they had some unique meats on the menu (camel, gator, etc.) we stuck with seafood.  Delicious!

Tuesday I had big plans for Mara and I.  I wanted to explore the downtown a bit and do a little window shopping.  I was a tad disappointed once we got downtown and there was little in the way of stores.  We did check out a small shopping center and then walked to a fun candy store.

cheap entertainment

Calling it a wash we headed back to base to catch Josh for lunch.  Not wanting to spend another afternoon in the hotel we headed to a small mall nearby and did our window shopping there. Mara slept the majority of the time but I enjoyed strolling through the shops.

Looking at the live alligator

Her favorite was the pig!

That night we headed back to the same restaurant. Crazy right?!  Well little did we know the Army social would be there.  Oh well.  This time we just grabbed a few appetizers and called it good.

It's been a fun week thus far.  I'm looking forward to taking Mara to the zoo later on in the week and then heading down south to Josh's parents over the weekend.  It's so nice to get away from the daily grind every once in awhile and I can't wait to see what the rest of this vacation holds!

I love candid shots like these

Getting a little help from Dad

More swinging