Well…we made it!
We loaded the Penske truck last Sunday and had a short and uneventful drive North to Fernandina Beach last Monday morning. A local crew of four young guys had us unloaded in about an hour and a half…a new record by at least an hour. The good news is that that were quick, which saved us money, but the bad news is they were so quick that we barely had time to get the correct boxes in the correct rooms. Oh well….been there and done that.
For most of the last week, we’ve been unpacking boxes and slowly, but surely, going through decades of “stuff” in order to once and for all, get rid of anything that’s not essential. We’re done with hauling around things we might need, sometime, someday, somewhere. We all do it, or at least most of us do. We realized while living for two months in a furnished villa in New Smyrna Beach without our stuff….that we really didn’t need it, or miss it. Sometime in the next twelve months, we’re going to hold another of our “Mother of all yard sales” to get rid of it. I’ve started the process of digitally scanning our pictures, slides and tax records. Once done, everything is going to get shredded. We’re going to hold onto only the bare minimums of furniture, clothing, dishes, etc. I think we’ll be able to get rid of at least 20 storage boxes, which will be a huge burden lifted.
In the mornings, we take Tuck and head to the beach….which is beautiful, long and dog -friendly. And, just as it always has happened, we meet someone new every morning who comes over to pet Tuck. Just this morning we met a local guy and his two-year old Husky (Nova…you’ll understand the name in a minute). He works in Jacksonville for the local NPR/PBS station and does production for them. He’s been there since he was seventeen and he’s probably in his late forties. Super nice guy, who gave us lots of tips about the town. If you’re an NPR/PBS listener, you already know about the NOVA program….and hence the name of his husky.
In the evenings, we head downtown to walk the streets of the historic district….and oh my, what a historic district this town has. Block after block of Victorian homes dating from the 1860’s (apparently, after the Civil War ended, a lot of money was made very quickly by merchants, sea captains, etc.). These homes are huge and were no doubt considered mansions in their day, just as they still are today. Many have already been restored (read….big bucks) and many are currently undergoing complete renovations. Lots of beautiful B&B’s and many smaller homes turned into shops near the downtown. Every night, we try to walk a different street and every night we find something new. Being the South, everyone is super friendly and greets you with a smile and the customary “Morning” or “Evening”. Maybe it’s an East coast of Florida thing, or maybe it’s because we’re so close to Savannah and Charleston (and the Old South culture they bring to the area), but clearly, this is a very friendly, very laid back town. There’s no snobby behavior here, at least we haven’t encountered it yet. Oh I’m sure there are jerks around, but jerks are rarely “dog people”, so even if we do encounter some, we’ll quickly move on down the road. I mean, really, life is too short to tolerate jerks.
Once we get the house unpacked to the point where we can walk around and not run into a box, I promise to take the camera on our walks and record some of what we’re seeing. In the meantime, thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Wayne, Claudia & Tuck