Jacksonville: Part I

last friday.

on a side note, isn't it awesome how a song can just pick you up and make you feel like you're flying?  and out of no where too...

so zane & i skipped town, Drama-Town that is, and escaped to Zane-and-Anna-Only-Land.  apparently it resides in the heart of jacksonville.  oddly only an hour from home. how convenient! 

i was feeling a bit resentful on the car ride up there tho, feeling like it was almost a waste.  i'd had to work late that night, then drive the hour-plus up to j-ville, and then get up early & come back to work... was it even worth it...? i argued with myself most of the car ride. 

then i got giddy.  the radio seemed to be playing all the right songs.  and then you know how when you start getting nearer to a bigger city & just outside the city's limits the freeway widens to four or five lanes, and cars start to merge in from both sides?? & then skyscrapers come into view, and the closer you get to the heart of the downtown area , the more tall structures & city lights brighten & fill the night sky??  and for me... it's just plain euphoric.  i love being in the middle of a city.  i mean REALLY love it.  i feel alive and connected to the words in a whole new way.  

i'm pretty sure i floated up to our room on the 11th floor where my husband was waiting for me.  the drive into the city alone had pushed all previous doubts i'd had far far away.  & i knew that it could only get better in the hours that remained in this night. 

zane had ordered us pizza. this just added a whole other element of the sheer joy i was already feeling to see that pizza hut delivery man waiting for us at guest services, holding out that divine cheesy glory.  the 3 of us, zane, me & the pizza guy, stuck out like sore thumbs in the classy lobby with the dozens of fancy wedding party guests wandering around.  i couldn't have cared less, literally skipping & jumping all the way back to the elevators with our pizza box.  after partaking of the greasy lovliness, we went back downstairs to walk along the river, in the rain, just light sprinkles, but rain none the less & feeling the crispy winter air, feeling as light as a feather. 

we made our way back to our room.  still feeling so wired, yet so exhuasted all rolled into one big awesome ball of insomnia.  the view from our floor-to-ceiling-wall-to-wall window was just so darn beautiful.  everytime i let myself close my eyes, i'd open them again within a few moments so i could breathe in the view again with my eyes.  i wished i could paint the scene on my eyelids.  i was eye level with the mid-section of three skyscrapers.  of course i couldn't bear to shut the curtains on them.  it was just such a delicious comforting place to sleep, the kind of comfort you feel as a little girl being sandwiched between your parents when a bad dream gets the best of you. 

and when i awoke, and that same view stared back at me in the early morning light, the same excited energy pulsed thru my veins like it had never left.  when was the last time i'd woken up with a stupid grin plastered on my face?! 

i walked over to the window & slid it open, feeling the bite of the 40-something-degree air, the coldest yet of the season.  the river looked appropriately icey cold & dark grey.  & the city was quiet.  mellowed, yet still very much alive. it was supreme happiness.