I started this the other day…and then the movers came and took our internet distributor.
Mary Poppins has nothing on us when it comes to moving with the change of the wind. Today was the first day to hint at fall with cooler weather—perfect because we had our door propped open all day for the movers. After they left with four crates filled with all our worldly belongings (Chris: chuckles “Can you reassure us that our stuff isn’t going to fall off the boat and sink to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean?” Moving Guy: looks at paperwork “Well, I’m not going to tell you it doesn’t happen…”) Mouse and I had a Paulaner on the balcony. Everything was on the move: the flock of Canadian geese that lived here in January when we moved in arrived a couple days ago. A blue heron skimmed across the pond, squawking, followed shortly by a white egret and some muttering golfers. I’d been reluctant to leave this wonderful city, but the wind is changing and it’s time to go! But not without a eulogy. 
21 Reasons I love Jacksonville, FL:
1. Got to work for Bloomberg News the entire time we lived here and cover interesting and bizarre cases.
2. The weather—not as hot and humid as Pensacola and Texas. Warm, but just right!
3. Springboard for new passport stamps: Costa Rica, Spain, Frankfurt, Morocco, Gibraltar (technically no stamp, but whatev), England again, Bavaria, Austria (also no stamp, but whatev).
4. Anticipating Japan!
5. Landshark—my favorite beer since before even moving to the East Coast—is brewed here. Coincidence? I think not.
6. The zoo has an aviary where the birds come sit on your head/shoulder/hand
7. Our apartment has 15 ft. ceilings and a view from every room…sigh! Love it.
8. Eastside Community Church—welcomed us in even though we were short-termers. Our small group was really wonderful, too.
9. Fleet Replacement Squadron training—waaaaaaay more relaxed than flight training in Pensacola.
10. Five minutes from the BEACH!
11. I was at the outdoor mall here—wait, that should be its own reason. THE ST. JOHN’S TOWN CENTER! All my favorite stores in ONE PLACE!
12. At said outdoor mall a huge egret swooped down and ate a koi fish from the decorative pond and no one blinked. Except me, who started shouting into the phone to my mom about this exciting development.
13. Ibises, egrets, cranes, herons, huge blue fish, turtles, geese, ducks, alligators—and those are just the animals we’ve seen from our balcony!
14. Proximity to St. Augustine, Orlando, Savannah, Charleston, Tallahassee.
15. The St. John River
16. The Jacksonville Public Library. Fantastic. Lots of interesting books, like the entire James Bond series, which I finished here. And Japanese materials. And movies. And they hold stuff for you. And it has many convenient locations.
17. A well-placed Space A hub.
18. Still close to I-10 in case anyone’s homesick. Houston? Pensacola? Jacksonville? I-10. 
19. Our two-mile loop around the golf course—perfect for evening strolls or exercise.
20. It’s Florida.