Seventieth Birthday Vacation Tour - Rest of the Story

As mentioned in the last post, we spent the first night of our trip in Texarkana, TX and then headed to Mobile, AL on Saturday, 9-22.  We went to the three services on Sunday at Christ Fellowship Baptist Church and listened to the preaching of Steve Lawson on the 21st chapter of John.  The conference was Monday afternoon and all day Tuesday with John MacArthur and Steve Lawson.  MacArthur focused on "The Gospel according to Isaiah" which covered the 53rd chapter of Isaiah from the view of the Jewish nation during the end times looking back.  Steve Lawson's two sessions were on Romans 1 and was titled "The Gospel according to Paul".  The special music throughout the conference was provided by MSG Antonio Giuliano.  You would be blessed by looking up his bio and listening to his voice on the internet.  Marvelous voice and marvelous testimony.  The second day included a book signing.  Joyce got her bible and some books signed by John MacArthur.  I got one book signed by Steve Lawson and my MacArthur Study Bible signed by John MacArthur.



John MacArthur and Steve Lawson



John and Steve seated at book-signing



John MacArthur at book-signing

We departed Mobile on Wednesday morning en route to Jacksonville, FL.  We purposely took the southern route across the Florida panhandle to see the Gulf and the beautiful beaches.  We went  through Pensacola, Ft Walton Beach, and Destin before heading back for I-10 and a straight shot on in to Jacksonville.  Stopped at a beach in Destin and the sand was beautiful even though the weather was a little overcast.



Destin beach

We managed to arrive in Jacksonville in the middle of rush hour but after about an hour or so we managed to arrive at our motel.  Mike had recommended that we eat at Clark's Fish Camp so we got directions and headed out.  I'm not big on seafood but it was a nice setting for a restaurant and we ate outside.  Joyce had stuffed flounder and I had blackened chicken.  These pictures should give you a flavor for the setting.



Clark's Fish Camp, Jacksonville, FL

After we finished our meal, we headed to downtown Jacksonville in search of a fountain that we had read about on the internet.  It was a huge fountain that was lit up at night with various colors.  The GPS didn't seem to be telling us the correct turns to take but we finally found it and a parking place within a block or so.  It was worth the trip as you can see.

The next morning we headed to the oldest city in the United States, St Augustine, FL.  We booked a trip on a small motorized raft to tour the bay with three other persons and the guide.  He took us to the edge of the Atlantic Ocean and we saw the sights of St Augustine from the bay and were able to see some dolphins although they never came completely out of the water. 





Touring craft - capacity 6-7 adults



Headed for the Atlantic

Oyster beds in the backwaters of the bay

Okies on the move



View from the bay



Fort in St Augustine



Nice view from the bay

Will wrap up this post and wind things up in a day or two.  Since this was my first time in Florida, I really enjoyed the trip.  Joyce and I would move there if we could take our house, our church, our children, and our granddaughter.  Probably not going to happen but we both really liked the ocean.  Later.