#loversretreat2k15

Perhaps Jacksonville Beach is not the most exciting place to vacation. But we had a three day weekend and needed a trip to a within-driving-distance-beach with a cheap AirBNB. St. Simon's and Amelia Island were a bit pricey. Miami was too far.

Jacksonville Beach, CONGRATULATIONS! You won by default.

Our little apartment was perfect. Minus a toilet in the shower situation (which Matt loved - and considered a feature). There was wood paneling in the living room that actually looked nice, creaky floors to remind me of Nessie, and french doors leading to the master. If there's one thing I know it is this: life needs more french doors.

We spent the weekend doing basically what we would do at home (minus kittens and laundry). Which made me feel guilty. I confessed to Matt that I felt like I was incredibly dull because we had had zero excitement in our weekend. Then he reminded me that 1. we were in Jacksonville Beach, which is the most average beach ever, and 2. we didn't particularly like age-appropriate things, mainly bars, because they tend to be a. loud, b. crowded, and c. expensive. And weren't we having such a marvelous time being dull? he asked. Answer: yes. Being dull is fantastic.

I'm so thankful for him. Marriage is never having to pretend to be cooler than you are, and your spouse will still think you're the greatest person alive.

And now, for a recap of our weekend, let's do the numbers (highest of fives if you mentally read that in Ky Ryssdal's voice):

$12.84 - amount we spent on two front row seats to see a guy named Louis Ramey perform at the esteemed Jacksonville Comedy Club, where he proceeded to verbally violate me and make me the butt of all his semi-violent sexual jokes.

2 - times Matt said "I told you this would happen if we sat there"

2 - times I replied "But the tickets were $6! Less than half the price of the rest of the tables!"

1 - lesson learned (by me): don't ever sit in the front where they can see you

2 - trips to Starbucks for coffee/lemon cake

2 - total trips Matt has now taken to Starbucks in his 23 years

$4.95 - spent on an awesome Jax Beach magnet from Walgreens

5 -  days of my "Bible in a Year" reading plan I read Sunday, because not even a month in and I'm already woefully behind

37 - verbal uses of our trip's hashtags: #loversretreat2k15 and #yojo (you only Jacksonville once)

63 - (+ dark clouds + wind) temperature on Saturday, our first beach attempt

25 - approximate number of minutes spent shivering at the beach on Saturday

72 - (+ light breeze + sunshine) temperature on Sunday, our second beach attempt

200 - approximate number of minutes we spent loving our lives at the beach on Sunday

1 - pair of running shoes forgotten at home

2 - blisters on my lover's feet from his barefoot beach run

46  - minutes I spent admiring Matt's thick eyelashes

3 - wishes made for a yard with a lemon tree like the one we saw in that bougie Riverside neighborhood

$590,000 - price of one of the many homes I coveted in the aforementioned neighborhood (yikes)

3.5 - stars for American Sniper, which we saw Sunday night because what else were we going to do...we didn't think it lived up to the hype

371 - pages read

2 - Sonic diet cherry limeades (aka heaven's sweetest nectar) I ingested in a 9 hour period

10 - number of Sonic chicken tenders Matt ingested in a 9 hour period

1 -  chicken tender stomach ache

13 - times Matt mentioned how awesome the toilet in the shower was

1 - regret: not visiting the Beaches Museum & History Park (Matt put his foot down on that one)

Thank you for such a lovely, albeit elderly, weekend, Mr. Phillips. I love you more than grocery store discounts, sensible shoes, and going to bed early combined.