Jacksonville May 27-28, 2012

After going to bed at 4AM, we understandably awoke around noon with the exception of MS, who can't go back to sleep once awakened by an internal clock at 7AM (sucks to be him). At the recommendation of a Texian Army member who used to live in the area, we headed to Singleton's Seafood Shack for lunch. From there, we went to the Mayport ferry, but it was closed due to impending weather.

After lunch, we decided to go back to Jacksonville Beach, where we were the last two nights. I was craving ice cream. "That is such an Erin Dallas thing to say - wanting ice cream after this huge dish!" exclaimed CS. I replied, "Yes, mint chocolate chip please," and he grinned, "That sounds amazing." So, we went to Rita's Italian Ices, which was okay. [See links for reviews.]

The weather was starting to turn, becoming windier, so we sought refuge at a club called The Beach, since Fionn MacCool's across the street is closed on Sundays. After I sat at a table awaiting a waitress for 20 minutes and CS & MF stood at the bar waiting for a bartender for 20 minutes, we gave up. The place only had one table of four people, and the bar was only 1/3 full of people sitting down with no one dancing to an inexperienced DJ (too many abrupt transitions). We left despite the manager's pleas.

We then walked to Lynch's Irish Pub and had some drinks. There were Scottish people there, and the guys in our group felt the need to bond and console them. I should note this was a running trend, especially with JM, who wanted to talk to every Scot after the game. MF was on the hunt for a frozen margarita (not available at Lynch's); after talking with a gal at the bar, we headed to Mango's.

When you think of a bar named Mango's, you probably imagine tiki furniture, beach decor, and lots of drinks with umbrellas. We walked in, and there were lots of bikers, basic bar stools, and no decor. Needless to say, although the waitress greeted us IMMEDIATELY upon walking in, they didn't have a frozen drink machine. We were very sad after experiencing such poor service at our previous two bars.

We then walked to the Da Big Kahuna next door and struck gold. Not only did they have frozen drinks, but long island iced teas (my signature drink) were also available. However, after walking around, MF and I asked the bartender what "the big clam shell is," and she explained that it's full of jungle juice, the same price as a fish bowl, but has more liquid. We decided to try it.

Jungle juice is heaven. I also think you will feel the affects of the alcohol more if you eat the fruit. During our first clam shell, we asked the price, and it is only $25. I can't explain how cheap this is for the amount of drink/fruit you get considering a 60oz mojito during happy hour at the Cavalier Hotel in Miami's South Beach is $40. We decided to ride out the beginnings of tropical storm Beryl with two jungle juices.

At one point, I decided I wanted to go out to the beach, and MF came along. It wasn't really raining too hard, so we darted across the parking lot, climbed some stairs, and dipped our feet into the Atlantic Ocean. The water was cold, unlike the previous day. As we left, a gust of wind arrived, and the sand coming off of the beach seriously felt like pins and needles. But, I only live once, and I can say I've been in the ocean during a tropical storm.

After Da Big Kahuna, we decided to call it a night, but first stopped at Pizza Hut. JM was worried about missing the Oklahoma City NBA game, so MF took him to the hotel while we waited for the pizza (and then came back to pick us up). It's a good thing we made a stop for food, even though we weren't really too hungry.

Upon arrival at the hotel, we took advantage of the breakfast nook area, using the paper plates, utensils, cups, and napkins. We left the light off because the hallway light outside the area provided enough light. The manager came over and said, "You guys can turn on the light!" After we told her we liked the ambience, she said, "You need a candle!" She was very nice. During our soiree, the power went out, and tropical storm Beryl started to take effect.

Despite being about 15ft from the hotel's front desk, shenanigans ensued. CS decided to somehow tie a napkin to the back of his shirt. MF and CS wheeled each other around on the luggage carts. At one point, a guest who waiting for a flashlight (handed out by the hotel staff at the front desk) asked, "Sir, do you know you have a napkin on your back?" CS replied, "Why yes, it's a cape!" and ran quickly in circles to demonstrate. The guest replied, "It would work better with towels," and CS admitted he had yet to go upstairs to the hotel room. Of everything that happened that night, that was the best incidence.

I don't remember the exact time we decided to head to the room; it was probably around 12-1AM. The room was hot, but luckily we could open the large window (drizzling with little wind). I took a shower; thank goodness for the Tiny Flashlight + LED Android app. I remember the weather was quite muggy, but it's interesting how no one complained. Everyone found their sleeping areas in the dark quietly without a fuss. Within an hour, just as I was getting to sleep, the power came on. As MF had predicted earlier, every light in the room turned on, the group groaned, turned off the lights, and returned to sleep.

Around 8AM we all woke up and started preparing for departure. The group left impressively on time at 9AM, including packing the trunk and strapping the canopy to the roof of the SUV. Super Shuttle was scheduled to pick me up at 9AM, but instead a taxi arrived around 9:15AM. My flight left on time; the airport was eerily empty, most likely because people must have panicked the previous day about tropical storm Beryl. My friends only took 12 hours to arrive to Houston, which was impressive.

So, that was pretty much my Jacksonville trip. On to Tampa!

Jacksonville USMNT May 25-26, 2012

Memorial weekend was great because I spent it in Jacksonville. While my friends (from Texian Army & AO Houston) drove 15 hours to get there, I took the easy way out and departed on May 25th. From Houston, it's about a 2-2.5hr flight.

One thing to note about flying out of IAH is that TSA policies vary from terminal to terminal. In terminal C, you need to have your boarding pass before you enter the scanning machine. In terminal B, which is where I was for Jacksonville departure, you only need to have your boarding pass before you enter the scanning machine IF it is in paper form. If you have a mobile version of your boarding pass, you don't have to show it to the TSA agents prior to entering the scanning machine. I find this oddly ironic.

It's funny how my friends left Houston around 10:30PM the night before, but arrived at the hotel about 10 minutes later than me. At the hotel, two of the four decided to sleep and not attend the public training (LAME!). I paid for a US Soccer membership so that we could have field access (will be useful for future games this year), and it was great. One of my friends, JM, was also able to get a couple of locals (Adam and Nikki) onto the field by showing his US Soccer membership card despite failure to pre-register (take note!). It turned out Adam and Nikki were AO members of the Jacksonville chapter, so we made instant friends.

We took many pictures with the players (Boca, Timmy, Dempsey, and Cameron being my favorites), and MF was able to get her jersey signed by Beckerman. At one point, Clint was training by himself, and I yelled, "Nacogdoches!" I'm not sure if he heard me, but during the autograph session he and MF compared Texas tattoos. He thinks his is better because he has Nacogdoches starred, but everyone knows that it's really NacaNoWhere.

From there, we went back to the hotel, picked up the sleepy lame ones (CS & MS), and headed to Fionn MacCool's for dinner, based on Adam's recommendation for food. His recommendation did NOT disappoint. The scotch egg and beer cheese soup in a bread bowl were both delicious and excellent in quality. The portion sizes were generous for the prices, and $3 pints of Yuengling satisfied the sleepy lame ones, since they weren't eating. Just FYI, Yuengling cannot be found in Houston (or Texas from what I've been told), so apparently it is a hot commodity.

From Fionn MacCool's, we walked to Lynch's Irish Pub a block away, home of the AO Jacksonville chapter. This was definitely a happening place, not just because of all the American Outlaws, but because it seems to be a local's favorite hangout (based on the line at the front door). I ran into the two Phoenix guys (hung out with them in Miami and Los Angeles last year) that always travel, which was good. AO Jacksonville seems to have unique chants, and we now have in our heads images of Oompa Loompas with the gold ticket forever associated with this chapter.

The next day (May 26th) after free breakfast at the hotel, we decided to hit Jacksonville Beach - same area where we were the previous night. The beach is non-alcoholic, but we still brought alcohol. As long as you quietly pour beer into a cup (get free cups from Whataburger), the cops won't disturb you. The beach was pretty packed, although not uncomfortably crowded. My friends had brought the canopy from Houston (strapped to the roof of the SUV). Apparently there had been a huge argument prior to driving as to how to secure the canopy, but one of the guys said, "Thanks for making us bring the canopy" because it was extremely hot. The sand was so hot it wasn't uncommon for small children to cry.

The waves were pretty rough. Unlike the beach in Surfside, TX, it was impossible to make it out to sea past the break where the waves started. Nevertheless, the water was clean and there was no seaweed being brought ashore, which was a nice change. CS and MS rented boogie boards ($15/hour), but MS had a hard time since he didn't know how to boogie board in the first place. Many of us returned sunburned, but it was worth it.

Around 1PM or so we headed back to the hotel to shower and change. I will say it is impressive when you can get five, sandy people to shower, change, and get ready for the game (tailgate supplies included) within an hour. We also had sandwich stuff from the store (luncheon meat, bread, and condiments), which was helpful throughout the whole trip. We also had a refrigerator, and that was a lifesaver (not all hotels provide fridges).

The tailgate was one of the best I've attended at the USMNT games  mainly because the Jacksonville chapter had a HUGE grill. Typically at AO tailgates, we just order pizza, but this time were were grilled hamburgers and Ballpark hot dogs. [The hot dog brand makes a difference, so take note!] We met people from all over the nation - El Paso, Dallas (not a FC Dallas fan/supporter, whew!), Jacksonville, Phoenix, and goodness knows where else. People were cool, although when we initially entered the parking lot (grassy area), someone asked MS rudely, "Why are you wearing a kilt?" I should note MS, being of Scottish heritage, wore a kilt (nothing underneath!) with a US Soccer jersey.

The game itself was a blast, of course, since the USMNT won 5-1. Everbank Field is your typical stadium with no shade. There was a woman checking every ticket for our section. I will say security was quite lax. There were probably about four or so small smoke bombs lit. You can tell whoever was setting them was an amateur, sending up smoke within a couple of minutes of kickoff (no goal). The smoke bombs were so small though that they may not have made it on television. Nothing was done (that I know of) in terms of consequences, and we can still bring banners to this week's game.

After the game, we headed back to the tailgate area at Russ Doe's sandwich shop. The sandwich shop made quite a bit of money on parking, allowing us to park for $10 on their grass lot. We hung out with the Phoenix guys for so long that there were only four vehicles left (including each of ours). Someone needed a jump, but we didn't have jumper cables.

We were still wide awake, so we decided to have a pool party at the hotel (thanks hotel for having unlocked gate). CS, being a board of director, invited everyone in Texian Army via Facebook to join us (of course, some couldn't make it to Jacksonville on short notice). However, upon review at the hotel, there was no more beer. I found a 24-hour Walgreens within a 5-min drive who sold alcohol until 2AM. At 1:40AM, to quote CS, "I've never seen us so motivated to go somewhere; I like it." We managed to make it to Walgreens in time. There were at least three other people who also had the same idea at 2AM. We finally went to bed around 4AM, despite my suggestion that we should stay up another two hours to have breakfast.

I will resume this chronicle tomorrow. Good night.

Jacksonville USMNT Trip Logistics

Planning a trip is always fun and lately it's been somewhat of an addiction. Jacksonville was a unique situation in that I had 4 friends drive to FL from TX (15 hours to get there and 12 hours to come back), so I didn't need to rent a car. As the date approached, WorldMate (excellent app!) kept reminding me to rent a car, and I had to ignore the reminder after doing a double-check every time.

I had booked the trip in February, shortly after US Soccer made the announcement of the USA vs Scotland friendly on May 26, 2012. I have learned it's best to book as quickly as possible before airlines figure out there's a game scheduled and raise their prices. The cheapest option was a hotel and airfare package through United Vacations for about $600. While this may seem extravagant, the trip was booked during Memorial Weekend for three nights of hotel. Within two months of the date, airfare began to soar, costing as much as $450 alone without the hotel.

I should note that even though I had booked the trip in February, United does give a 100% refund if you cancel about a month in advance. After that, the percentage is prorated, e.g. 80% refund if canceling within 3 weeks of departure. Of course, if you wait until the week of departure, there is no refund.

I don't always do these kind of packages (because you do have to pay all of the money up front), but if I can afford it, I will do it. I have learned never sign up for a hotel/airfare/car rental package, as I always have cheaper options for a car rental (whether it be a coupon or free double upgrade). Car rental coupons can only be applied if you book directly with the company; you cannot apply car rental coupons when booking through a third party (in this case, United Vacations). Since I've made this mistake before, often the third party will allow you to cancel the car rental portion of the package with no penalty.

I did book ground transportation to/from the hotel and the airport. Typically when I need ground transportation, I book through Super Shuttle because they are the only company nationwide with whom I can book online. Although I support local businesses, many independently owned companies require you to complete a form with your flight information, and someone will call/email you later to confirm. I prefer instantaneous booking. [I suppose that's the American in me.]

We stayed at the Best Western Mayport Inn and Suites in Atlantic Beach, FL, about 40 minutes from the airport. The cost of Super Shuttle was $105 round trip. Although this seems like a lot, a one-way cab fare can be as much as $75 if you were to book directly with the cab company. For ground transportation, instead of a shuttle van, a taxi was sent. Super Shuttle will send a taxi if their vans are unable to make the trip, and will reimburse the taxi company the fare. I had to sign a voucher each time so that the cab driver could account for the fare.

The company who brought me back to the airport is Checker Cab. I thought it was neat I received a text message when the taxi was dispatched to the hotel. If you need to be picked up, you can fill out the form online or text the address and zip code to 904-222-8507. I've kept this number in my contacts in case I visit Jacksonville again.

In a nutshell, this was my experience when booking hotel, airfare, and ground transportation in Jacksonville. It may seem easy when I write the logistics in a nice little blog post, but this trip took weeks of research to plan. Nevertheless, the trip was worth it, and we had a blast!