Relaxin' in Jackson..ville

Jacksonville, Florida! Heat and Humidity! Now, I understand that humidity doesn't make your hair look great, but it sure does wonders for your vocal chords!

We stayed at a beautiful Hyatt, right on the bank of the St. John River. Our theatre, the Times Union Center (where are we, Albany?), was also on the river, so our trek to work everyday was beautiful. We had a great rooftop pool and hot tub, so we all made sure to catch up on our vitamin D before heading back up north. Friday night our company manager arranged for them to keep the pool (and poolside bar!) open for us late-night after the show. The theatre and the hotel were in an area of downtown Jacksonville known as Urban Core. By day, the area was filled with suits and ties, and in the evenings filled with tattoos and piercings. Our area was the center for contemporary art in Jacksonville, with tons of small galleries and a museum of contemporary art. The week were there, the Jax Film Fest was going on, along with a lot of great events surrounding it. Unfortunately, with out show schedule, we didn't make it to any of them. In between the hotel and the theatre was a shopping area called The Landing, which was clearly past it's prime, with most of the shops being closed and the restaurants being slow and tired, but they did still have live music and events in the center of the Landing on weekends. With a little bit of searching, there were plenty of great places in Jacksonville.

The Landing and Times Union from across St. John

I found myself At Chamblins Uptown almost every day. Chamblins is an awesome used book store that had a ton of rare and out of print book, two huge floors worth! The biography section in and of itself blew my mind and I had to keep reminding myself that I had a kindle and could not be purchasing books. I managed to walk away with only one. The bookstore had a great cafe attached with wonderful coffee and great breakfast and lunch options (tons of veg options!).

Indochine

Burrito Gallery was clearly the favorite of the locals. A full bar and back patio with table service, it also had a walk-up front, with a seating area filled with local art. Funky vibe, really good food and I had every intention of going back for the bean tacos, but the week got away from us. 

Indochine was located right above Burrito Gallery, great Thai and Southern Asian food with a friendly, knowledgeable staff. I was a little ambitious with the spice level of my curry, but it certainly got my sinuses cleared.

Chew

The eating highlight was the week was Chew, a newer restaurant in town with a modern atmosphere and modern american food with southern flare. I had my first fried green tomato experience (with gorgonzola fondue!), a beet and citrus salad with arugula and goat cheese, the doughiest churros I've ever had with a homemade chocolate sauce. If I lived in Jacksonville, I would be here all the time.

Dos Gatos

We did get to sample the Jacksonville nightlife a bit while we were there. Dos Gatos was a dark cocktail lounge with an amazing menu of cocktails. It reminded me of a few of my favorite places in New York, and it was a probably a good thing that we didn't go until the last night, because otherwise we all would've left Jacksonville a lot poorer. 

Angela and I

While in Jacksonville, we also got into full force with understudy rehearsals. Most productions have understudies, but with such a long contract, we have to really make sure all of our bases are covered, so every lead and supporting role has two understudies, and then we have a male and a female performer who cover all of the ensemble tracks (we call them "swings"). This week our female swing, Angela, went on for the first time. One of the most exciting things about live theatre is having things mixed up a bit, keeps us on our toes and keeps us all supporting each other.

At the end of the week we said farewell to the sun, and now it's back up north to Wilmington, DE. Delaware will be our last week-long sit down for a couple weeks, then real tour life of split weeks and traveling by bus begins!