Good Friday Morning!
I have never spent a lot of time in "cities" in the US - when I have historically traveled, I aim for a loop - a route - that lets me get the feel for a region, I try to find authentic places along the way, and get the heck out of town as fast as I can. I've never spent weeks in one place.
This trip made me do that, and it may make me re-evaluate how I visit some places in the future. While my trip wasn't a "pleasure" trip, I tried to apply the same thinking - that I wanted to get to know the place, to visit the places that locals go, and get a bit out of the "tourist" comfort zone. After talking with some folks at the hospital, they recommended the riverwalk in downtown Jacksonville as a place where folks would go for walks after work, but it wasn't part of the "tourist scene" on the other side of the river.
I have to say, they made a good recommendation. Jacksonville is a river city - the St. Johns River cuts right through the middle of town, and this little walk did a lot to show off the heart of this place. I'll have more to say about Jacksonville over the next week or so, and maybe this means I'll have to think about taking longer trips to experience other great American towns.
Downtown Jacksonville Skyline - Florida