The Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens: A Tiny Dose of Zen in the Middle of the Workday

     I have had an ongoing relationship with Fort Caroline for a long time. I used to work there and not get paid, then I worked there and got paid, and now I visit more often than a person should really visit a former workplace. Being the totally cool place it is (and containing the people it does) in the warmer months I am moved to sluggishness while visiting. Whereas in the wintertime I take my lunch break run around the trail as fast as possible to avoid too much exposure to the cold, in the summertime I am warm and happy and feel like stayin' a few. So it is not as conducive to concentration when it's nice out.

     Therefore, I've been on the lookout for a nice natural (FREE) place to visit on my lunchbreak, a quiet place that does not distract me (not so much for running - I've taken a break from that to work on this GRE nonsense). Gotta be just the right mix of pretty and boring. Well, my friends, I found all of this and no more at the Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens.

     Now, it may seem up to this point that I am calling tJAG a pretty boring place, but don't get me wrong. It's a beautiful little plot of land right off of 9A/Monument. It's brandy-new, so no one's really heard of it yet. When I say boring, I mean it endearingly. That is to say, it's quiet and lonely and lovely and perfect for studying words on the flash card app on my iPhoney while taking a constitutional around Lake Ray. (Or, as I'd like to call it, Pond Laser. It's teeny tiny and named after a guy really named Lake Ray, and that's just too obvious.)

     I pulled up around 2ish. There was a light drizzle falling and it was a tad brisk out. There was only one other car in the parking lot, and it was nondescript.

     We'll visit this car later in the adventure.

     I got out and walked through the ridiculously huge parking lot for an arboretum toward the little waysides they had, describing where I was and what they were hoping for it to become in the future. Being on a time constraint, I only glanced over them looking for the trail map. Cool! A .31 mile trail around Pond Laser. That was perfect - I didn't want something to start the ADVENTURE vibration in my innards, distracting me from the tiny flashcard application in my hand. There were other trails too, about the same small length, but I wanted to go in a nice circle and repeat it so as to not get too interested in my surroundings. 

     Live oaks and GREEN green abound at tJAG. It's really a cute place. It smelled like plants and dirt, and was a quiet, soothing space. I'd really hate to see it actually full of people, because that would change the vibe from "sleepy hidden gem" to "mall" in my opinion. So I took my 2 walks around the pond, hating those few words that FOR THE LIFE OF ME I WILL NEVER LEARN. But I was calmed by the stillness. There were no birds, only the wet coolness of a gray April day. Every step I took formed small invisible happy faces that floated over my head like bubbles (you know, the kind you get when the shower temperature is just right? Or when you wake up on Saturday and realize you can just lay there and not go to work?) tJAG was like a tiny dose of zen in the middle of the workday. Realizing my time was growing short, I made my way back to my car, happy faces trailing off into the sky, waiting for my to return. Ahhhh.

     I realized that other car was still in the parking lot, and it was running. I didn't see anyone in it, so I thought maybe someone had gotten out to do something. I paid it no mind as I got in, buckled my seatbelt, and started the car. As I shifted into park, I turned my head slightly to glance back at the car that was- DEAR LORD THERE ARE PEOPLE DOING IT IN THERE.

     So that was my lunchtime journey the the Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens. It's got a lot of potential to be something adventurous one day, but I really like it where it is, with its wee pond, short trails, and the skanky parking lot. It's definitely worth checking out on your lunchbreak.

Visit the website: The Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens