Going To Jacksonville for Gator Bowl ...

... heard the Super Bowl there was a bust because there was nothing to do. I know this will be about 1/100th of that excitement.

Just curious if there is anything I should know about the area or any places to check out (sites, restaurants, bars, nightlife, etc.).

Thanks in advance!

 

Merry Christmas, BYH!

 

Like Moddy, I covered multiple Gator Bowls (and the first ACC championship game) in Jax and found the folks to be very helpful. Jacksonville got a bad rap because the national media had to do its share of driving when the Super Bowl was down there in 2005. It's a better place than given credit for and if you go down there with an open mind, I think you'll like it.

 

The Gator Bowl has, in the past, arranged a deal where they let media members play the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass for free. That is definitely worth looking into if you play golf.

 

Not a golfer, so I didn't take part in the golf outing.

I did go down to Daytona USA during an off morning. That was fun.

 

Thanks for the help, much appreciated. We'll see how it goes.

 

Absolutely hit the beach. Downtown is pretty dead after business hours, but if you're downtown during the day, stop by Burrito Gallery for lunch. San Marco and Riverside are great for art galleries.
There's usually some kind of live music at San Marco theater or Florida Theater or one of the many places out at the beach, especially Freebird Live.
Lynch's is a good bar out at the beach is you just want a dive bar where the beer flows. There's also Sneakers which is good if you want a beer and a game on TV.
If you like Mexican food, there's practically a great Mexican place every couple of blocks. If you like Chinese, avoid any place in a mini-mall will a bad "wok" pun in the name.
If you have a free day, take the car and drive up to Fernandina or down A1A to St. Auggie.

 

Here's my Gator Bowl story, a favorite at family functions.

As Copley Chicago columnist, I covered the 99 game involving Notre Dame. The weather all week was spectacular. Notre Dame practices were in the afternoon and were closed, and media availability wasn't until afterward. So every morning/early afternoon, I had time to golf, and I took full advantage of the weather and the circumstance. I golfed and golfed and golfed. Also wrote some columns. But lots of golf.

The game is played on Jan. 1, Notre Dame loses and I'm supposed to fly home Jan. 2. But a huge snowstorm in Chicago cancels all flights and I have to stay an extra day. So, naturally, one last day of golf before returning to the blizzard-like horrors that await me in Chicago.

About 3 holes into that last round, I hurt my lower back. I kept playing, and it kept getting worse. I actually had to get down on one knee to pick my ball out of the cup, wincing in pain as I'd do so. Despite it all, I'm playing my best round of the whole week -- maybe the searing pain is making me forget about my many swing flaws. I'm 4-over after 13 (which is ridiculously good for me) when the pain really starts to take over. I double-bogey a few holes and quit after 16.

A few hours and many Advil later, I finally make my way to the airport, fly to Chicago, and take a cab home through the snow. The next day, we desperately need to do some food shopping, but huge snow drifts in the alley behind the house have blocked the garage. Nevertheless, my wife and I try to back out the minivan, only to have it get stuck in the snow. The car is half in the garage and half out.

A few weeks earlier, my wife had undergone major ACL surgery. She was still in a cast and still on crutches. But my back was absolutely on fire and there was no way I could shovel snow. So while I sat in the driver's seat of the nicely warmed minivan, my poor wife was limping around trying to clear snow from under the tires.

A neighbor noticed a few minutes later and came over to help. He asked my wife: "Why isn't Mike shoveling?"

"He hurt his back really bad."

"Yeah, all this shoveling will do that to you."

And then my wife says: "He didn't hurt it shoveling. He hurt it playing golf in Florida all week. I could kill him."

Can't remember a lick about Jacksonville, but that's my Gator Bowl contribution.

 

Any time I go to Jacksonville, Clark's Fish Camp is a must. About 30 minutes South of downtown. Just be prepared to wait. Place is popular and packed.