America's Favorite Cities

[Skot David Wilson]

I don't know about biscuts, but there sure are a lot of Gringos sucking up gravy!

[NJ to JAX WHAT DID I DO?]

I recently had family come to visit and they wanted to go to the beach (shore) and St. Augustine.  Maybe Jacksonville could expand to include Jax Beaches and St. Augustine......then it would have some character!!

And lets face it if Jax is trying to sell its southern style to people that is bullshit!  Savannah, Charleston, etc. already have it....they do it better.  And why would I go on vacation to experience southern hospitality anyways???  Jacksonville can only sell its weather, proximity to the ocean, and it could sell the river too!  If downtown had some businesses open past 330 pm, people might actually come for a vacation as well.  Lets forget about the strip malls all over the southside for a while and focus on a true vacation in Jax.....in the downtown!!

Lets picture this for a vacation day in Jax:

Stay overnight in a waterfront hotel with a view of the lit up skyline and the river.  Wake up and have brunch at a downtown cafe.  Then maybe visit a downtown art or history museum.  After that, around mid afternoon, walk down to the riverfront to board a river/ocean dinner cruise boat.  Cruise down the St. John's on the deck of a cruise boat sipping cocktails while dinner is being prepared on the ship.  The cruise continues out to the Atlantic where dinner is served on board (locally caught seafood with locally grown fruits and vegetables).  Then just before sunset, the cruise makes its way back up the St. John's for viewing of the sunset in the west over the skyline and for dolphins jumping out of the waters of the St. John's.  Once docked back downtown, the day can continue late into the evening at a wine bar/raw bar/cocktail bar in the downtown area within walking distance of the hotel.


Ok now that the dream is over...back to reality and ask the real question.
Would this work for Jax......as a vacation draw?  I think the water/weather is its most feasible vacation draw.  Southern culture and college football will not put Jax on the map.....taking advantage of the water around here might.

[Ocklawaha]

Jacksonville: "The Coffee Scented-Aluminum Carport-Vinyl Siding-Strip Plaza-FUBAR with a Southern Accent, Capital of the Nation?"

How's this one Lake? It really begs the question, how do we get out of this!

Ocklawaha

[I-10east]

Maybe Jacksonville could expand to include Jax Beaches and St. Augustine......then it would have some character!!

You say Jax Beaches, and St Augie like they're so damn far from Jax; THEY'RE IN THE DAMN METRO AREA FOR GOODNESS SAKES!! I can catch a city bus to Jax Beach if I wanna! Why Jax is the only city that act like if something as if a hair follicle outta the city limits, that "It doesn't count"? St Augie, Orange Park, Middleburg, Callahan, Baldwin and Jax Beaches, are JAX, and anyone acting like they aren't are fooling themselves. 

[thelakelander]

I-10, what can we do to make the inner city more attractive?

[Skot David Wilson]

Come To Jacksonville!
Experience The Worst of Human Behavior Yourself!
You, too, can get that "just arrested" feeling you witness on such shows as C.O.P.S. and Tales of the Highway Patrol!
Witness crack whores selling their wares!
See the street people pushing all their worldly belongings in shopping carts!
Be accousted for money by drunks outside of convenience stores!
Stay in an actual hotel where displaced families are living, six to a room, and watch as the police visit on a domestic call!
Sleep in the very rooms where crack dealers hide out from the police!
Hear the gunshots!
Watch as police evidence vans run more yellow tape around another senseless killing!
Try to have a conversation with one of our many high school drop outs! You have a 4 out of 10 chance of meeting one!
For an enhanced experience, visit the mayor's office, where corruption occurs on almost a daily basis, and no one does anything about it....
Visit our new CourtHouse....coming soon, as soon as hell freezes over!
For environmentalists, come see token efforts to go green as the St Johns river turns green from a bloom... be careful not to breathe too deeply!
Take home a sample of the St Johns.... It makes a wonderful chemical solvent!
See a historic structure, but hurry while supplies last, they are "selling out" quickly... or being sold out, take your pick!
You can visit the Busch and Bacardi plants for free tours and samples... you'd have to be drunk to deal with the shock of the visit.
You will consider it your best trip ever, because anywhere you go back to will seem much better than when you left!
It will make you appreciate home!
You will experience the best feeling of your life, as you hit the city limits on the way home and say to yourself
"I'm Glad That's Over!"

[Ocklawaha]

Okay, this doesn't give us the win all, and save all, for downtown. But it would bounce off the Temple on the Northbank and reflect it onto the Southbank. Maybe the JEA site? How about a Hard Rock Hotel - Casino? Another type of Casino - Hotel or entertainment complex. So one has to close your eyes and use your head to really "see" this picture... Maybe 20-30 floors high? Gold? Lush tropical landscape look? A hotel to stop hearts?

Behold:



...and yes, I'm seldom very serious...but I'm VERY SERIOUS NOW. Could we think outside of the BOX?

Ocklawaha

[big ben]

don't forget the dat'l dew hot sauce from st. augustine.  i don't think it's that hot, though.

[Jason]

I love Datil Pepper hot sauce.  Not too mild and not too hot.

[raheem942]

well if more people vist us then more might like us

[JeffreyS]

What Jacksonville has is a unique combination of attractions. The beach, the river, fantastic golf, historic St. Augustine and a downtown with some a new concert venue, the NFL, new high rise residences, a growing night life surrounded by a few cool urban neighborhoods. I wish we had not turned our nose up at Bush Gardens. I also wish we had a better way to shuttle tourists around this spread out city. Anyone at this website ever give any thought to that?