Art Walk

On the first Wednesday of every month downtown Jacksonville museums, galleries, restaurants, bars, and businesses play host to Art Walk, a parading of Jacksonville's more creative side featuring various works of art by local residents.

I've been aware of Art Walk's existence for a couple years now and had been planning to go for the past few months but something always came up or it simply slipped my mind. Firmly resolving to attend the June 6th festivities, I recruited two coworkers to accompany me in my adventures and headed off towards downtown.

While not teeming with people (does downtown ever get crowded?) I was surprised to see so many people walking the city streets. Downtown Jacksonville always seems so desolate or post-apocalyptic and that is a major part of its appeal to me but it was nice to see a sizable amount of people wandering around. We meandered through a few galleries, whispering our opinions, listening to the musicians on the sidewalks, and grabbing food and drinks here and there but my mind was mostly occupied with the task of just absorbing the dynamics of it all. I'm not fond of crowds and large gatherings but this was a different situation, a much more fascinating romp than the typical mass assembly. Perhaps the atmosphere was so much more enjoyable because there was really no single point of focus nor a single motivator. Multiple reasons to be there and many things to do.

My favorite part of the experience was the wonderful opportunity it afforded me to wander around downtown and observe the strange mingling of modern and historical architecture, boring and beautiful buildings, and crumbling structures amid new construction.

There is never a cost for admittance and you can probably snag a few snacks and drinks for free or a small donation but be prepared to do a lot of walking. As I understand it, there's typically an after party and this time it was at Mark's on E. Bay Street where turning in your flyer got you one free drink, a nice cap to the night.

Now that I've experienced Art Walk and discovered how enjoyable it can be I'll be sure to make arrangements to attend in the coming months.

Art Walk
100 N Laura St. (art walk headquarters)
Jacksonville, FL 32202

Alpine Groves Park

Alpine Groves Park is a nice little nature preserve stretching between SR13 and the St. Johns River in the Switzerland area. The best way to get there is to head south down San Jose from 295 until you're sure you're completely lost and should turn back... it'll be about a mile or two after that.

Whoever named the park was a little confused as there is nothing "alpine" about the place nor anything else in Florida but perhaps it's a reference to it being located in the Switzerland region. Regardless of the semantic gaffe, Alpine Groves Park is a nice place for any nature or history lover to spend a few hours.

Up front there is a butterfly garden stocked with some beautiful flowers to attract nectar loving insects (great fare for photographers). Plenty of picnic tables make Alpine Groves a good place for a picnic and for parents of young ones there is a shaded playground.

In our walk along the trail to the river and back we encounter quite a few wildlife specimens including a hawk and an eyed click beetle. At the end of the trail there are some old buildings that are currently being renovated and a lovely view of the St. Johns River. The kayak ramp looks like a good way to get into the river if you can get over the fear of being attacked by alligators.

I don't know any of the details as the information on the website is severely lacking but there seems to be regular events held down around the historic buildings and pavilion. Nice little park for those looking to spend a leisurely day outside.

Alpine Groves Park

Anheuser Busch Brewery Tour

At a loss for things to do on a scorching Saturday (the beach is no place for near-albinos like us) we jumped in the car and headed to the Northside for a tour of the Jacksonville Anheuser Bush factory.

The tour itself is mostly lackluster, the details I would love to have heard about are glossed over but there are a few interesting tidbits thrown in. For instance, I was not aware that Budweiser was made with rice in addition to the barley malt and that the cheaper beers often contain corn meal. The most interesting part of the tour for me was seeing the immense scale of the equipment used, a far cry from the home brew kits I've looked at. The bottling and packaging area is fascinating with its snaking conveyor belts carrying bottles from station to station for pasteurizing, cleaning, labeling, and boxing. Unfortunately, I couldn't take any pictures of the process because people work in there and photography is therefore forbidden. Some of the historical tidbits are interesting and sure to please those interested in the stories of America's past.

After the tour you are brought to the hospitality room where you are given two samples (about half a pint each, which is quite a mighty sample if you ask me) from the many alcoholic beverages they either have on tap or in bottles. Energy drinks are also available and don't count towards the two samples.

With our four samples between us we tried Wild Blue, a blueberry infused beer, Landshark, a new offering that has been steadily increasing in popularity, Shocktop, a Belgian-influenced wheat beer, and Red Bridge, a brew made from Sorghum instead of barley or wheat for those with allergies to those grains. Wild Blue wasn't too bad but not something I'd drink again. It reminded me of an inferior Belgian fruit lambic. The popularity of Landshark is beyond me. I thought it was going to be similar to Corona in flavor but instead inspired thoughts of kidney filtered Budweiser; pure garbage. We like wheat ales and have had Shock Top before so there were no surprises there. Pleasant flavor, slightly grainy unfiltered texture; definitely the best beer I've had from Anheuser Busch. The Redbridge was also nice, particularly considering the source. The sorghum lends an interesting flavor to this red lager which is reminiscent of a sweeter Irish Red. Overall, the hospitality room is a nice finale to the intriguing and occasionally fascinating tour... just be careful not to stumble out of there if you're a featherweight like us.

Tours run every half hour between 10am and 4pm, Monday through Saturday. Check it out if you enjoy beer, manufacturing, history, or are just bored on your day off.

Anheuser Busch Jacksonville Brewery Tour
111 Busch Dr.
Jacksonville, FL 32218
904-696-8373