We had three & 1/2 days to explore more of Florida. Danny’s been home about 3 weeks, so it was time for the both of us to go someplace new together & to celebrate our 48th wedding anniversary. We started this Saturday morning cheering on Emma on the soccer field, then a couple of hours later rooting for Claire at her softball game….the girls are super fun to watch at this age. Then we hugged goodbye for three days…we’d see them on Wednesday. We had a our vehicles packed up so we headed north to a part of Florida we’ve never been to (I’ve been to Jacksonville, but never to these state parks or Jax Beach area),
We have been to St. Augustine before…last December we came to their very popular Christmas light event….us & millions of others. So, it wasn’t super enjoyable & we said we wanted to come back. So, here we are on an uncrowded Saturday night. Such an interesting old old city.
Our first choice for dinner was a 45 minute wait on this Saturday night, so we ate at the Columbia Restaurant. I love their bean soup! We ordered tapas & their warm bread is delicious! I’ve eaten at the original one in Ybor City a couple of times & Danny & I went there for Mother’s Day last year to the one in Kissimmee. Pretty pricey for me, but I do love their food & the ambiance of the place. We sat out in the courtyard…the evening was lovely.
This is the second time we’ve visited the Tini-Martini bar. The waitress messed up my order, so we ended up with a free martini. They are soooooo good…such a fun place to sit & visit!
Even though the sun had set, we toured the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. Kind of fun walking around it in the dark.
We stayed in a hotel for the night since the state park campground near here was booked & I couldn’t find any other camping except RV parks.
We left St. Augustine & drove north about an hour towards Jacksonville & over to the island state parks in the area. We couldn’t check into our campground for a few hours, so we unloaded the bikes & took the Timucuan trail from Big Talbot Island State Park over to Amelia Island State Park.
We packed the bikes away & drove north to explore the town of Amelia Island.
We thought this brewery name was great for our anniversary trip! And the beer was really good!
I chose the Salty Pelican for lunch because it was waterside, got good reviews & touted it’s fresh local shrimp & fish. I had the shrimp tacos & Danny had the fish & chips. The shrimp was good & fresh, but the tacos were not that great….I’ve eaten a lot of fish tacos in my travels. These rank near the bottom. I ended up just eating the shrimp & fries. Danny felt about the same way about his fish & chips. A bit later we’d both have some tummy trouble & I think it was from this food. I think it’s caused by everything that’s fried is done so in the same fryers. Ick! Wished I’d made a better choice, but next time we’ll know where not to go. The view was nice though!
Our next stop was Ft. Clinch State Park. I’m not big on touring forts, but I wasn’t sure what Danny’s preferences are….sometimes you just have to travel more to figure that out, or sometimes it’s just a matter of how interesting you think a certain fort will be. Note: the fee to get into the state park does not include the fee to tour the fort (this should have been noted at the front…tiny pet peeve for me).
But, we toured the buildings which included some barracks, a jail, an office, latrine & kitchens. Like I said, I’m not a fan, but the views from the cannon areas over the water were pretty beautiful!
The old drawbridge.
My fave part of the fort, was this circular brick stairwell.
Looking from the fort over to Cumberland Island. That was where I originally wanted to take Danny on this trip, but the stupid Government shut down also shut down that idea. Next time!
The Mocama Beer Company in an old car dealer but decorated so cool with a mid-century modern style. Love it. The beer was decent, but I enjoyed the details of the decorated space the most!
The little river we’re camped by called Simpsons Creek at sunset….
& just a few minutes later it turned to this!
We hopped on our bikes early this morning & rode across the road to the beach to watch the sunrise. Only ones there & it was high tide, but always love the Florida sunrises & sunsets!
We were camping for two nights at Little Talbot Island State Park campground. It’s a small campground next to the river & there were very few of us there. We’re each staying in our own vehicles, but set up a tent in case of rain & to store the bikes & chairs in while we’re gone for the day. We did meet a super friendly neighbor or kind of a whack job or at the least a very eccentric hippy guy….depending on how you look at it. You just never know who you’re going to meet while exploring.
Now that we have the freedom to travel together..we can’t figure it out. Years ago, Danny suggested when this time came in our lives, we take two vehicles. I thought (& still do) it was a great idea. I know it would put off some couples to not be together 24/7, but the way we camp, the places we like to go, & all kinds of other pluses, I think this was a great idea. But, Danny has since changed his mind. We are not RVers…they can't go where we like to go & the mainentance is a pain & we have no where to store anything. Our compromise would be a pop up truck camper. Super pricey though & his truck is only 1/2 ton truck. So, this was trip was a bit of an experiment to see how it might be to travel like this. We took our bikes (which we would not do on a cross country trip unless we had a super heavy duty swing rack for his truck), so we were packed tight. I don’t think we figured anything out. I guess we’ll just wait & see what happens when spring hits & we’re ready to leave for the summer.
Today we were going to check out Jax Beach & Atlantic beach areas. Taking the little car ferry over to Jax Beach.
I was super excited to find there was a Poe's Tavern in Atlantic Beach. I’ve been to the one on Sullivan’s Island in SC, years ago & it was a kind of magical experience. I’ve always wanted to go back. But, they have expanded & now have 4 locations (I think I must get to the other two!). I was hoping this one would have a cool fun vibe instead of just another ordinary restaurant. I wasn’t disappointed! This large “Gold Bug” tile at the entrance is a nod to Poe’s story about the beetle.
I love the un-matched hodge-podge table & chairs & all the Poe decor (even in the bathroom)! We had a burger & it was super good…really flavorful!
The bathroom walls are lined with pages out of Poe's books & instead of piped in music, someone is reading his stories….love it! And, I came away with a t-shirt (I also have one from the SC location) #nolongeraminimalist
The Florist in me always loves to see these amazing flowers growing in the wild.
Jackson Beach pier.
We’d heard about this brewery in an old ink factory in Jax Beach, so we tried it. It was a lonely place on a Monday afternoon, but the beer was good.
Hard to find a good stout. Love the head on this one & also the glass!
We were cutting it close on time, but I wanted to find Boneyard Beach. I love these driftwood beaches! This was in Big Talbot Island State Park.
We had to hustle a bit on this short hike because they lock the gates at sunset. I would have enjoyed spending more time at this really cool beach.
We had a nice quiet evening in camp with a fire & a cocktail.
It was the last day of our short trip, so we spent part of the morning, packing up camp, breaking down the bikes & loading it all up.
We took the car ferry again. I love it when I can screen shot something like this!
We stopped at the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve, not really having any clue what it was, I’d just seen it on the map. We paid & looked around the Visitors Center & talked with a super knowledgable enthusiastic volunteer. It sounds like a place to go back to at different times of year. They have all kinds of research going on & education programs. They have a huge variety of marine life in the estuary, rivers & ocean that are all part of this conservation area.
We took a short hike over to the river.
On our way back home we went back through St. Augustine. We stopped at a place for lunch a friend had told me about….Cannon & Flask Tiki bar which also serves pizza. The drinks were fun (I love Tiki bars), the bartender was super nice & friendly too. Since it was our first time, they gave us a really good stromboli & the pizza we ordered was yummy too. There a 3 or 4 more of these bars spread out around parts of north Florida, each pizza location has a different themed bar. I think I need to visit all of them!
Our last stop on the trip was to the Washington Oaks Gardens State Park. This was a rather underwhelming stop. The gardens weren’t very impressive, the Visitors Center & Gift shop weren’t open, the fee to enter was a bit of a pain in the ass to pay online, buildings along the numbered walk were sectioned off & we were unable to see them, etc. But, not every place you explore is a winner. But, I do love Tiki-type yard art….this was my fave thing in the whole place.
We left the park & drove across the road in search of the Coquina rock formations I’d read about. These rocks are formed from when shells dissolve forming a cement like substance gluing other shells & sand into a soft rock. They were used for building in the area & around St. Augustine. They are mostly found along this east coast. We could see them stretched all the way up the beach.
One of the unusual facts about the Coquina rocks, are these very round formations in the rock.
We got home after dark & unpacked a little.
10.22 Our Wedding Anniversary!
Corny, I know, but I love a party & an opportunity to have fun with Emma & Claire. So, after we got home last night & before unpacking, I baked this tiny cake.
This morning, I used my kindergarten decorating skills to make it festive. We have the girls every Wednesday on early release day, which we both always look forward to.
We’d dug out 4 tiny pieces of our wedding china & crystal goblets & the printed napkins from our wedding with our names & the date (these pesky napkins have just kept multiplying over the years…no matter how often I use them, there are always more & more left!) We played “Wedding Trivia” with questions & answers about our wedding & honeymoon. Then we looked through our old rather delapidated wedding album. Claire really enjoyed that reading each item we’d been gifted—showers & for the wedding. I was surprised how she interested she looked at all the details. But, it was fun & a good memory making time & in the end, both girls learned a little bit more of our normal rather boring history…but it’s ours.
The Wellborn is less than a mile from our house & it’s a magical place to sit & relax & have a cocktail. I’d come here a couple times before Covid when I was just visiting & after the girls had gone to bed at night. But this was Danny’s first time here & we thought it was a nice way to end our Anniversary celebrations.
We ordered Tapas & cocktails…it was yummy! This place has brought back their Happy Hour so we'll definitely be walking back here for cocktails sometime! However, there won’t be “getting to know the staff here’ or any fun interactions. They have a very anti-social ordering/paying process. You get delivered water, then use an app to order, order more if desired, then pay that way. You only see someone when they initially deliver a carafe of water & your food, but that’s it. That’s a bummer but oh well, life is more anti-social now than ever.
Yep…this is what we looked like 48 years ago today! So many lifetimes ago, but absolutely no regrets on this decision made when we were 18 & 19.
