We left Lake Charles, Louisiana and drove east on I-10 to Fernandina Beach, Florida where we stayed at Fort Clinch State Park. The campground was just a hundred yards off the beach which most days we had almost to ourselves. The drive into the park is called the historic canopy road with hundreds of sea oaks covered with Spanish moss forming a tunnel through the entire five-mile drive. The Fort was built to protect the mouth of the St Mary's River which makes up the border of Florida and Georgia. It was active through WW11 and then it was handed over to the state and they turned the area into the park.
The Park had plenty of wildlife and we saw many Gopher Turtles, a lot of deer including the 8 point Buck in the picture below, and lots of shore birds.
As luck would have it for Josie, the town of Fernandina was having an off season shrimp festival. It is usually held on the first weekend of May, but due to covid they had to cancel it for the past two years. So, they decided to throw a mini festival this fall. We had to try the Shrimp Pie that was offered by the local Vietnam Veterans Association. A few nights later we had a drink at the Palace Saloon, the oldest bar in Florida. We followed that up with a fantastic meal and boat drinks at the Thirsty Pelican down on the waterfront.
The Park had plenty of wildlife and we saw many Gopher Turtles, a lot of deer including the 8 point Buck in the picture below, and lots of shore birds.
As luck would have it for Josie, the town of Fernandina was having an off season shrimp festival. It is usually held on the first weekend of May, but due to covid they had to cancel it for the past two years. So, they decided to throw a mini festival this fall. We had to try the Shrimp Pie that was offered by the local Vietnam Veterans Association. A few nights later we had a drink at the Palace Saloon, the oldest bar in Florida. We followed that up with a fantastic meal and boat drinks at the Thirsty Pelican down on the waterfront.
It was great to get back to the coast and see shorebirds again. I found a nice mixed flock of Skimmers, Terns, Willets, Turnstones and Sanderlings out on the point in the park and they were very cooperative. A juvenile Royal Tern, who was begging for food from a parent had a band on it and I reported it to Fish and Wildlife. Turns out the bird was banded at Fort Wool just off the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel in Virginia on July 10th of this year. Very exciting that it came right from our old back yard.
Our next stop down the coast was Sebastian Inlet State Park. A very nice campground but the no-see-ums and swamp gas rotten egg smell when the wind blew from the south made sitting outside impossible. We came here to check out the Melbourne, Sebastian and Vero Beach area as a place to settle down in a few years.
On one of our days here we drove up Highway 1 to Titusville and checked out a few antique stores along the way. after that we had dinner at the Dixie Crossroads, one of our favorite restaurants, where the specialty is Rock Shrimp. Rock Shrimp look like miniature lobsters and they are very tasty. On another afternoon we found Waldo's restaurant and bar right on the beach in Vero Beach, where we had boat drinks and listened to a live band. The local brewery had a name we had to look up on Google and if you are curious to what it means you can look it up too. Besides a good porter and stout, they also served tater tot poutine, a great twist on a Canadian dish.
On one of our days here we drove up Highway 1 to Titusville and checked out a few antique stores along the way. after that we had dinner at the Dixie Crossroads, one of our favorite restaurants, where the specialty is Rock Shrimp. Rock Shrimp look like miniature lobsters and they are very tasty. On another afternoon we found Waldo's restaurant and bar right on the beach in Vero Beach, where we had boat drinks and listened to a live band. The local brewery had a name we had to look up on Google and if you are curious to what it means you can look it up too. Besides a good porter and stout, they also served tater tot poutine, a great twist on a Canadian dish.
Just down island from the park is the nation's first National Wildlife Refuge, Pelican Island, founded in 1903. The Jungle Trail, and 8-mile road passes through the refuge and it is a nice drive. The birds were not as cooperative as I would have hoped but I will blame it on the hot and humid weather. I also came across many spiders along the trails. The most prevalent one being the Golden Ord Web Spider. I also found a unique plant in the dunes that looked like a spider.
Our final stop on the Florida coast, was Hobe Sound and Jupiter. This is also an area we were looking at to one day settle down in. We stayed at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, between Hobe Sound and Jupiter. The highest natural point in south Florida, "Hobe Mountain" is located in the park and we had to laugh that they called an 80 foot high dune a mountain. We did climb the tower a few evenings to watch the sunset and the full moon rise. The Park has a growing population of rare and endangered Florida Scrub Jays, and I was able to find at least seven of them, all with bands on.
We drove highway A1A down the length of Jupiter Island, which is home to many of the pro golfers including Tiger Woods and soon to be Phil Michelson. We would love to show you some of the many waterfront mansions but the whole road is bordered by high hedges and you really can't see any houses. After the drive we enjoyed a couple of boat drinks and a great dinner on the river with the beautiful Jupiter Lighthouse across the river.
Cathy told us about a restaurant called Leftovers that she and Scott had eaten at on a visit to Jupiter We found out that it and its sister restaurant the Food Shack were the top two restaurants in Jupiter. She recommended the Sweet Potato Encrusted Daily Catch. Glad she did as it was very good. Our friend Robert said we should try Harry and The Natives restaurant in Hobe Sound. We had a great lunch there on our last day in town.
Tomorrow we move to Delray Beach for the next 6 months.
We drove highway A1A down the length of Jupiter Island, which is home to many of the pro golfers including Tiger Woods and soon to be Phil Michelson. We would love to show you some of the many waterfront mansions but the whole road is bordered by high hedges and you really can't see any houses. After the drive we enjoyed a couple of boat drinks and a great dinner on the river with the beautiful Jupiter Lighthouse across the river.
Cathy told us about a restaurant called Leftovers that she and Scott had eaten at on a visit to Jupiter We found out that it and its sister restaurant the Food Shack were the top two restaurants in Jupiter. She recommended the Sweet Potato Encrusted Daily Catch. Glad she did as it was very good. Our friend Robert said we should try Harry and The Natives restaurant in Hobe Sound. We had a great lunch there on our last day in town.
Tomorrow we move to Delray Beach for the next 6 months.
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