7 October 2014 - to Orlando

It was with some reluctance that we bid farewell to lovely Jacksonville Beach.  We awoke to a beautiful sunrise, glowing in the east and then casting a magnificent sunbeam across the calm ocean.  It was worth the view to have such a lovely beginning to our day.

The water was again gorgeous and inviting.  After our morning walk, I was sorely tempted to put on my suit and return to the waves, but our plans dictated otherwise.  We packed our things,  loaded the Yukon and began the drive to Orlando.



We found the entire coast in this area a flat and attractive beach.
In many places no hotels were to be found, only wonderful beach houses right along the shore., From the beach the ground rises up a number of feet so the homes are up enough that it would take a large storm surge to reach them.  The beaches are all open to the public, but if you rented one of the beachfront homes, you might have most of the beach to yourselves, as the public access points are widely spaced.  On the way south we passed several beach communities and a large environmental reserve and research area. The beaches are still open there, but no  housing and the research area is across the road from the beach. We found one parking area, got out, crossed the road and walked to look at the beach.  Bear in mind that it is about 11 a.m. in the morning and this is how the beach looked.

This is the view looking south. Way off in the distance you might be able to see a couple of people on the beach.  The sand is a bit more course here and there are more shell fragments, but the beach is clean and nearly empty.  One lady with whom we talked indicated she likes this area so much better because the people are fewer and you see more wildlife. She mentioned just recently seeing a 15' hammerhead shark, jumping dolphins and now and then you can see a whale.  In the parking lot where we stopped, there were only 2 other cars and on the beach we only saw one, isolated fisherman, patiently watching his line, cast out beyond the breaking waves.  It looked quite peaceful and serene.

You  can see the high tide mark identified by the stalks of sea grass at the wave's edges close to the rising dunes.  We thought that this beach was most desirable because of the paucity of people.  With a couple of beach chairs and perhaps an umbrella, you could spend an uninterrupted rejuvenation time here.

Mom looked great standing silhouetted above the beach on the access walk.  I went down onto the beach  and found the shell of a horseshoe crab that had been washed ashore.  I took a picture with my hat beside it to give some perspective of how large it was.  I have not seen one this big before and I was impressed.

From here we drove on into St. Augustine, the oldest continually settled European settlement in North America.  Initially it was settled by the Spanish who used it as a base to go about 30 miles north and wipe out a competing French location.  Over time they strengthened the place and built a large fort out of native stone. The British, under Admiral Drake, attacked the town and burned it to the ground but could not defeat the fort. The fort was attacked several times but withstood the attacks and sieges.  However, eventually the British succeeded and drove the Spanish out.

This castillo is now a national monument but the parking was so atrocious we decided to skip going inside.  Another location was the archeological dig uncovering the earliest settlement and the Indian village with which it was associated. By legend, Ponce de Leon came here looking for the fountain of youth. It obviously kept him intact as he was still here for photos. 

I am sure this is an accurate appearance.  The person on the left has unfortunately not yet found the fountain.   This area is set up as a full blown tourist attraction (trap).  We elected not to go in to see the digs or the planetarium or the large world globe.   Instead we sought out the old St. Augustine lighthouse, built in 1873 and now restored.  It looks wonderful towering against the sky and was an ideal place for Freddy the Falcon to get photographed.

From here we headed down the coast and then took the I-4 freeway into Orlando. We will spend a couple of nights here and do the parks. I think that Mom will come along because I love to go to them.  Depending on how we handle these attractions will determine if we go on to Key West or just start back home.  We have had a wonderful trip and are again impressed with the magnitude and beauty and variety of this truly Promised Land.