Fernandina Beach is another of those stops that "Everybody" makes along the Cruiser Highway. After leaving Jacksonville, we discovered that we were missing a card for our Chart Plotter for this part of the East Coast (I know, how did THAT happen?) and we would have to wait for a few days for the new one to arrive. Fernandina Beach, with it's inexpensive mooring field and close proximity to the Florida/Georgia border, looked like a great place to hang out!
After our rainy arrival (remember, we're still in Florida where it rains EVERY DAY!), we began to get the impression that the people at the Fernandina Harbor Marina were pretty laid back. That impression held true thoughout our stay here as the staff made us feel very welcome and couldn't have been more accommodating.
The marina is just on the other side of the ICW from the mooring field with this long fuel and transient dock. Even with the strong reversing currents that run through here, it's an easy on/easy off stop for fuel, water and pump out services.
We unloaded our bikes and parked them near the dinghy dock so that we could get around town a little quicker, although the main street runs just up from the marina, so we're right in the middle of the entertainment. The grocery store, however, is a couple of miles away so having the bicycles was VERY nice. We ended up staying just over a week here before moving on. We had great wi-fi and lots of things to do to pass the time.
The only thing even remotely wrong with this town is the view of, and smell emitting from this paper plant. It's fine when the wind blows the smell of burning 'something' in another direction, but when it comes your way... it permeates everything, leaving an odd burnt smell lingering in the air that we could still smell after the wind changed direction...
Awesome sunsets! |
We enjoyed the beautiful sunsets every day. There was nothing to restrict our view with the wide open landscape to the West of our mooring field. The dolphin rolled lazily at the water's surface adding to the gorgeous scene.
The railroad track ran between the marina and and the town. We grew accustomed to the daily sounds of the trains as they moved back and forth carrying 'something' to/from the paper plant... There is a bar in town that it is rumored, gives shots to the patrons every time the train goes by... but somehow, we never got there...
Before... |
Mud Flats where there had been water! |
We parked the dinghy at the dock and left for a few hours... and when we returned, we had THIS!
See the mud there at the edge of the dock? |
It left a trail of slimy icky muddy water... |
We learned our lesson and parked at the OTHER dinghy dock where there was plenty of water all day.
A quiet space tucked in between two buildings... |
I love the old buildings still in use. And there is NO shortage of churches. It seemed like there was literally one on every street...
Lesesne House |
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The Palace - Florida's Oldest Bar |
Why does this Lifeguard look to be about 12 years old?... |
They say that you should never try to do more than one thing in a day as Cruisers. This is very true when it comes to grocery shopping. We made several trips to the Winn Dixie and the Dollar Store right next door. We can only carry so much on our backs so we had to make several trips... But it's great exercise and we took a different route each trip so that we got to see a lot of the town. We rode down by the paper plant and the railroad tracks on the way home one day, and found this enormous pile of wood pulp. There was a machine blowing more on top of the pile. The air smelled of wood all the way to the mooring field. I wonder what happens to all that pulp when it rains?
All week long we kept an eye out for a good place to have our Anniversary dinner... We were married ten years ago on July 18th, 2004 and had a tradition of eating lobster on our anniversary. We've kind of let that go in recent years, but were looking for fish at least...
Angel Food Cake with strawberries and Amaretto Chocolate Liqueur. |
We did have some touristy fun while we were here... One day we rode our bikes to the Community Center to take the Amelia Island Lighthouse Tour. The lighthouse is Florida's oldest continually working light and it is very rustic.
They only offer a limited schedule of tours and we were lucky to be here during one of them. We rode the shuttle from the Community Center to the lighthouse. This site is set apart from the other lighthouses we've visited, (and there have been many...) by their lighthouse keeper, Helen O'Hagan Sintes. Helen is a third generation keeper and has lived in this lighthouse for her entire life. She is in her 80s and still climbs the stairs daily.
We weren't able to climb into the tower as it isn't safe for the public, but we got to take a peek inside the bottom. These stairs are made of stacked granite and there is no evidence of any type of supporting structure inside of them. They are just stacked in a spiral all the way to the top.
I'm not sure that I would have been able to climb them even IF we had been given the opportunity...
While we were in the neighborhood, we detoured to the entrance of Fort Clinch... but unfortunately we put it off this trip. The miles we had already traveled plus the additional three mile bike ride to get to the fort were more than I could do at the moment. Will have to save this one for our next visit here...
We always love a local farmer's market and were happy to walk through the stands set up all along one of the closed off side streets. The produce was beautiful and there were many other things we don't usually see such as locally made goat cheeses and meats.
We bought some veggies and I got my first taste of Georgia Peaches... YUM! Oh just the smell of them makes me swoon!
We also bought some more pastries... I know, I know... but they look so good!
We got our new map card and would have been ready to get out of Florida... Our insurance premium goes down the moment we cross the Florida/Georgia Border... and it's just moments away... But, we were delayed by some back pain that I experienced for about a solid five days. Luckily, we had something for it and I was able to get over it enough to pull my weight, so to speak on board and we were only delayed by a couple of days.
Fernandina Beach has a lot to offer and we will make it a regular stop on our way up and down the coast in the future. The Marina staff were so friendly and welcoming. The laundry and shower facilities were in great shape and very clean. The Cruiser's Lounge had deep leather couches and cold AC. The wi-fi was super-fast... there are just so many reasons why this spot is so very "Not Florida"... Gone are the wall to wall developments... Small town ways are prevalent here. It's really more like "South Georgia" than Florida... We haven't even left yet and it's already like we're somewhere else!
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