Day 104 to Amelia Island (Fernandina Beach)

We bid a fond farewell to Ortega Landing (and Jacksonville) and headed down the St. Johns River to the IntraCoastal Waterway. The tide was going out so we "flew" along at nearly 10 mph. Our trip for the day was 47 miles with about half on the river and half going north on the waterway. After about an hour, the wind suddenly picked up to a brisk 15+ mph out of the northeast as a front came through as a dry, high pressure area with cooler air. Since our trip was east down the river and then north along the waterway, we were basically going into the wind. Since we were in narrow bodies of water, the waves were small, but the noise from the wind vibrating the fly bridge enclosure was pretty loud/annoying.

Our destination was the town of Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island. Fernandina Beach is the northernmost town on Florida's east coast. The waterway went through large areas of salt marsh with numerous small stream channels. Thanks to the early arrival of the railroad, Amelia Island has long been a resort area. However, by today's standards, it is somewhat isolated and has retained much of its nineteenth Century charm.

The first photo is of Main Street, which has over 25 restaurants and many stores in about 7 blocks. The Admiral really wanted to take my picture with this old anchor, and quite frankly I am worried that she has plans that involve both me and the anchor....



     We visited four stores and had dinner on the outdoor patio at a Mexican restaurant. We plan on staying here at least 2 nights so I can see us sampling several other restaurants as well as taking a swim in the Atlantic Ocean.

After dinner, we walked back through a local neighborhood , and passed many beautiful old homes. I particularly liked this one with a octagonal corner porch with carousel horses on the rails. We definitely plan to do more exploring on the electric scooters tomorrow.

The sunset over the mainland to the west was very pretty. Incidentally, when I said earlier that we were far north on Florida's east coast, I was not kidding. That mainland to the west is actually in the state of Georgia...