Fernandina Beach and the St John's River Ferry

Saturday January 29, 2022 -  It was a sunny "warmish" day, so we decided to go to Fernandina Beach, on Amelia Island, for the afternoon.  We found a pizza place for lunch and then walked around the nice little downtown.  We then drove by the house used in the American Pippi Longstocking movies.  Elaine loved the Pippi movies when she was a kid.  We didn't see a horse on the front porch, so I don't think Pippi lives there any more, but it was fun to see Villa Villakulla.  Next we stopped at the Amelia Island lighthouse. The plaque said that it's the westernmost lighthouse on the east coast of the United States.  

Peg Leg Pete stands guard in front of the Fernandina Beach Harbor.  Amelia Island was a haven for pirates in the 1700's.

Downtown Fernandina Beach

Yummy Arte Pizza in Fernandina Beach

Villa Villakulla

Amelia Island Lighthouse

Sunday January 30, 2022 - It was a really chilly morning, the low last night was 28 degrees!  This part of Florida doesn't normally get this cold.  The rangers had to turn all the water facets on in the campground so they didn't freeze.  By the afternoon it was in the low 60s, so we went for a walk on the beach, and then a bike ride through the park

 

A tortoise sunning itself outside it's nest, next to the beach boardwalk

The tortoise in the sand dunes

pretty water patterns on the beach

Little Talbot has a beautiful, several mile bike trail that runs through the park

Snacks and the Chiefs vs Bengals game

Monday January 31, 2022 -  Another beautiful sunny day, so of course another bike ride.  Right inside the park gate there is a hike/bike trail that goes through the woods and circles around with a ride on the beach and back to the ranger station.  It's about a 6 mile bike ride and more of a challenge since quite a bit of the trail is on sand.  We took our lunch with us and when we reached the beach had lunch and did a crossword puzzle while we enjoyed watching the pelicans crashing into the water catching fish.  At sunset we did a little fishing from the dock in the campground. 

bike ride through the woods

Pretty flowers along the trail   

lunch on the beach

beach bike ride

View of the salt marsh from the campground

The campground road

More pelicans fishing

Beautiful Sunset from the campground

Fishing from the dock

Fishing at sunset

Tuesday February 1, 2022 - On our last day at Little Talbot, we rode our bikes to the St Johns River Ferry (a 12 mile bike ride, round trip) and took the ferry across the river to the Safe Harbor Restaurant.  The ferry connects up the north and south ends of Florida State Road A1A.  It was $1 for each of us to ride the ferry with our bikes and was about a 5 minute trip.  Lunch was great, Kev got a crab cake and some fish bites, I don't really like seafood, so had a really good burger and fries. 

They lined us up, right behind the cars

We were the last ones on and the ferry wasn't very full

Riding off the ferry

Kev's crabcake

My burger

Safe Harbor Seafood

The ferry ride back was a little more crowded

Last Day at Grayton, Next Stop, Little Talbot Island

Tuesday January 25, 2022 - Our last day in Grayton Beach was sunny and relatively warm, so we enjoyed a last walk on the state park's beautiful beach.  For dinner we decided to bike to the town of Grayton Beach for dinner at the Red Bar.  It was a 2 mile bike ride with the majority of the ride on a bike trail, so we were able to ride back to the campground after dark using our bike lights.  

Western Lake is pretty flat today, wish we had our kayaks

beautiful day at the beach

Interesting front door of the Red Bar

All the light bulbs in red bar are red bulbs

Smoked tuna and beers

 Wednesday January 26, 2022 - Today we left Grayton Beach and headed to Little Talbot State Park near Jacksonville (a 5 hour drive).  We had camped at Little Talbot 3 years ago and were eager to camp here again, since we enjoyed our stay.  The campground is in the process of being renovated, and most sites don't have electric during the upgrade.  I guess this kept most RVers from staying here, as we are the only ones camping in the RV loop!  It's nice to have the campground to ourselves.  

Site 26 at Little Talbot.  We'll use our generator while we cook breakfast and dinner and we'll use our propane for heat at night.

love the trees covered in Spanish moss

The back side of the campground is on a salt marsh that rises and falls with the tide.  Last time we were here we kayaked the salt marsh out to the bay.  We had to pick a time when the tide was on it's way in to be sure we didn't get stuck in the muck that's left when the tide goes out.

Little Talbot salt marsh

Friday January 28, 2022 - This morning the ranger stopped by to tell us we could move to site 29, which is their emergency site.  It has electric and he said since the next few nights are going to be so cold we might want electric.  It doesn't really matter to us, since we have propane for heat, but it is more convenient to have electric.   After lunch we biked to Amelia Island, there is a nice trail along A1A the Timucuan Trail.  It goes through Big Talbot Island State Park and then connects up with Amelia Island over a huge bridge over the river that leads to the Nassau Sound.  

Timucuan Trail

Boardwalk over another salt marsh.  We saw a king fisher and a heron.

Coffee and a cinnamon roll after 9 miles of biking.  Only 9 miles back to our campsite

A hike out to Boneyard Beach

Boneyard Beach

This beach is full of oak and cypress trees

3 miles of beach along the Nassau Sound

It's Rainy & Cold in Grayton Beach

 Thursday, January 20, 2022 - The rain was supposed to start this afternoon, so we got a nice walk in this morning.  We then headed to a poker room, so Kevin could play some poker and I could catch up on some reading.  He came in third in the tournament, so he was pretty happy with a rain day.

The rain is coming...

Friday January 21, 2022 - Another day of rain.  So we hung out in the RV, watched TV, read, played games and made some yummy crock pot lasagna.

I used my usual lasagna recipe but layered the noodles in, uncooked.  Cooked it on low for 4-5 hours

Saturday January 22, 2022 - It finally stopped raining, so we had a nice walk on the beach, in the morning.  By the afternoon, we even saw the sun!  We took a 10 mile bike ride and picked up a few things at the grocery store.

Looks like snow in the background

A gray day on the beach, but at least it's not raining

K is for Kevin (or maybe its a 4 armed starfish)

Sunday, January 23, 2022 -  It was 32 degrees and sunny when we woke up this morning.  The field behind our campsite was covered in frost.  We hit the laundry early and then had a nice sunny walk on the beach. 

frost-covered field

Tiny, at the end of the secret path

I love it when the state park we are staying at, has a washer and dryer!

Sunny beach day