Hey Guys! After almost four months of hiding from winter in Florida, we’re down to our last two weeks in the Sunshine State. We spent two weeks in Jacksonville, FL. I’m not going to lie…we weren’t super impressed with the area we stayed in. The RV park had recently been purchased and was converting from a mobile home community to an RV park…so…it was kind of a dump. There were still mobile homes that looked like they should have been demolished twenty years ago, the roads around the park were filled with some of the biggest potholes we’ve seen, and the neighborhood was sketchy at best. But, we stayed anyway. We could tell the new owners were making strides to clean the park up and make it something less…scary. We saw them working hard every day we were there. And, we will probably give them another chance the next time we’re in the area.

We have quite a few adventures on our list for the Jacksonville area. We made it to several places, but couldn’t get to all of them.

Y’all know we love old Forts. We stopped by Fort Caroline National Memorial. Fort Caroline preserves the story of a sixteenth century French colonial settlement. The actual location of Fort Caroline has never been determined. The NPS has made a near full scale replica near the location they believe the original fort was. Honestly, there’s not much there. We did enjoy learning about the old French fort, but kind of expected more from a NPS unit.

Kingsley Plantation is part of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Perserve. When Zephaniah Kingsley first settled on Fort George Island, the plantation was only accessible by boat. The once one-thousand acre plantation had a cash crop of Sea Island cotton. This NPS unit shares the story of Zephaniah Kingsley, his wife Anna, and their children. Anna was once a slave of his. She and Zephaniah ended up having three children together and in 1811 he freed Anna and their three children. They all moved to the Kingsley Plantation together and Anna managed not only that plantation but several others they owned in the area. When Anna was freed in 1811 she acquired more land and slaves.

Today at the Kingsley Plantation you can walk around the now sixty acre NPS unit and learn about the stories of the people who used to live and work at the plantation. There are several buildings still standing and you can explore most of them.

Our favorite Jacksonville adventure was Fort Clinch State Park. The very first fortifications to sit on this site were started in 1736 and like most forts of that time, there were several different stages of fortifications before the construction of Fort Clinch was started in 1847. At the start of the Civil War the fort was only about 2/3 complete and didn’t have a single canon mounted yet. There was minimal work on the fort during the Civil War so it still wasn’t finished by the end of the war. Because of this, in 1869 the fort was abandoned and left empty. The US Army maintained the fort until the Spanish-American War when Fort Clinch was used as not only barracks for the soldiers, but also as an ammunition depot as well. Less than a year later the hostilities were over and the fort was abandoned once again. By 1926 the location was no longer thought to be of strategic value and the US Army sold the fort and its land to private buyers. In 1935 Fort Clinch became one of Florida’s first State Parks. At this point the CCC stepped in and started renovations. CCC Company 1420 built the campground, roads, and museum as well as the restoration of the fort itself. We’re fans of the CCC. We’ve come across their work all across our country and the stories they tell are always some of the most fascinating. It’s amazing that the work they did back then is still being utilized even today. Personally, I think our country could benefit from another program like the CCC.

Guys, this fort was so awesome. There were sooo many tunnels, and buildings, and walkways to explore! We had the best time learning the story of Fort Clinch!

We found another beach…well, there were tons of beaches, but we were specifically looking for a shelling beach. I can’t remember the name of the beach we ended up at, but there were quite a few shells. We didn’t find a huge variety…we might have been there too late for that…but we found enough to fill up a big ziplock! We now have quite the collection of Florida shells. If I have time, I’ll put together a post on how we clean and preserve our shells.

I know this is going to come as a shock, but we found some foodies. Just a few. Ha! The best/worst one was Toby’s BBQ. It was the best because the food was stellar…it was the worst because it was literally right across the street from where we were staying. So…we ate there a few times. Oh! And Toby’s gives you a free dessert with every meal. I mean…it was free…we had to eat it, right?

Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park isn’t in Jacksonville…it’s in Tallahassee. We stopped for a visit while we were on the way to Alabama, but I thought I’d stick it in with this post. Guys, this place… So. Many. Pretties! And, the best part about this SP…there are pretties that bloom all year! This SP was once the winter home of Alfred Maclay and his wife who were, like us, hiding from the winter in Florida. The Maclay’s bought the property in 1923 and set out to create the beautiful gardens you can walk through today. The SP is used as a setting for weddings and events throughout the year, but the most popular season is around February/March when the camellias are in full bloom. In fact, the day we went, there were two weddings taking place later that day.

And that, Guys, is the end of our Florida winter! It’ll be two years before we head toward the east coast again. I’m not sure when we’ll winter in Florida again…it’s difficult to find places…but, really, it’s hard to find places that will take us in Arizona (which is another great place to hide from the cold) for the winter too…so, we’ll see!

See y’all down the road!

#hidingfromthecold