More Time in Florida

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Our time with Josh, Jen and the grandsons was wonderful. And to have Kim there as well was icing on the cake. But we did do other things than just play with the grandkids and cook for the kids and project around Josh's house.

We went to Chamberlains Used Book store. This is a huge 55,000 square foot store with books of all types crammed on shelves. It is mostly used books with some new and also videos and audio books. All books are categorized and in a "reasonably" logical spot. But the staff is very helpful and most have a pretty good idea of what they have and where it is. Maps in the store abound and we have often wandered in and out of the various annexes and sections for hours. I was able to get books to complete the Newt Gingrich Trilogy on the Civil War and Trish found some paperback editions of the Mother West Wind stories. If you love books, and ever get to the Jacksonville area, make sure to put this on your list of places to stop.

Another day we drove to Fort Caroline, on the St Johns River. This was where the French landed in the 1500s and established a colony. Actually, they had one here and another near Parris Island, SC. (We had visited that site earlier this year in the spring. Not an intentional visit to these places, just happenstance.) Fort Caroline is now a National Park and in addition to the visitor center, they have a recreation of the fort and an Indian shelter. There is no clear evidence of where the settlers actually built the fort, nor even of what the fort actually looked like. All the reconstruction is based on letters and diaries that have been found. But the real significance is that this is also the site of the massacre by the Spanish. St. Augustine, to the south, is the FIRST city in the US. It was established by the Spanish. When they heard the French were trying to settle just 50 miles north, they mounted an expedition and set out to have a fight.

The French militia sailed away to get help and then headed south. They got caught in a storm and blown ashore south of St. Augustine. The Spanish found them and killed all the men. They had killed most of the men in Fort Caroline who were left there as well. So between the various battles (slaughters) and the weather, the French gave up trying to settle in the Florida area. It's all very gruesome and one can only imagine the hardships the early settlers endured. What we found interesting was the French were very much like the early New England settlers; half or more were NOT looking for gold or riches, but were fleeing religious persecution in France. These were the French Huguenots, Protestants, who did not want to be forced to obey the Pope in Rome. Of course, the fact that Spain was a Catholic country led to further conflict and issues. So religion was really at the heart of the fights and killings.

Following the historical visit, we headed to Mayport, where we tried a new seafood restaurant. Food was excellent (steamed clams, boiled shrimp, fried oysters), but the level of noise from the rock station was not pleasant and the view of the river was hidden by sitting low and behind a number of fishing boats. We stuffed ourselves and then headed back to Josh, Jen and the young'ens.

Josh had to work at FedEx the next day as well so we drove to Daytona Beach to see Carol Lockwood. Carol was head of HR in Iwakuni when we went over in 2000 and we have stayed in touch. As always, when with Carol, the laughter flows and we enjoy eating out somewhere. This time Carol had a new spot for us to try, right on the inner coastal waterway. It was outside, but they had clear plastic sheeting around the dining area and portable propane heaters putting out heat overhead, so we were comfortable. Carol recommended the cheesy-garlic bread to start and then we all ordered oyster sandwiches. They came with fries, large pickle wedge, and plenty of lettuce and tomato and tarter sauce. It also came with a cup of soup; here we differed: Trish had a conch chowder, I had clam chowder, and Carol had chili. All were delicious. We inhaled the bread before I could get a good picture of it!! But it was very cheesy and lots of garlic. We had a great time sharing stories, reminiscing of friends from Japan, and filling each other in on the latest news. All too soon it was time to head back to Jacksonville for our last night with the kids

Remember that sliding glass door (previous blog) we helped Josh take out? Well the piece from Home Depot finally arrived. We got back and Josh was waiting. We had about 1 hour to get the door out, get the piece in, and then put the doors back in place before he had to leave to go to his evening job. We all hustled and then worked to put a 1/4", 8-foot long piece of stainless steel over the existing track. First we had to cut it by about 5" to fit the length, then we carefully started fitting it over the track. We carefully tapped it in with a rubber mallet and then used a small piece of wood to set it. We got about half way and the back part we had painstakingly tapped in popped up. Went like that the whole length. Finally got it in and put the doors back and slid them back and forth. It seemed to hold, but we'll check in the spring.

Next morning, Josh headed off to his FedEx job and we got the coach cleaned up, things stashed away, said good bye to Jen, Drew and Xander and headed to Mexico Beach for a few days. We drove I-10 all the way west and then headed south on back roads to the Gulf.

We really like the campground of Rustic Sands at Mexico Beach. It's far enough off the Gulf that you don't have the wind, but only about a half mile to get there. There are NO traffic lights on Rt 98 in town, but traffic usually is slow and safe. There are a number of good places to eat and shop in Mexico Beach and Port St. Joe, so it's a lot of fun. This time they had something new at the campground: they have a kitchen and grill open and offer lunch and dinners 5 nights. They also have small bands in one night a week for entertainment. Well, of course we had to try the food.

First morning, Sunday, the grill was open for "brunch" so we had cheese grits and a breakfast calzone. It was a huge calzone stuffed with egg, sausage, cheese, bacon, mushroom, and a bit of onion. Absolutely wonderful!! We spent time chatting with campers, sitting and reading, and took a short drive to get some groceries.

Monday we were looking forward to fish tacos for lunch. Alas....Killer Seafood was closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Oh well, we'd go to the Fish House for lunch. Dang! They were also closed Mondays. Lesson, don't plan to eat out on Monday or Tuesday...at least not in Mexico Beach. We eventually drove in to Panama City and explored parts of the waterfront we had not seen before. We go to St. Andrews community and found a good place for seafood and also visited the visitor's center and learned more about the area. It's a nice area, but more people, busier, and more industrialized than further east on the Gulf.

Tuesday we relaxed some more, went to the Fish House for lunch and were sadly disappointed. The portions were not as large as we remembered and the cake, for $3.50 a slice, was woefully inadequate and lacking in the rum flavor that was advertised. We left and wen to the Shell Shack and picked up a couple of pounds of Gulf scallops (frozen) and took them back to the camper. They went in the freezer for later. Then we headed back to Tyndall Air Force Base and a dirt road to the gulf. The beach was beautiful with a lot of holiday families and kids walking in the surf, playing in the sand, or just sitting and enjoying the sun and soft breeze. We wandered a bit and Trish collected shells and driftwood before heading back to the campsite for the last evening. We wanted to try the pizza and the grill and it was great! We also bought a couple of smoked mullets for snacking on later. We opted to eat in the RV instead of the clubhouse because we welcomed the quiet.

The next day (Wednesday, day before Thanksgiving) we were pulling out and heading home. The cats were actually disappointed. They really like this campground and felt comfortable enough to wander far afield and explore. They don't do that in too many places. But we keep them in the last night because if they sense we are leaving, they will hide and not come in until it is late in the morning and then we have a miserable drive.

Well, our drive was delightful on back Florida State routes to US 231 up through Alabama towards Montgomery. About 5 miles south of the capitol, we felt a thump and then some rough driving. We pulled over and I discovered the left rear outside tire had blown. We put on flasher and carefully limped to a gas station, pulled in and called the emergency road service. They promised to send someone and called back to say they would be there in about 90 minutes. It was made clear we had a 26-foot RV with a tire that needed changing. When almost 2 hours later, a sedan pulled up with a young man and a single tire iron, I knew we had a problem. He had NOT been told it was an RV. But after talking to his boss on the phone, he said if he got some wood, he could block up the tire and then get it off. NO WAY. I called the road service, vigorously protested, and they said they would send someone else. Finally a new company arrived and he had a truck, jacks, air compressor and all the right tools. He had the tire changed in 35 minutes and we were on our way.

Of course, by now it was dark, rush hour, and Thanksgiving eve. Not fun driving. We got around Montgomery and pulled in to a rest area on the interstate. I went and got coffee and Trish got out a can of soup and we sat and ate to refresh ourselves. Back on the road, we found light traffic, but still, very dark, and we struggled to get home. We finally made it about 10 PM. We just got the essentials out, turned up the heat, fed the cats and went to bed. We could clean the coach out the next day.

So now we are home, the coach is cleaned and winterized, and we are working on inside projects. Kim, Kris and Autumn are coming in 3 weeks; we have Christmas shopping to finish; and we need to do litter pick up on our road once more before winter. We will probably head out again in February or March. But for now, we are staying close to home.

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Photos

Timicuan shelter
Replica of shelter by Florida natives typical of when the French arrived in the 1500s.

River's edge
These beautiful old oaks with the Spanish Moss hanging made for a wonderous scene in the morning light.

St. Johns River
Looking towards Jacksonville. It's a broad river and heavily traveled. the power plants in the distance dominate the skyline.

Fort Caroline National Historic Site
This was where the French Hugeonots founded an early colony on the St. Johns (called the River May originally). The Spanish would not tolerate this and came up and killed all the settlers.

Carol Lockwood and Trish
Carol is a good friend from Iwakuni, Japan. She settled in Daytona Beach area and we visited her a year ago. As always, she found us a new and yummy place to eat seafood.

Cheesy Garlic Bread
This was an appetizer and I meant to get a picture of the whole plate. But we were hungry and ate most of it before I could get the camera out.

Shells on the beach
Just walking in the cool (not cold) surf was relaxing and fun. Beautiful shells had washed up on the beach on the Gulf coast.

Gulf of Mexico at Mexico Beach
Too cold to swim, but strolling the beach for shells was a great way to spend an afternoon and relax.

Looking towards Tyndall AFB
This beach is on Tyndall AFB but open to the public. It's empty, clean and has wonderful sandbars out just a bit. Very unspoiled and natural.

Santa in Camper
Rustic Sands at Mexico Beach began decorating prior to Thanksgiving. They have a number of inflatables all over the campground as well as lights. Here we have Santa emerging from his trailer with a (real) palm tree decorated and lights along the fence. All very festive and fun.

Comments

[jak]

TyndallAFB
Remember this spot very clearly. On our Elderhostel at the JC in Panama Beach we had daily biirding sessions and spent several of them at the base. Great birding and interesting driftwood/shells/etc.