Jacksonville, FL - St. Augustine Beach, FL
Last night we went to bed early hoping to be up before 8 am this morning, but that did not happen. We slept in til almost 9 am. We still had few more stuff to be put into the camper van. We checked and rechecked around the house to be sure there was nothing we forgot to take with us. Soon after Erwin started the engine Edith suddenly remembered she forgot one thing: charger for her IPad mini. When she went inside the house she realized she forgot to up the temperature for the house, picked up the charger, then realized that Erwin forgot to set the water heater on vacation mode. After all was done and taken care of we finally left the house at 10:30 am.
Starting mileage: 20,370
First stop is to Buchanan Sign & Flag Center to pick up vinyl decal for the camper van. It looked so nice.. Erwin said he is going to put it on the back of the cargo door tonight.
Now on Beach Blvd going East toward Jacksonville Beach, turned right onto A1A, continued on this road until we arrived Vilano Beach. Since the weather was so beautiful we wanted to have lunch at Beaches Seafood & Spirits Restaurant next to the fishing pier. We had not dined there before and wanted to see how good the foods were.
We elected to eat outside. There is an umbrella for each table, so that was nice. There was a good view of the Vilano bridge and the pier. Some diners, while waiting for their meals, took advantage of wading in the river. Erwin had fish sandwich and Edith had Caribbean salad. We had to watch out for thieving seagulls and blackbirds that were lurking around the tables waiting for an opportunity to snatch and grab. We were very pleased with what we ordered. Thumbs up for Beaches...
After we stepped out of the restaurant Edith suddenly realized she left her sunglasses on the table, went back to the table, but the sunglasses was not there. She checked with the manager and there were two "lost" sunglasses but none of them was hers. She checked the ladies room and no, it was not there. Feeling disappointed she hopped into the van and told Erwin what happened. Determined to find it for Edith Erwin went inside and he came out with it. What really happened? After we left the table the busboy clearing the table did not see it. It ended up in the garbage can!!! Of course, it was dirty and Edith had to go in the ladies room to clean it up. Still it was better than buying a new one.
After crossing the Vilano Bridge we turned left to get on Magnolia Street, the most beautiful street in the town. Live Oak trees with Spanish moss hanging from them are lining along the street. A very photographic place.
To get to Anastasia Island State Park campground we had to cross the Bridge of Lions. It is a double-leaf bascule bridge that spans Intracoastal Waterway, connects between St Augustine Beach and downtown. There are two Medici lions made of marble guarding the bridge. Again, the bridge is also one of the most photographic attractions in town. Roads & Bridges magazine named the Bridge of Lions as fourth in the nation’s top 10 bridges for 2010.
We made advance reservation for a campsite, so checking in was a breeze. Anastasia Island State Park is a very nice park. Campsites are secluded and well-maintained. After hooking up, Erwin proceeded to apply the vinyl decal that we picked up this morning on the cargo door.
We took a nice walk around the campground checking out RVs, cars, boats, etc. There were lots of banana spiders (also known as golden silk orb-weaver). We had to look out for them to be sure they were not hanging above our heads. Are they poisonous?, you might wonder... Yes, they are, but not as lethal as other species. They are very reclusive and will not attack unless provoked.
Even though it was a last minute plan we texted Michael, our good friend and also a great photographer based in St. Augustine, to see if he has time to come visit us for a short while. He replied that he will be picking up his wife Jessica from the school and be on way over. Their son, Nicky came along and we all chatted for about 15 minutes before they left for another plan. Michael loves going to Anastasia Island for photography and has many awesome photos of ospreys and other birds and plants. He entered into local contests and four of his photos are currently hanging on the wall inside the ranger station at the park. Before leaving he advised Edith on which spot ospreys tend to hang around on the island.
We set up chairs outside and chatted until it got dark. The bathhouse was close to where we were, so we would not need flashlight to get to/from the bathhouse.
Miles Driven: 70
We elected to eat outside. There is an umbrella for each table, so that was nice. There was a good view of the Vilano bridge and the pier. Some diners, while waiting for their meals, took advantage of wading in the river. Erwin had fish sandwich and Edith had Caribbean salad. We had to watch out for thieving seagulls and blackbirds that were lurking around the tables waiting for an opportunity to snatch and grab. We were very pleased with what we ordered. Thumbs up for Beaches...
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| New Vilano Bridge Part of the old bridge is now a fishing pier |
After we stepped out of the restaurant Edith suddenly realized she left her sunglasses on the table, went back to the table, but the sunglasses was not there. She checked with the manager and there were two "lost" sunglasses but none of them was hers. She checked the ladies room and no, it was not there. Feeling disappointed she hopped into the van and told Erwin what happened. Determined to find it for Edith Erwin went inside and he came out with it. What really happened? After we left the table the busboy clearing the table did not see it. It ended up in the garbage can!!! Of course, it was dirty and Edith had to go in the ladies room to clean it up. Still it was better than buying a new one.
After crossing the Vilano Bridge we turned left to get on Magnolia Street, the most beautiful street in the town. Live Oak trees with Spanish moss hanging from them are lining along the street. A very photographic place.
To get to Anastasia Island State Park campground we had to cross the Bridge of Lions. It is a double-leaf bascule bridge that spans Intracoastal Waterway, connects between St Augustine Beach and downtown. There are two Medici lions made of marble guarding the bridge. Again, the bridge is also one of the most photographic attractions in town. Roads & Bridges magazine named the Bridge of Lions as fourth in the nation’s top 10 bridges for 2010.
We made advance reservation for a campsite, so checking in was a breeze. Anastasia Island State Park is a very nice park. Campsites are secluded and well-maintained. After hooking up, Erwin proceeded to apply the vinyl decal that we picked up this morning on the cargo door.
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| Appying the decal on the cargo door |
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| How cool is this?! |
Even though it was a last minute plan we texted Michael, our good friend and also a great photographer based in St. Augustine, to see if he has time to come visit us for a short while. He replied that he will be picking up his wife Jessica from the school and be on way over. Their son, Nicky came along and we all chatted for about 15 minutes before they left for another plan. Michael loves going to Anastasia Island for photography and has many awesome photos of ospreys and other birds and plants. He entered into local contests and four of his photos are currently hanging on the wall inside the ranger station at the park. Before leaving he advised Edith on which spot ospreys tend to hang around on the island.
We set up chairs outside and chatted until it got dark. The bathhouse was close to where we were, so we would not need flashlight to get to/from the bathhouse.
Miles Driven: 70
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