Savannah/Jekyll Island

Tues 4/12
Spent am touring SCAD shops in pouring rain. Then had a delicious lunch in a little French place called Papillote. On drive back to Jacksonville did a detour to Jekyll Island. This is where the rich (Vanderbilt, Morgan, Rockefeller, Goodyear, Field, Tiffany) built palatial mansions.

Savannah

Mon 4/11
Drove to Savannah. Stayed in the heart of old town (Inn at Ellis Square). Walked, then took a tour ‘trolley’ for a narrated tour of old town. Had lunch at Vic’s and dinner at Hueys, both on the riverfront. The city has an amazing atmosphere with all the fantastic mansions shaded by magnificent live oak trees with Spanish moss hanging from their branches like ghosts. This in combination with a lot of young artsy students from the Savannah College of Arts and Design (SCAD), which we found out is the largest such college in the US makes for a very quirky place.

Jacksonville/Kingsley Plantation

Sun 4/10
In the morning we drove to the Kingsley Plantation about 30 miles from Jacksonville, on Fort George Island. During Florida’s plantation period, it was owned by Zephaniah Kingsley from 1814 to 1837. The most amazing thing was that Zephaniah’s wife was black, a former slave that he freed, and she was in charge of running the plantation. Fort George Island felt like a totally different world, very secluded and tropical, roads were barely paved and it felt almost like driving through a rainforest. We stopped for lunch in a Sandollar restaurant, right on the water where some people just came by boats via Intercoastal waterway (a separate subject).
In the afternoon, Marcelle took us to explore downtown Jacksonville and her museum. We were very impressed with the architecture of the city --- many beautiful buildings, unfortunately some are in dire need of repair. The museum and the library were very impressive.

Jacksonville/St.Augustine

Sat 4/9
In the morning we went to the art fair in the Avondale park and then did the river walk and ended it under a huge bridge at another art fair (Riverdale). It was pretty hot so we didn’t continue to downtown, but got back home to refresh and head for St. Augustine. St. Augustine is the oldest town in the United States – established in 1513. It has some amazing sites – Castillo de San Marco, historic houses, a mission and a lighthouse where Marcelle had to attend an event. While she was there, we found a very cool beach restaurant and had a pitcher of beer right by the sand. Walking back from dinner, we went into Flagler College, a small college of 2500 student, which is housed in a magnificent building of the former luxury resort, Henry Flagler's first St. Augustine hotel, the Ponce de Leon.

Amelia Island/Fernandina/Jacksonville

Fri 4/8
We drove to Amelia Island/Fernandina in the morning to see another house and explore that area. The drive included a fun ride on the ferry. Fernandina is a very pretty old town with lots of little stores and restaurants. They also have beautiful beaches on the island. Drove back to Jacksonville in the afternoon. Went to dinner at Maggianos. It was prom night so it was packed. Al’s food was not hot so they took it back to reheat, but gave it gratis because “he could not eat with the family.”

Atlantic Beach

Day 2 Thurs 4/7
We left Avondale (part of Jacksonville where M&D live) and drove to Atlantic Beach. Realtor took us around. We saw about 10 houses in the beach communities. Some we liked. The beaches are gorgeous. Very different than Calironia – white sand, green sub-tropical vegetation, warm water… We ended in Atlantic Beach. Nice community and also a cool beach town. Spent the night in a theme motel (the 50s). Each room decorated differently.

Travel day

Easy flight through Houston. Two and three hour flights are much nicer than 10 hours to Europe. Jacksonville airport was amazing. The luggage was on the carousel before we got to luggage claim. Car rental was less than 10 minutes. The most efficient airport in the US! Had dinner in the Brick in the lovely little downtown Avondale.