May 31, 2009: Jacksonville, FL

This morning we left TNTY’s by the temporary bridge and went back to visit the Castillo de San Marcos National Park. This area was discovered by Ponce de Leon in 1513 and in 1565 Mendenez defeated the French at Fort Caroline and established St Augustine. The fort is a National Historical Landmark and was continuously used as a fort up through the WWII. Our visit started walking over the draw bridge through the Sallie Port – called so because that was the gate where the soldiers “sallied” out to battle. There were costumed guards there, many volunteers, who gave the scene authenticity.

The most poignant story I read about the fort was in 1702 when the English invaded beyond their negotiated southern border at Savannah. They held the Spanish settlers at Saint Augustine under siege for 50 days. It is hard to believe 1300 people quartered within the fort walls provisioned by food stock held there and the fresh water well within the walls. The day after Christmas, a Spanish ship arrived from Havana and broke though the siege and the English withdrew burning the city as they left. The fort

was never defeated in battle, but changed hands from the Spanish to the English and then to the Americans as the land was bartered and won.

They had a military team who preformed an exact

Spanish drill to fire a cannon off the top ramparts. Since our boat was in the river just below the fort, we jestingly asked that they not aim at it. The Captain said that they had once had a sailboat raise a white flag after the cannon demonstration.

We also made a point to find the oldest wooden school building in the historical record and to see the city wall that had been built after the city was burned in 1702. It was the only way into the city from the North where the English lived. Our short ride around town included finding a tall magnolia tree

full of huge white fragrant blossoms

wedged between the narrow street and an old two story house.

After lunch on the boat, we said goodbye to Saint Augustine and cast off headed to Jacksonville. The Matanzas Bay was full of boats including a large schooner with three sails out and tacking to get though the inlet to the Atlantic. North of St Augustine the terrain really begins to look like eastern NC with acres of green salt grass stretching back to dark forests. Tiny inlets of water ripple through the green. It looks like God painted it and gives me such a sweet sense of the beauty of the earth.

Palm Valley was full of water front cottages and covered docks and party houses on the eastern side of the ICW. There were metal roofs of all colors – silver, blue, 3 shades of green, tan and turquoise and we thought it was like shopping through a catalog to choose a new roof. As we approached Jacksonville Beach the cottages gave way to elegant mansions and the metal colored roofs gave way to red tile. Groomed lawns come down to a breakfront and there was an inlet that led to a yacht club.

When we reached the mouth of the St Johns River, we left the ICW and cruised west where we began to see the traffic of a commercial port including a ocean going freighter headed east. We also saw a mammoth dry dock with a military ship under repair. We passed under the Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge which was a intricately hung suspension bridge with dual towers.

As we approached Jacksonville, we had an up close view of the Jaguar Football Stadium from the river and also passed a huge Maxwell Coffee factory also on the water front. We passed the Metropolian Park and continued to Jacksonville Landing hoping to dock there. Just before reaching the huge blue bridge we reached the landing, but we knew that the Tall Ships were in towne and sure enough, all the pier space was already taken. It was fun to see the three masted sailing ships, and, along with ski boats and jet skis there was a beautiful white shrimp boat, The Ring of Gold, out of Savannah docked there.

We returned to the Metropolitan Park which was on Gator Bowl Blvd just below the stadium and docked. We had dinner on the boat with a beautiful pink sunset and later took our bikes down to the Landing to hear the bands and see the kids playing in the fountain. It was certainly hot enough. We rode down Laura Street and cycled through a little city park which was home to

some interesting turtle art! We were trying to

locate the First Baptist church and we found their complex. We hurried back to the boat to be home by 9:45 to get to see the fireworks in honor of the

Tall Ships. We had a great view off

the back of the boat and enjoyed both the ones in the sky and the reflections in the water.