We asked friends for advice on where to stop when traveling along Florida's East Coast. A number of them recommended Amelia Island, the state's northernmost barrier island, so we chose that for our next destination.
We stayed off I-95, driving instead along Route 17, a southern mainstay. Just north of the Georgia/Florida state line we stopped here in Woodbine for.....you know we just had to. The Shut store sign is what got us, but the gorgeous Depression glass and someone's personal and amazingly curated fire fighter/ing museum was what kept us there.
Incredible collections of toys, figurines, tchotchkes, models, anything with a firefighting theme.
Immaculately displayed.
Throw-into-the-fire extinguishers
Firehose nozzles
Ceiling sprinklers...who knew there have been so many?
One couple, now deceased, assembled the entire collection. Another local guy is now in charge. He usually doesn't open at all to the public this time of year; we just got lucky in that someone had made a special request for him to be open the day we passed by. Can't believe we almost didn't stop.
South of Woodbine we passed through the relatively booming metropolis of Kingsland, GA, site of Steffens Restaurant, one of our favorite southern-style meals anywhere. Fried catfish, collards, cornbread, real mac-n-cheese, sweet tea, etc.
This is also where we saw snow flurries, quite the unusual occurrence!
On to Amelia Island, Florida. Tried to watch a Carolina basketball game at the Ritz-Carlton, a must-see venue, also according to friends. Turns out the game was the next night, but got to enjoy the hotel's incredible floral displays, like these orchids, for a few minutes.
Sunday morning also found us walking the 1/2 mile-long Fernandina Beach pier on Amelia Island.
Loved watching these small birds wheel around in unison, land on the jetty, then do it again over and over.
In the afternoon it was on to Ft. Clinch, built in the 1730's by the Spanish, and later overtaken from the Confederates by Union forces during the Civil War. 'Twas a beautiful day to be at a fort on the sea.
Our visit was recommended by Eero and Soile, who'd been here at one point for a paper industry conference (Soile's a Finnish pulp and paper industry executive). Several paper mills nearby dominating the skyline.
The park offered nature walks that gave me the willies. We saw no critters but certainly kept watching for them.
Lunch on the cheap, something we're trying to maintain both for financial and health reasons.
We're always looking for another beautiful sunset, and here's Amelia Island's version.
Discovered the mile-long fishing pier at the south end of Amelia Island on the self-named state park.
Lots of the birds hanging around the pier were fairly tame, so up-close photos were fun to take.
Walking on the adjacent beach that we had all to ourselves. Note tire tracks, One can drive on many beaches in Florida, especially in the off-season.
Monday night wedding, downtown Fernandina Beach.
Date night. Turns out we hit Amelia Island just in time for its annual restaurant week.
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