After getting ready, eating breakfast, and packing a few snacks we were on our way to Fort Clinton. I had a nice long chat with Jamie on the way. They woke to a surprise this morning - the large weeping willow tree at the edge of their property near the creek had broken off and fell during the night. What to do???? Also, they are getting a Bernese Mountain dog puppy on Tuesday, so their family will be going through some changes. It will be exciting!
We had tried to camp at Fort Clinch CG but they were full for the entire summer - Imagine that! They have some sites on the Amelia River and some on the Atlantic Ocean. The approximate 2 mile drive into the Fort was so picturesque with canopies of oak trees covered with Spanish moss. We took time to check out the 2 campground areas and preferred the ones on the River because of all the trees and the very private sites.
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| 2 miles canopy of oak trees - beautiful! |
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| Lots of Spanish moss added to the beauty! |
The 1st weekend of every month at Fort Clinton they do re-enactments and there were about 50 soldiers there today telling stories about what went on during the Civil War at Fort Clinch. It was informative and so interesting. We were fortunate to be there when that special event was happening!
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| This soldier greeted us when we were nearing the Fort and told us many interesting facts! |
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| Mad of 2 types of brick - bottom layer was local bricks made by slaves. Next layer were factory made bricks from the North! Construction began in 1847. At the beginning of the Civil War, Confederate forces quietly took control of the foot. In 1862 Federal warships and troops arrived to take control of the fort! No battles took place here, but most of the war it was controlled by the Union, even though it was located in Florida! |
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| Entering the Fort! |
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| This building was the enlisted men's barracks! |
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| Ready, Aim, Fire! |
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| Cooking takes place here! |
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| The Bakery! |
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| Preparing the metal loaf pans for bread making! |
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| The blacksmith shop. The billows are the original ones! |
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| One of the major and the chaplain! |
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| The grocery where the men could go to purchase special treat! |
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| This is the inside of the "special treat" store! |
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| The storage area for all the food items! |
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| This food was prepared the "old fashioned" way for today's soldiers! |
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| Solitary confinement and jail. |
We left there and drove to the 1/2 mile fishing pier, parked, and walked on Fernandina Beach again looking for Baby Ear shells. No luck, but it was fun searching.
We had planned to head to the downtown area, but both of us were getting tired and hungry. Ken said it might be our last chance this trip to eat at Sonny's and since it was Mother's Day weekend, he thought we should go there. Who am I to argue??? After a delicious pulled pork sandwich on toasted garlic bread (YUM!) we did some shopping at Wal-Mart and then drove back to the CG.
We did prep work for our departure to Charleston, SC in the morning. The inside of the car was a mess, so it was time for a good vacuuming. Doloris called to see how we were doing and to report that they are finally camping this weekend even though the weather is not the best. They have tried to go to Hershey Preserve the last 3 weekends and the weather has been a challenge. So glad they got to have their 1st camping adventure for this year. Let the fun begin!
Ken spent most of the evening planning our adventures in Charleston and deciding where we will go for a night or two before we are scheduled to be in the Outer Banks. The time here has gone by very quickly and it has been delightful. The weather was absolutely perfect!
Looking forward to the adventures yet to come!
We were there a couple of years ago. We really enjoyed our visit.
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