Summer Vacation: Amelia Island

This year, instead of traveling to the Outer Banks, Mike's parents selected a new destination for their annual beach vacation. We went to Amelia Island, Florida for the week. I had heard so many great things about Amelia Island and was really excited to visit for the first time.

There were beautiful tree canopies like this all over the island.

We had an oceanfront townhome with beach access that worked out really well. There was gathering space for everyone, but all the bedrooms were separate so there was also enough room to "get away" if needed.

One thing I didn't care for was the cars and the crowds on the beach. Cars on the beach was the strangest thing! I have never seen anything like it. I was not expecting that at all, especially given that we were about 400 yards from the Ritz. I was really worried because Sunday and Monday the beach was packed with people and there were cars everywhere. But, it was a holiday weekend and the remainder of the week featured very few cars and a fraction of the people. It was like a whole different beach!

Too many cars ... too many people!

We saw some great fireworks on the Fourth of July! We were so close to the Ritz that we could see their fireworks display from our back deck. It was really well done! I love fireworks, but dislike large crowds ... so this was a near perfect setup.

The best I could manage with my Canon point-and-shoot

Amelia Island had a different vibe than what I am used to. It wasn't a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination ... just different. It was neat to experience something new. We really liked the little town of Fernandina, which we likened to "Athens, GA at the beach."

One afternoon, the girls went to a lunchtime tea at The Hoyt House. It's an old mansion that has been converted to a bed and breakfast. We had a great time ... it was so much fun!

 While at the beach, playing at least one round of miniature golf is tradition. My own contribution to the tradition is to make everyone else feel better by having the worst score by a significant margin.

We also found a delicious local ice cream parlor where we may or may not have indulged at least every other day. I'm surprised I don't have a picture of it, given that we ate there so much.

Mike and I ventured out on our own one morning to check out Ft. Clinch State Park. The old fort, dating to the Civil War, was a real highlight. It was much more intact than we were expecting, and we had a good time exploring all the sections.

Any guesses what this is?
The latrine. Note the abundance of sunshine indicating a lack of roof.
Not to mention the total lack of privacy.



You might be stationed far from home, but at least it comes with a great view!




Complete at ease with this big boy ...




Hospital Wing





There was no air conditioning (obviously).
It was crazy hot outside (obviously).



 And, to wrap things up ... the requisite beautiful sunrise picture: