Stepping off the plane, New Mexico was a shock to our senses.  Immediately we noticed the clean, fresh smog-free air.  The weather was sunny and warm, but not humid and stifling like in Atlanta.  And the sky….we could see for miles!  My kids could really play the game “what shape is that cloud;” something that is hard to do living in a city like we do.  The architecture also was different from anywhere else that we had been, starting with the airport and continuing into Santa Fe.  Driving around Santa Fe’s commercial district we were surprised to see familiar stores looking very un-familiar as adobe buildings.  We screamed out the window and pointed: “adobe McDonald’s, adobe IHOP, adobe Starbucks, adobe Target!”  Once we left the commercial area, all we saw was desert–which we expected—but as it gave way to tress and mountains the higher in elevation we climbed, that was less expected.   All of it was beautiful and so different from the canopy of trees that makes up Atlanta’s landscape.

We vacationed in New Mexico because we were fortunate to be invited to Jane Fonda’s ranch, which has quite an interesting history.  Besides Jane, our housemates were her daughter, grandchildren and their father.  And I can’t forget Jane’s constant companion, Tulea.

The house is amazingly beautiful.  Built in a traditional adobe style, it is very spacious with soaring ceilings and an open floor plan.  Rustic wood beams and doors, brick floors, and traditional New Mexican features like silver and inlaid wood make the house a spectacular showpiece, but it is also warm and inviting.  All the furnishings are beautiful, but completely comfortable.  Everything about the house is wonderful, but my favorite part is the art—it’s everywhere and outstanding.  It was so special being surrounded by such beauty everywhere I turned.

I love this bed on the back porch!

Everyone in the house ate dinner together every night (delicious meals prepared by Jane’s chef Sandra), but during the day we did whatever we wanted to.  Jane exercised every morning for over 2 hours (she is in incredible shape) and then spent the rest of the day writing her new book.   The rest of us hung around the house reading, talking, watching movies, playing board games and swimming.

That is, when we weren’t exploring the ranch’s absolutely breathtaking 3,000 acres: mountains, canyons, trees, desert and the Pecos River.  Although we hiked arroyos, mesas and caynons, driving an ATV was the preferred method of getting around the property.  Jane’s dog Tulea is never left behind when she’s on the ATV; she has a dog carrier strapped on the front and Tulea seems to love it.   There was plenty of fishing in the river too.  Jane is quite a fisherman herself and has worked hard to make sure that the river is full of trout; consequently all fish that are caught must be released. The one thing I was afraid of, rattlesnakes, didn’t show themselves to us (thank God!), even though we climbed rocks and I knew that they were always nearby, as well as coyotes and bears.  The family tells quite a harrowing story about a bear breaking into Jane’s bedroom a few years ago—while she was in there!  I’m glad he didn’t repeat his performance.   And while we heard the coyotes at night and caught fish, the only other wildlife we saw was a prairie dog on the sidewalk in Santa Fe.

However, I did get quite a scare when I let my son drive me on the ATV.  Truthfully, he was a good driver, but it was very disconcerting to have him be in control of a large piece of machinery propelling us both through space.  I think I got a glimpse of what I have to look forward to in 15 months when he starts learning how to drive a car.

I love horses, so I was happy to have the opportunity to ride one of the 9 horses at the ranch.  I rode Jane’s horse, a beautiful Arabian named Gitan, who was always trying to be the leader of the pack.   On our second day of riding, we rode up to a mesa that provided an incredible view of the valley and river below.

The barn.  Look at those clouds!

We are very high on a mesa.  Can you see the valley below?

We went into Santa Fe a couple of times and had lunch at Cowgirl BBQ (home of the world famous ice cream potato) and the historic La Fonda Hotel.  We walked around Santa Fe plaza, toured St. Francis Cathedral and shopped a bit.  I was in heaven when I found Overland and their downstairs full of UGG boots.  We had fun trying on cowboy hats and my son bought a really cool leather Indiana Jones-type of hat.  That boy looks good in hats! (He takes after his mama in that respect.)

At Cowgirl BBQ: it looks like a baked potato, but it’s all ice cream!

Inside St. Francis Cathedral

Santa Fe Plaza

Downstairs in Overland….UGG heaven!

We are being silly trying on hats.

Another afternoon we went to a local “store” (I use this term lightly because it was more of a auto shop garage/sometimes store—if their was someone there to let you in) recommended by Jane for their custom-made leather and silver items.  It was quite an adventure of local flavor, but Jane was correct; we found a beautiful necklace made with beads from the 1800’s.   This was the perfect gift for our friend who had been watching Chili Dawg during our vacation.

The “store”

Our last day in New Mexico came all too soon.  While we were anxious to get home to see Chili Dawg and prepare for the start of a new school year, we didn’t want to leave New Mexico.  What was first a shock to our senses—the big open sky, low adobe architecture, vast open land and wilderness—quickly became our preferred view.  It’s no wonder that Jane is able to do all that she does (and she never stop moving) with such a wonderful place to go replenish and refresh herself.

I recently spent 3 nights at the Ritz-Carlton in Key Biscayne, Florida.  As I have posted before, my family has enjoyed a couple of different Ritz-Carlton resorts over the last year, but this was my first time at this particular location.

Did you know that you can book vacation packages on the Ritz-Carlton website?  I booked my flight and hotel as a package for considerably less than if I had bought them separately.  The only drawback to this arrangement is that the reservation is paid in full at the time of booking and is non-refundable (however, travel insurance is an available option for purchase).  I was emailed my travel documents; it was all very straightforward and easy.

A short flight from Atlanta, a 30 minute taxi ride from Miami International Airport, and I was in Key Biscayne in no time.  Check-in was not so pleasant as my room was not ready (at 4:00 p.m.) and the desk clerk seemed confused and unsure about her duties, but at least my wait was nice in the opulent hotel lobby.

Finally I made it to my room and while it was very nice and newly renovated, it was small and dark; I wouldn’t be spending much time in this room.  No matter, I had come to Key Biscayne to be on the beach anyhow.   The bathroom, by contrast was a very nice size with a separate shower and bathtub and nice bright, lighting.  I had requested a balcony and received one; it had a “bay view”—the bay being way off in the distance—so it really was a view of the front of the hotel.  Since I wasn’t in my room but to sleep, I didn’t sit on the balcony at all.

After checking out the hotel boutique, spa and various lounges, I made my way to the beach—just a short walk along the fountain, past the Great Lawn and pools.   The beach is very narrow; there isn’t much room between the dunes and the water, but it’s very nicely kept.   The Ritz hotel staff will set you up with a lounge chair and towels, while an umbrella could be rented for $20/day.  I do think that the umbrella rental fee is very steep, but there was no way around it for me; I don’t like to bake in the sun.   Although it was very hot in August, the beach breeze with the shade of the umbrella made for an enjoyable time outside. The ocean water was warm and shallow for a long time and the waves were gentle; there were many kids and adults in the ocean playing games and wading around. Both days of my stay I got the to beach in the morning and didn’t leave until the evening because I loved it so much.   I mostly read a book and people-watched.  The view, breeze and total beach experience compensated for the lack of great service by the Ritz beach employees; once they set up my chair and umbrella, I never saw them again.

Preferring to spend my time on the beach, I didn’t use the pools at all; however I checked them out for future reference.  The family pool has a waterfall; it was always full and families were having a ball.   The adult pool on the other side of the Great Lawn was quiet and not very full at all.   I don’t know why, but the hot tub was next to the family pool, so I never used that.

But I did use the hot tub in the spa several times; the spa can be used by hotel guests, even by those not receiving a spa treatment.  Like the other Ritz-Carlton spas that I have visited, this one was very nice and well appointed with a lounge area, hot tub, sauna, steam room, showers, locker room and all the toiletries that you could ever want.  The cold cumber-laced towels are my favorite.  I received a massage one day and while it wasn’t that great (she hurt me pretty bad), the lounge area for awaiting treatments is worth the price of admission—cushy chaise lounges, tea, coffee and fruit—I could have stayed there all day.  Although I didn’t use it, I toured the gym and concluded that my husband would have loved the weight area and cardio machines with televisions and complimentary headphones.

Besides the beach and spa, I hung out in the hotel lobby lounge one night and listened to a Cuban band; they were great!  Unfortunately, there was only one night of entertainment, so I would assume that guests looking for nightlife drive to Miami.   Dune, a burger lounge, was pretty happening but it closed at sunset.  Located right on the beach, it was very groovy and also served a fantastic burger.

I paid for the Club Level and I think it was worth it.  Unlike the beach employees, the staff working the Club Lounge was fantastic.  The continental breakfast was sufficient and very good; I ate breakfast every morning on the lounge balcony while reading The New York Times.  Most days I brought sandwiches from the Club Lounge lunch display down to the beach with me.   Sometimes I made the before-dinner appetizers my actual dinner and I never missed the dessert buffet.   The lounge itself was very lovely and a nice place to read a book.  But the real reason I loved the Club Lounge was the champagne that I had every evening!

While the hotel had iffy customer service and it’s not as family-friendly as Amelia Island Ritz-Carlton, the location, beach, and hotel amenities makes me want to visit this Ritz-Carlton again either alone or with my family. With such a short flight and inexpensive last-minute fares from Atlanta to Miami, I’m sure that I will soon return.

*As anyone who has traveled through the nation’s busiest airport knows, “T is For Tango” refers to the Concourse T stop on the airport train.

 

We’re on another road trip to Florida; this time to Orlando to see our favorite mouse.  The problem is, everyone has the same idea and traffic is ridiculous.  If you follow me on Twitter, you would see that I’m not handling it too well either.  The kids, they’re fine; it’s me who’s going crazy.  So in an effort to get my mind off the fact that we have traveled five miles in one hour, I made a video and did a Skirt! 24/7 interview.

 

Road Trip Beats

 

 

 

24/7 with Funkidivagirl and Family

Skirt! is one of my favorite monthly newspapers; I always read it from cover to cover and I particularly enjoy the 24/7 page.  I have known a couple of people featured: Gretchen Hollingsworth of Paddywax Candles, Britt Menzies of StinkyKids, and I was happy to read about my Twitter pal Tami of Talking With Tami in the latest issue. 

But since I have yet to be featured on the 24/7 page, each moth I interview myself.   While stuck in the car, I thought it would be fun for all of us to answer some of the 24/7 questions.  (”All of us” means me, husband James and 7 year old Girly; The Boy was being all “teenage-ry” and didn’t participate.)

 

Words I live by:

James: “The difference between me and you is that I make this look good.” -Will Smith, Men in Black

Me: “It is not enough to do your very best; you must do what is required of the situation.” –Cathy Hughes

 

I can’t live without:

Girly: Marcus (my stuffed dog)

James: music, my iPhone

Me: sunshine, sleep, Eboost  

 

One thing I never want to do again:

Girly: be sick in the hospital

James: leave for Florida during Spring Break late in the morning

Me: be a teenager (although it was much easier than being a parent of a teenager!)

 

If I could be totally wild:

Girly: I would stand on my head all day

James: quit my job and coach AAU high school basketball

Me: be a beach bum in St. John

 

The most important thing I ever lost:

Girly: the cutest dog (Tiger Lilly, a therapy dog who helped me when I was in the hospital)

James: my Grandfather’s WWII uniform

Me: my trust in people

 

I’d like to learn to:

Girly:  knit

James: speak Portuguese 

Me: play the guitar

 

I wish I’d known:

Girly: Funkidivagirl before I was born

James: that Google was going to be so big (I would have bought stock)

Me:  that I might have wanted a third child

 

Something most people don’t know about me:

Girly: that I can dance really good

James: that I am irrationally afraid of birds

Me: I spilled my guts already

 

My first job:

James: a paper route for the Oakland Tribune, as a teenager I worked in a deli and my  first “real” job was for Wild West records

Me: a Keebler Elf, as a teenager I worked in a candy shop and in college as a Teaching Assistant

 

Never…..

Girly: forget to Twitter once a day    *(now that’s funny..is she our kid or what?)

James: start the day without a game plan

Me: be afraid to speak your mind

 

I’m guilty of:

Girly: eating too many sweets

James: keeping my phone on during the whole airplane ride

Me: speaking my mind maybe too much

 

If I were a super hero/heroine I would:

Girly: be Animal Girl and translate animal talk

James: go inside people’s minds and look at their motives

Me: be Funkidivagirl and save the world from mediocrity.  Oh wait…I already do that! 

 

 

And now, for the rest of the car ride–QUIET!

 

We finally made it to Disney World after a very long drive.  You can read all about our vacation in How To Do Disney World Like Funkidivagirl.

 

*As anyone who has traveled through the nation’s busiest airport knows, “T is For Tango” refers to the Concourse T stop on the airport train.

*I’ve posted the following paragraph and video before–while we were actually on vacation–but if you haven’t seen it, take a look (a little long at 9 minutes, but worth the time).   If you’ve already seen the video, skip down to the (more traditional, sane) review of our experience in Savannah.  

This was supposed to be a simple road trip to Savannah; a mere 4 hours away from Atlanta.  Our goal was to leave about 8:00 a.m, but since I was wiped out from Christmas, I didn’t even finish packing until about 10:00 a.m.  We started loading the car about 11:00 a.m. and that was when our road trip comedy of errors began–our rental car was too small for our luggage.  What do we do?  Watch and see:

 

 

 After that crazy trip, we did manage to have a good time in Savannah.  I had been there before on a solo vacation and I was eager to show my family some of my favorite things and experience new things as well. 

 

Since Savannah has such lovely architecture, we didn’t want to stay in a traditional hotel, but in a neighborhood.  The last time I went to Savannah I stayed in a lovely B & B right on a square, but many of them don’t allow children.   The Mansion on Forsyth Park seemed like a good compromise.   I had heard good things about it and since I found a good rate on travelzoo.com, we decided to give it a try.  

 The room décor for some could be over the top, but for us, it was fun.  The beds were great and the big red velvet sofa and chandielers were Alice in Wonderland-ish.  The room was large enough to accommodate my family and also had room for my daughter to play.  It was very dark though; not a room that you want to be in all day relaxing, but since we weren’t there to relax, it was okay.  We were in the Bohemian room over-looking the park.  Which sounds great, but actually I am a light sleeper and could hear traffic whizzing by all night long; no one else in my family seemed bothered at all. 

The bathrooms were very large, BUT there was no door to the bathroom, only a curtain!  So there really isn’t any privacy.  The toilet is separate from the sink and tub, but the door is made of glass, so someone can’t brush their teeth and someone else use the bathroom with any privacy.  The tub however was fantastic!  The water stayed hot and the tub was nice and deep.  The whirlpool jets were just what I needed after a long car ride!  I loved it!

We toured the rest of the hotel and loved looking at all the art on the walls.  There was a fascinating exhibit on display with hats from several decades.   The common areas in the lobby and bar lounge were small, but cozy.  Although we didn’t swim in the pool, we went outside to look at it.  It was very stylish, if very small.  It was more of a lounge area to take a quick dip in the water–not to swim in.   We didn’t eat in the hotel restaurant or use the spa.

 

Our first meal in Savannah was dinner at Tubby’s on River Street (we were driven there in a town car by a hotel employee, a very nice feature of the hotel).   I actually don’t care very much for River Street in Savannah because I find it to be very touristy, so I didn’t expect much in the way of food.  But several hotel employees had suggested Tubby’s so we gave it a try.  I was wrong; food was very good.  The seafood was fresh and lightly fried in a seasoned batter.  I try to stay away from fried food so I didn’t order mine that way, and I was very sorry; I ended up eating the rest of the family’s meal.  

We didn’t do much site-seeing that evening because we were so wiped from the drive.  We called the hotel for a ride back and they were there to pick us up in no time at all.

The next morning we had breakfast at the Gryphon Tea Room on Bull Street.   The food was just okay, but the atmosphere is great and the décor is lovely.

Since the tea room is right across from Shop Scad, after breakfast we browsed around before continuing our walking tour of downtown, and particularly the squares.   The squares are my favorite part of Savannah by far.  Stopping at each square to read about the featured statues, we learned many things about historic Savannah that we didn’t know before.

 

When we reached Broughton Street, we browsed the many shops.   The Paris Market was wonderful, filled with great coffee table books, lotions, furniture and all kinds of unique household items.  There was a snack bar where we bought homemade French marshmallows that were divine.  The kids and I gobbled them up before even leaving the store (my husband doesn’t like marshmallows, which we just don’t understand).  

 

Our next stop was Savannah Bee Company where we stayed quite a long time tasting all the different honeys and talking to the employees and co-owner. 

What a beautiful store!  We learned so much about honey and bought a few jars to bring back to Atlanta.

 

After Broughton Street, we headed to City Market for lunch, but we didn’t like the atmosphere there very much so we ended back on River Street again.   Once again we had some really good seafood, this time at Dockside .   After lunch we walked all of River Street, ducking in and out of the touristy shops and  toured The Peacemaker, a ship with an interesting history and current ownership.

 

Leaving River Street and making our way back to the hotel, I talked my family into walking through Colonial Park Cemetery, which I think is beautiful and historical.  My family disagreed and walked through as fast as they could.

 

Not far from the cemetery we came upon The Cathedral of St. John The Baptist and found out that we could go in and walk around.  If we thought the outside was beautiful, the inside was absolutely breathtaking–the windows, ceiling, alter, piper organ–everything was spectacular.  

 

 

What a wonderful end to our day spent exploring the streets of Savannah’s Historic District!   Another night at The Mansion, a tasty breakfast at a great neighborhood diner, Clary’s Cafe , and it was time to say good bye to Savannah.    We had a good time and will be back again soon, but it was on to the next leg of our vacation, Amelia Island (read about it here).   

 *As anyone who has traveled through the nation’s busiest airport knows, “T is For Tango” refers to the Concourse T stop on the airport train.

 

The day after Christmas my family took a vacation to Amelia Island, after a couple of days first spent in Savannah (read our adventures in Savannah in another blog post).  This was our first time on Amelia Island and really our first family vacation in Florida that didn’t include The Mouse.  The weather was really nice, most days there was a high of 68 degrees; jeans, a tee shirt and a hoodie were our everyday attire.  

 

The Ritz-Carlton, Ameila Island

We stayed at The Ritz-Carlton (we are brand loyal fans of The Ritz), which is right on the beach and very casual.  Our room was very comfortable; the closet and drawers were big enough to hold ALL of our luggage and clothes (if you saw the video from the Savannah blog post, you would know that’s a big deal).   I found the beds comfortable and there always enough towels.  The bathroom was large and accommodated all of our toiletries.   We started off with a coastal view room of the dunes and the ocean around the corner, but we were upgraded to an ocean view room and it was very nice (we could see the sunrise).  Every room has a balcony with a table & 2 chairs.  There is a mini-bar in the room (that we didn’t use).   I’m not sure if there was a dvd player because we barely turned on the TV.  There was space near the terrace door for Girly to play on the floor. 

 

 The the rest of the hotel was just beautiful and decorated to evoke an elegant, yet relaxing atmosphere.  Because it was Christmas, all the common areas were  beautifully decorated for Christmas with greenery, lights and a Christmas tree; there was even a HUGE gingerbread ship in the lobby.  Unfortunately the decorations were taken down without warning overnight on Dec 30^th and we didn’t get to take any photos. The hotel had 2 pools, 2 hot tubs (indoor and outdoor) and a kids’ pool with a rain umbrella.  There was also a playground near the pool.    Outside of the lounge on the patio was a big firepit surrounded by sofas.  Beyond the patio was a lawn perfect for playing and used for various programs.  Surrounding the green space were lawn chairs and fire pits.  We really enjoyed sitting by our own fire pit each evening talking and gazing at the stars.

 

 

There are 2 restaurants on site and food could be ordered in the lounges and at a poolside grill as well (the poolside grill was closed for the winter).  We ate at the lobby lounge a couple of times; there is a limited menu of burgers, cheese plates, salads and chicken wings.  We ate breakfast, lunch and dinner at Café 4750 and it was very good, if expensive.  The breakfast buffet was the best!   The lunch and dinner menus were similar, so  it was good that we were able to eat outside the hotel for variety (and less expense).  We did not eat at Salt, the 4 diamond restaurant, although we heard it was very good.  There was also an adult sports bar with a pool table.  We didn’t go in there because of our kids, but we did poke our head in; it was very nice and had a more contemporary vibe than the hotel lobby bar.

 

This Ritz-Carlton is very family-oriented.   Although my kids didn’t take advantage of it, there is a Ritz Kids room that looked very welcoming and fun (for an extra fee); it was located just beyond the pool.  In addition, there is an unsupervised teen space for ages 13+ called “Our Space”; my son hung out there a bit and really enjoyed it.  There were video games, table games and a fantastic movie theater showing movies all day long; in the evening there were snacks and drinks as well.   Besides the dedicated kid spaces, there were 3 drop-in unsupervised ball rooms set up all week: a toddler room, a family game room (ping pong, pool table, basketball shot, air hockey) that we utilized every night and a movie room filled with bean bags, a popcorn machine and drinks; a different family movie was shown every night.  I got the feeling that these rooms are not in operation during non-holiday times.  

 

 

If that wasn’t enough entertainment, there was a list of (complimentary) activities available throughout the day like shark tooth hunting, a puppet show, zoo animals brought in from the Jacksonville zoo, pool and beach games and an astronomer with a powerful telescope.  Daily activities were listed in the lobby or a schedule could be had from the concierge.   And my favorite: just about every evening there was a bonfire either on the beach or on the hotel lawn with marshmallows, s‘mores fixings and hot cocoa.  Sometimes these bonfires were accompanied by a ghost story-telling pirate lady. 

 

 

Most of our time at the hotel was spent on the beach. The beach was right outside the hotel accessed by 2 boardwalks that crossed over the dunes.  There were lounge chairs already there and on the warmest days a hotel employee was available to set up beach umbrellas, distribute towels and bring water.   There are many shells on the beach up near the chairs, which some people don’t like, but since collecting shells is one of Girly’s favorite things to do, it was perfect for her.  Just know that you will need shoes on this part of the beach, although the sand was smoother near the water.   The water was freezing, so we didn’t go in, but some people did.   We absolutely loved the beach and it was perfect for flying our kite, collecting shells and making sandcastles.  The beach was pitch black at night, and when we went to the bonfire, we could have used a flashlight to find our way.   However, I believe that at certain times of the year, flashlights are forbidden at night because of the turtles hatching eggs.  The hotel has a sunrise watch every morning on the beach, but we didn’t make it (although we did watch it from our balcony).

 

 

The spa was awesome!  Check-in was friendly and gracious.  Next I was taken on a tour of the facilities, shown how to use my locker and given a robe and spa slippers.  After putting on my swimsuit I went to Wet Lounge for a soak in the huge hot tub before my massage.  This room also has a steam room, sauna, showers and lounge chairs.  Cold towels laced with ice and cucumbers were a welcome treat after my soak.  Refreshed, I went into the lounge to wait to be called in for my appointment.  The lounge is very soothing, decorated in green and white tones, with spacious and comfortable lounge chairs.  There was tea, water and banana chips for snacks.  I got to peek into the co-ed lounge; it has a fireplace and looks very inviting also (James and I have to come back for a couple-only trip).  There is also an outside private spa pool and hot tub; you could really stay there all day.  My massage–a Signature Massage with hot stones on my back–was fantastic.  

 

We were at the hotel for New Year’s Eve; there was so much going and it was packed.  There was a big bowl game the next day, so it was a strange mix of football attire and New Year’s Eve glamour.  The big deal at the hotel was the Masquerade Ball and people came dressed to the nines in tuxedoes, ball gowns and masks.   Salt also offered 2 prix-fix dinner seatings.  We didn’t do either of those things, but hung out in the lobby and had dinner there.  Ritz Kids and Our Space had special programs going on that night (pre-registration was required and it was an extra fee).  Even though it was expensive, it would have been nice to register our kids because all the children in the hotel were there and they looked like they were having fun.  After dinner we went to the bonfire, family game room and movie room.  Promptly at midnight the hotel had a fireworks show on the beach; we sat on our balcony and had a perfect view.  

 

 

Restaurants on Amelia Island

 Even though the food at the hotel was good, we enjoyed other restaurants on Amelia Island as well.  Brett’s in historic downtown Fernandina Beach served the best fried shrimp basket that we ever had!   We stopped in there between meals, so it was a limited menu; we need to go back next time for lunch or dinner.    Sitting outside on the pier, watching the boats and huge pelicans, Brett’s was really nice.

 

 

Another day we ate at The Happy Tomato Café, also downtown.  We were surprised that they served BBQ as we thought they only served sandwiches, but it was very good and we were impressed.  The Happy Tomato is very casual with counter ordering and courtyard (outside) seating.

 Not very far from The Ritz was Gourmet Gourmet near American Beach.  Although we didn’t eat there (we stopped in the use the bathroom and bought key lime bars), the food looked very good .  There is a small dining room, but this would be a good spot to get take-out to bring to the beach (we should have done that when we went to Fort Clinch).

 

 Our Activities on Amelia Island

Besides eating in historic downtown Fernandina, we browsed the shops lining the main street.  It’s a cute town to walk around, but there weren’t really many stores that we would actually shop.   I bought an ornament at the Christmas shop and some books about seashells in the bookstore for Girly.  

 

 

For us the highlight of downtown was the fudge at Fantastic Fudge.  Seriously this was the best fudge that we have ever eaten and we went back a few times!   To stop each other from giving sharp elbow jabs, we had to carefully equally divide the fudge; it was that good!

 

 

The island is small and easy to get around, so we were eager to explore.  One day we went to Fort Clinch State Park; we were not sure what we would find, but eager to stay away from any alligators.   Initially we didn’t intend to go inside the fort, thinking that it was just a bunch of stones, but when we did go in we were pleasantly surprised by all the history and details (staged rooms, real canons and even a costumed soldier present to answer questions).    We really enjoyed the experience and stayed quite a long time (until the Confederate soldier started talking and we had to leave before my husband felt compelled to bring him back into the present).

 

 

In the rest of the state park there are nature trails for bike riding or hiking, but after the fort we headed straight for the beach.  The beach was beautiful!   We stayed all day trying to fly a kite and collecting seashells (the sand was smooth and not full of shells like The Ritz-Carlton beach, but still plenty of shells to hunt).   We met a wonderful family on vacation from New York and the highlight of the day was seeing a beached jellyfish.

 

 

Another day we went to American Beach.  Tucked away in a little neighborhood of the same name, it was hard to find but we were determined because this beach is part of African American history.

 

 

 

The beach was mostly deserted and we didn’t stay long–here’s why:

 

 

 

There’s so much that we didn’t get to do on this trip to Amelia Island (more beaches, horseback riding on the beach, ferry to Cumberland Island, tour of the lighthouse, bike riding), that I’m sure that we will be back soon!