Living on an Island

Living on an Island 120907

Living on Amelia Island means that I am, well, living on an island. I've always considered that the restricted boundaries of an island would quickly lead to boredom and cabin fever. I've never been in prison, but I have been on cruises. Although the two are not comparable in terms of the activities, food and treatment, for both there is a severe limitation on how far you can move. On cruises one day at sea is about all I can stand before I want to be on land and see something new.

I was concerned that a small island would give me the same feeling ... TRAPPED.

This morning I was watching a lady from a nearby condo. I had talked with her earlier in the week and knew that she and her husband were here for a week or so. I could see she was getting bored today. She stood on the walkway to the beach and just stared at the sand and sea oats for 30 minutes. Her mind was a million miles away while her body was experiencing a blue-sky, not too hot, gorgeous day right on the beach. Cabin fever? Maybe so.

So, why was I not experiencing the same thing? I live here and spend a lot of time here with occasional trips away. So, here are my categorized thoughts as to why I seem to like it so much and am not at all bored:

1. Find something to do with a purpose - This blog, as simple and unimportant as it is, gives me a purpose. I don't have to work for a living any more (or not much). I'm not a volunteering type. But, exploring has always been fun for me. So, now I am exploring Amelia Island. The internet helps so much with this that the things I find here take me to unexpected places. If you have read previous blog posts these are things like Morocco, lighthouse passports and armadillos. I have a few other interests that are completely unrelated to Amelia Island, but can be done anywhere.
    
2. Share what you do - I am lucky to have RS. She has always had a good eye for seeing things I don't see and capturing them in photos. Over the years I have learned to see things a bit more her way, but she still surprises me. Her photos adorn this blog. Mostly, I take photos of hers and add them to the blog. Occasionally, she will want to replace one or remove one because she doesn't like the quality or it doesn't represent what she wants to show, but mostly, you get to see what she sees. The mundane ones like signs and maintenance sheds she takes at my request, but the others are her eyes. Putting her photos on the blog makes it our blog.
    
3. Open up to new things - I haven't worn shorts in decades. I haven't worn sandals in decades. I haven't fished in decades. I haven't ridden a bicycle in decades. The list goes on and on. I am trying new things and rediscovering things I have not done in a long time. An open mind helps a lot combined with a little bit of willingness to try new things.

So, now the days pass so quickly. There is no boredom. In fact it's becoming just the opposite. I have to go to Washington next week. Too bad for me. It's a lot more fun here even though I will see some nice sights, mix with lots of different people and enjoy a wider range of food in Washington. There I can't hear the surf, see the stars or watch the lovebugs.

-CR
Photos by RS

Views of Amelia Island 120906

Views of Amelia Island 120906

Photos by RS

Ft. Clinch Maintenance Shack 120905

Sign on Side of truck 120905

Sponge 120906

Sand Cliff 120905

Sand 120905

Horseshoe Crab Shell 120906

Beach Toilets 120905

 

High Light

High Light 120905

The first and third Wednesday of each month a tour of the Amelia Island Lighthouse is offered by the city of Fernandina Beach. The tour takes about an hour, costs only $5.00 per person and is full of the history of the island. RS and I decided today to give it a try.



Amelia Island Lighthouse Sign 120905

We met with several others at the Atlantic Recreation Center just before 10 am. After paying our $5 fee we hopped on a van driven by Scott Mikelson. A short ride later and we were at the lighthouse. We entered a one-story, white building with the insignia of the Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 14-1 on the door.

Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 14-1 (120905)

Wow! The coast guard auxiliary ... another thing to research about Amelia Island.

Inside were two members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, Judy something (sorry I did not get the name) and Helen O'Hagan Sintes. Judy explained a bit about the history of the lighthouse to start. You can find info about the history at several sites (1, 2, 3). The interesting parts to me were that the lighthouse was moved in the 1830s in about a two-year period from Cumberland Island next door, it is a short lighthouse and one of only a few land-based lighthouses, and it is on the highest coastal land south of New Jersey (60 feet).

Next Helen took over. She is the daughter and granddaughter of the last two lighthouse keepers and grew up at the lighthouse. She is now 78 and recounted stories from her childhood. It was fun hearing about having the fastest boat on Amelia Island, swimming with the alligators in Egan's Creek, artesian wells on the island and what her dad had to do as a lighthouse keeper.

Helen O'Hagan Sintes 120905


Then, we went to the lighthouse. You cannot go up the steps of the lighthouse but you can look up. Here is RS' view.

Lighthouse Steps Looking Up 120905

Near the lighthouse is what we think is the highest point on Amelia Island. RS snapped this shot ... 60 feet above sea level and the place to go if there is a tsunami.

Highest Point on Amelia Island - 60 Feet 120905

At the end we again took the van back to the Atlantic Recreation Center.

Judy(?) and Scott Chatting 120905

One unusual thing I learned is that there is something called a lighthouse passport. You get one of these and, when you visit a lighthouse, you get a stamp in your lighthouse passport. Sounds like fun. The stamp is at the Atlantic Recreation Center.

-CR
Photos by RS

Views of Amelia Island 120905

Views of Amelia Island 120905

Photos by RS

Advertisement 120905

Lighthouse Window 120905

Fishing for Dinner 120905

A Face in the Crowd 120905

Canopy 120905

Improving the View 120905

Footsteps 120906

Tern 120906

 

Looking Across the Sea

Looking Across the Sea 120904

When I was on the beach yesterday I dreamed of looking across the ocean to see the land on the other side. Of course, the earth is not flat and I know that in reality you cannot see very far out to sea. But, it's still fun to dream.

I already had the latitude of Fernandina Beach's weather station (30.672 N) from my earlier research on weather here. So, I put the latitude in Google maps and, using trial and error, found the longitude of the first landfall on the other side of the Atlantic. Enter 30.672 N 9.883 W in Google maps and you will see it ... Morocco. In fact it's right at Tamri National Park. The nearest coastal cities of any size are Agadir (metro population 678,000) about 25 miles south and Essaouira (population 70,000) about 50 miles north. RS visited Essaouira about three years ago and I will add some of her pictures soon.

Now that I know what I am looking at across the sea, I got to thinking about where Fernandina Beach is headed. The more I discover about this place the more I like it. But, I have yet to see written the vision of where people want Fernandina Beach to be in 10 or 20 years. It's possible I have missed it, or maybe it doesn't exist. Maybe vision is too corporate a way to think and I should just accept that Fernandina has gotten this far and will do okay in the future.

One idea I have is for Fernandina Beach to have sister cities. This would be part of a vision to make Fernandina Beach more attractive to international visitors (or investors). If this is a direction for Fernandina, I think that Essaouira would be a good sister city to consider. If you read the history of Essaouira and how it survives today there are a lot of similarities to Fernandina Beach. Of course, there are major differences too, but that's what you want in a sister city.

-CR
Photos by RS

Views of Amelia Island 120903

Views of Amelia Island 120903

Photos by RS.

Fishing Boat "Senseless" 120903

Railcars 120903

Port Building 120903

 

On the Beach 120903

On the Beach 120903

It had gotten to be about 3 in the afternoon and RS and I decided to go for a swim. We put on our suits, shirts and hats. RS lotioned up with SP something while I got the beach recliners. Off we went.

It's the end of Labor Day and it was a blue sky day that was not too hot. There was a pretty strong breeze off the ocean and we could see thunderstorms forming inland about where Yulee is. As we walked down the walkway to the sand I thought a little about why the breeze seems mostly to come from the ocean in the day time and the thunderstorms initially form inland.

We set up the recliners, took a seat and relaxed. There is something nice about sitting in an ocean breeze in a warm sun. A lot of people seem to do this. After a few minutes I said to RS, "Here we said we would never live in Florida and we would never roast ourselves in the sun."

"Yes, we did." she smiled at me.

Well, obviously we had changed our minds.

As I sat there looking at the ocean I thought about how I used to sit on the beach as a kid and wonder what lay directly across the sea from me. Maybe if I squinted long enough, I could see whatever it was. So, I said this to RS. She replied, "I've never thought about that." That made me wonder even more. So soon I will research this topic and all of us will know.

RS' hat has a wide brim and she had to hold it in the strong breeze. It flew off a couple of times revealing the label. "Madagascar!" she commented. I knew it couldn't be Madagascar on the other side of the ocean since Madagascar is in the Indian Ocean and we are on the Atlantic. This made me say, "What?"

"Madagascar is where my hat was made ,,, and it's hand-made raffia." I didn't have the faintest idea what raffia was until I looked it up as I write this blog post. It's a type of palm tree native to Africa and Madagascar. It's really strange how a palm from Africa spends its final days among the palms of Florida. Now I wonder if the Florida palms can be woven into wide-brimmed hats.

But, back to the beach.

Two young couples were on the beach about 50 feet from us. One had a baby who was just starting to walk. We watched as the father struggled to put up a beach umbrella. He drove the post into the sand, then opened the umbrella, which immediately turned inside out. I don't think he was a local since this seemed to be the first time he had ever done this. After about 5 minutes of struggling, he decided that the umbrella wasn't needed after all. I noted in my head that anyone with a standing beach umbrella on a windy day had to be an experienced beach person.

Once the beach umbrella decision was made, the two guys were ready to fish. I don't know anything about surf fishing. A couple of times on walks I have asked surf fishermen (almost all people fishing in the surf are men) if they had caught anything. The reply was almost always, "yes, a few whiting." So, I just Googled whiting and here is more than you will want to know about surf fishing for whiting in Florida.

About this time I was ready to test the water. I knew from my research on weather in Fernandina Beach that the water temperature was warm. RS confirmed my research as we walked into the water. "The water is warm," she said.

One of the things I have noticed about the beach is that it changes. Of course, the tides go up and down, but the contours of the beach change. I bought a really helpful book about Florida beaches at the Book Loft downtown. It's called Florida's Living Beaches by Blair and Dawn Witherington. This book explained to me in understandable terms about how beaches work. Anyway, I was not surprised to feel an undulating bottom. This made walking in the breakers kind of difficult and at the same time fun. We didn't know whether the next step was up or down. Sometimes, I towered over RS and other times she was was an Amazon.

It was a four-breaker day. This is a term I have developed for identifying the ocean conditions. I count the number of waves with white caps that I can see at one time perpendicular to the shoreline. Four at a time is pretty strong. RS had already looked down at the lifeguard stand on Main beach and seen a red flag. We couldn't agree on what that meant so this is another topic to research.

After refreshing ourselves in the surf, we again sat on the recliners and looked at the waves and people walking by. Then, we got hot again and RS was ready to go in the water. We did and laughed as the waves washed over us. While we were jumping breakers one of the fishermen walked past us with a nod and a smile. I watched as he walked to the last sandbar and with all his strength cast the bait into the ocean. Then, he walked back to shore and put his pole in white holder that I think had been made from some plastic piping. Then he sat down. Fishing didn't seem like such tough work.

Eventually, both RS and I had enough water and returned to our recliners. The afternoon was growing late and I suggested that we go inside and clean up. This we did. There is a story I will tell you about how to clean yourself when you leave the beach, but that will be for another time.

-CR
Photos by RS

Fitting the Pieces Together

Fitting the Pieces Together 120903

The Labor Day week-end is about over and people are loading their cars with suitcases full of dirty clothes and sand. It's kind of an odd feeling watching people leave Amelia Island. In a way it's like turning the pages of a book. The summer chapter ends and now comes the fall chapter. Summer was full of families and kids. Lots of wave jumping and beachcombers. I expect that fall will bring an older crowd and few kids. Already I can feel the days getting shorter even though the heat remains.

RS and I were talking about the week-end and the things we had seen: a Blue Moon, the turtle release, shopping, eating out, a beach 5K run, flag displays and more. It got me thinking about Fernandina Beach as a small town and how it all fits together.

You can drive around town and still see some of the signs for the most recent election. VOTE FOR ME! they shout. Yes, there is a government that provides services. I like to read the local paper and all the arguing and differences in view that take place. But, the government seems to function reasonably well. There are roads, schools, pretty low crime and the place is clean. Government is important and I am sure in this blog I will write more about it. But, government doesn't make it all happen or make the place what it is. At least not alone.

So what does make this place what it is?

You can see the Welcome to Fernandina Beach sign filled with the names of civic organizations. I am sure these groups add value to the place. Just about every small town I have seen in the USA has these same types of groups. It's kind of a combination of organizations that serve a special interest combined with some level of do-gooderism.

But civic organizations are not enough to make the place what it is.

Since I have been looking on Google about Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach, I have been discovering little things. Maybe it is no surprise that there are groups of people dedicated to turtles or pool playing or former military service or a zillon other things. These groups provide a means for people with a special interest to share what they like or do.

Maybe it is also no surprise that there are individuals who seem to have something inside them driving them to focus at least part of their lives on one thing, for example, Rita Jackson and horses or Leo McCormack and archeology or David Bert Austin and beekeeping. I'm starting to feel that I may become focused too just by writing this blog.

But, all this alone doesn't make Fernandina Beach unique and so interesting. I suppose the geography, the history, the businesses and industry, the religious organizations add a part to it.

Maybe it's the character of the people. There is an unusual mix of rural southerners, rich people, African Americans, manufacturing workers, tourists, retirees, foreigners and other ways to classify people. Somehow they all come together or at least live here side-by-side.

I don't know. Maybe I should defer this question and just keep writing about what I see and feel and how it all fits together will somehow coalesce into a clear vision.

-CR
Photos by RS

Views of Amelia Island 120902

Views of Amelia Island 120902

Photos by RS

Cloud 120901

Flag Display 120902



Fernandina Beach Waterfront 120902





Dock Float 120902



Tracks 120902

 

The Sources for Amelia Island Weather Information

The Sources for Amelia Island Weather Information 120902

Since it was so hot yesterday at the sea turtle release, I had temperature on my mind. This naturally led to wondering about the weather at Fernandina Beach and Amelia Island. I started by trying to find out the normal temperatures for Fernandina Beach and ended up on the Weather Channel website. The average highs and lows were no surprise to me since that was one factor for moving to Amelia Island. The record high of 104 F and low of 4 F were a bit surprising, but those happen so rarely I don't really worry about those extremes.

If there are weather reports from Fernandina Beach, where do they come from? Maybe I could find the weather station on the island and ask RS to take a picture of it. I Googled 'Fernandina Beach Weather Station' and immediately found that there is a weather buoy just off the north end of Amelia Island. You can get up-to-date information on temperature, wave height and wind direction. There is also a weather station in Fernandina Beach. Both of these are operated by NOAA.

I wondered where the Fernandina Beach weather station was. Although a picture was included on the website, I wasn't sure. Then, I tried entering the latitude and longitude information (30.672 N 81.465 W) from the weather station website on Google maps. WOW! it showed me exactly where it is ... right on Front Street in downtown Fernandina Beach.

We went to the Google location and the weather station wasn't there. But a little looking north of the spot turned it up. It's near the Fernandina Port Parking Lot on Front Street. It's the rectangular box in RS' photo.

Fernandina Beach weather Station 120903

As I looked more at Google I came across Doppler radar at Fernandina Beach from one of the Jacksonville TV stations. Included on their website was a map centered on downtown Fernandina Beach. Where did that come from? When I Googled doppler radar I immediately came across the National Weather Service's website showing U.S. doppler radar sites. It turns out the site is in Jacksonville. I guess Fernandina Beach is an also ran on doppler radar sites.

The weather here is so interesting. We live in a sub-tropical climate so you would think every day is almost like every other day, but it is not so. Maybe I am just more attuned to the weather here than when I lived in the big city. Here I notice clouds and how different they are. I notice the light and how it changes. Wind speed, rain and humidity are always a part of being outside. Tides become important. When was the last time a city dweller thought about tides?

After all this thinking about weather and what I discovered, I thought that maybe the weather station would be a fun little part of a tour of Fernandina Beach ... "and here, folks, is one of 4000 NOAA weather reporting stations in the USA. Weather is important in Fernandina Beach ..."

-CR
Photos by RS

Views of Amelia Island 120901

Views of Amelia Island 120901

Photos by RS

Evening Falls 120831



Moon Behind Cloud 120831




Evans Rendezvous 120831

Fishing 120830

 

Gecko 120830

Nana Dune 120830

 

Sea Turtle Release

Sea Turtle Release 120901

We had heard about three sea turtles being released on Saturday, September 1 at 11:30 am at Main beach. After last night's Blue Moon turtle watching we were beginning to feel that turtles are a big thing on Amelia Island. A little Googling turns up the Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch website with all the information you would ever want about sea turtles.

So we went to Main Beach to see a crowd of about 300 people behind two rope barriers, which formed a slight "V" as it ran about 100 feet from the parking lot to the water. It was hot and the crowd was sweating, but you could feel the anticipation. Shortly after our arrival a man with a loud speaker told us about three green turtles being released. We missed most of what he said because of the sound of the surf and the wind, but it didn't matter. We knew that they had been injured or sick and had been nursed back to health. A volunteer handed us a brochure about the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on nearby Jekyll Island.

Picture on the Side of the Sea Turtle Truck 120901

I didn't know what to expect. I had envisioned three turtles placed on the sand plodding their way down hill to the surf. The barrier was about 40 feet apart where we were and I thought that would give plenty of room in case one of the turtles slanted left or right.

Well, that's not how it works. Apparently there is a sea turtle release process. Here is how it works. One turtle is released at a time. A team of three humans form the release team.

Bault Pronounced Bolt 120901

One person holds the turtle by its front flippers while supporting the body with his/her forearms. These turtles were about a foot in diameter so they were not too heavy. A second person carries a hand-drawn sign with the name of the turtle and exclamations of good luck. The third person has a loud speaker and explains what is going on. The team walks the entire barrier rope on both sides so all the onlookers get a good view of the turtle. Camera snaps were everywhere.

Snapping 120901

There is also a bunch of groupies and security who were allowed inside the barrier. Most of the groupies were photographers who had close-up views of the turtles although one used a telephoto lens from about two feet away. The security guys were mostly auxiliary police force members although one was a real Fernandina Beach police officer. He had to twice whistle away curious swimmers who were in the water near the end of the roped off area.

Finally, the release itself is a parade of the turtle, the release team and the groupies down the middle of the roped-off area. The turtle holder and the sign person (sans sign) go into the water with the turtle. They go past the breakers with the turtle being held above the water while being splashed with sea water. Finally, about chest deep in the water, the holder puts the turtle in the water. A splash or two and the turtle swims off. When this occurs the two team members hold up both of their arms in a victory stance. The crowd, of course, cheers enthusiastically. We did too.

Turtle Release 120901

The release of one turtle takes about 15 minutes. Since it was so hot, the crowd began to dissipate after the first release. RS said to me, "I think I am going to pass out." This made me briefly think about altruisim of one species (humans) helping another (green turtles) and at the same time heating us all up. I thought that a better release time would be about 8 in the morning.

We stayed the course and watched the second and third turtles be released. It did feel good to see all this happen.

As we were walking back to our place I began to realize why I have never seen turtle soup on an Amelia Island menu. It would be a business disaster.

 -CR
Photos by RS

Blue Moon and Then Some

Blue Moon and Then Some 120831

We had seen the advertisements for the Blue Moon party on August 31 at Sliders. WOW, a Blue Moon!  I had not seen a Blue Moon since I was a kid. The 31st was a Friday night so we decided that we didn't want to go to Sliders and fight the crowds just to get a small glimpse of the Blue Moon. Instead we thought about going to eat early at Fancy Sushi then getting home to our oceanfront condo in time to see the moon rise.

But, RS wanted to go for a walk on the beach in the late afternoon. So, off we went for a beach walk. The sun was beginning to sink toward the horizon as the gentle sea breezes carried us along. Finally, we turned to walk home. The sun had not set but was clear in its intent to slide below the horizon. It was an especially clear twilight and we could see all the way to the north and south ends of the island.

As we walked back from the beach towards our condo, there was the sea turtle nest that we had been seeing all summer. Someone had dug a little of the sand out making an easy path to the sea. A young woman, Angela, and her daughter, Anna, from southern Indiana were there and we talked with them a bit about sea turtles and when the hatching would occur. The sun was growing tired and sunset was imminent.

As we got back to the condo RS said let's skip Fancy Sushi and eat on the balcony so we can watch the moonrise. What a good idea! We dug around the refrigerator and found some hummus and Kalamata olives, plus an unopened blue cheese. I got a bottle of Trader Joe's finest red wine and we adjourned to the porch.

We were just in time. The sun was setting and very shortly after that the moon made its appearance. Since it was so clear I could see it like a phantom at first. Slowly it grew more visible. I held out my arm full length and measured the distance of the moon from the horizon ... one-half thumb's width. This was quite exciting. My first Blue Moon in decades. RS pulled out her camera and snapped some pictures, while I sang the words "Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone ..." 



The Moon Half a Thumb High


RS told me stop singing so we wouldn't bother the neighbors, then exclaimed how her lens would not let her get a good shot. She tried everything finally settling for placing the camera on the railing for steadiness and snapping away.

I think RS will get a telephoto lens ... these shots don't capture the feeling too well.

While she was snapping away, I was sipping away on the Trader Joe's wine and relishing the flavors of olive hummus, saltine crackers, Kalamata olives and blue cheese. I could see RS's figure outlined against the moonlit waters ... but that's another story.

Anyway, it got me into a reflective state of mind. So, I opened a discussion of how Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach kind of makes you more aware, maybe more in tune, with the natural world. I can tell you I am no organic eater, or much more than an armchair environmentalist, but it is true. Living in the city means going from parking garage to parking garage in an air-conditioned car. In the city, if I saw one star, I was surprised. But, here in Fernandina I was looking at a Blue Moon and liking it. Of course, a little more Trader Joe's mellowed my thinking even more.

Then, right in front of the reflection of the Blue Moon on the water, five or six people were standing on the beach. GET OUT OF THE PICTURE I thought about yelling, but, that's not really my character, so I just complained to RS.

After a while she said that the people seemed to be looking at the turtle nest. Then, she said let's take a look. Well, it was pretty dark, but I agreed and down we went to the beach.

By the time we got there, the people were gone. but, as we arrived, Angela and Anna walked up. Maybe the turtles were ready to hatch. Well, this is already a long story. We spent about two hours watching nothing happen. We did have a conversation about Amelia and how nice it is to live here along with the pluses and minuses of owning and renting a condo. Finally, we gave up on the turtles and kissed the Blue Moon good night ... it was fun and I have a little more of an understanding of the charms of Amelia Island.
 
-CR
Photos by RS

=====

The next morning I got up early, drank my orange juice and wrote about the Blue Moon. After a while RS called from the bedroom, "Did the turtles hatch?" I walked back to see her lying in bed, her eyes barely open. "I checked every hour til 4 am," she told me. You don't know RS yet, but staying up all night is not an unusual thing for her. She rarely pays attention to time. So, I had to walk down to the beach and check on the turtle nest.

The Blue Moon was long gone. I guess a Blue Moon on the last day of the month probably ends at midnight anyway. The sun now shown brightly revealing ... no change in the nest.

I expect we will be spending tonight again watching for hatchlings.