The forgotten coast

We have been camped along the Gulf of Mexico for the last eight days at Tyndall Air Force Base. It was clear right away on our arrival that we were going to get a regular, and loud, demonstration of the projection of air superiority of the U S Air Force right from our Camp site. The fighter jets pass overhead on a regular basis on their training runs. The campground is nestled in trees along a small estuary on the sound side of the barrier island that the base occupies and we share the space with a good number of local wild inhabitants including black bears. We saw their tracks on occasion but never the bears.

They call this the forgotten coast and it seems a fitting name in this difficult housing market. There are a tremendous amount of houses for sale all along the coast and many building projects abandoned in mid construction. Its bid to join the big boys of the Florida coast development is apparently on hold for the moment. The towns of Panama City and Panama City Beach have all the necessary conveniences but seem to lack any real charm.

We have spent much of our time working around the motorhome and visiting with the fellow campers here. There are a number of social events from coffee get together in the AM to a gathering around the enclosed campfire in the evenings. The Holiday entertainment on the grounds and at the Civic Center have been very good.

We have been a bit distracted here, as we have finally received a serious, if low, offer on our house in Ohio. This process has taken some real soul searching and acceptance of the poor housing market. There have been negotiations over a number of days that at this writing are still ongoing. We are hopeful that we may have a sales contract in the next few days.

In two days we move on to Navarre Beach to spend the holidays with Heather, Katie and Ryan.

Spirit of Suwannee Music park

9 December 2007
As we have searched for interesting things to do in the area, we have come to realize that the big attraction here is the Spirit of Suwannee Music Park-where we are camped. This is a semi-public operated combination Music center with several indoor and outdoor stages where music performances are put on throughout the year, campground, Horse Park, hiking trails, craft center, and outdoor recreation hub with canoeing and other water sports with its own white sand beach.

It sits on 685 acres and has 7000 acres of public land all around it. We have spent much of our time hiking the park trials in the woods and along the river. We have also managed to put a fair amount of miles on our bikes inside the park boundaries. They have a 2.5 mile Christmas light display with 5 million lights in the park that bring in visitors from the greater surrounding area.

In the evenings we have attended the craft fair that includes entertainment, campfire and free hot chocolate and marshmallows with ready to hand roasting sticks for the campfire. We have enjoyed the small stage bands and even one jam session made up of campers that happen to be in the park. The park provides a building just for these get togethers.

We move on tomorrow to Panama City, but have enjoyed a quiet visit here to the Suwannee River Valley.

Way down on the Suwannee River

6 December 2007
We are camped along the Suwannee River, in the heart of the Suwannee River recreation area of Florida. This area of Florida has been popular with settlers and travelers since the early 1800’s due to the climate and the hot springs that have been abundant in the Suwannee River Valley. In fact, the Seminole Indians believed that the springs had medicinal qualities. This brings to me to the topic of this post. There is not great deal of historical places to visit in the area and most of the towns near here could be considered mundane.

We first visited Lake City, FL which is clean but not particularly interesting. It requires that you look under the surface to realize that it was a major Seminole Indian village until the early 1800’s. As is the case with most of the history of this country, the Indians were a hindrance to the expansion of the European settlers, which led to pressure on the Indians that in turn led to the famous Dade massacre of 1835 led by the Seminole Chief Alligator from the village that is now Lake City. This started the Seminole war, which was the longest war, the United States was ever engaged in. So even the most unobtrusive places can have an amazing past.

We next visited the town of White Springs, which was the first real tourist town in Florida. It was very popular from the mid 1800’s until the early 1900’s as a resort with a number of hotels with various levels of luxury service. What made the town popular was the White Sulfur Springs along the Suwannee River that were thought to have healing and recuperative qualities. There was a spa built around the main spring at the edge of the town on the Suwannee River. Once the tourist started heading further south, the town quickly faded into history. Perhaps its last claim to fame was as a WWII prisoner of war camp located here, where a good number of the prisoners chose to stay after the war rather than return to Germany. What is left is a small reminder of its former short lived glory and the Stephen Foster State Park.

Ships passing

3 December 2007
We are moving on today to Live Oak, Fl. It has been a very enjoyable stay in Mayport and the surrounding area. Particularly enjoyable was watching the many military and commercial ships passing by our front window. Some of these are shown here.

Last night, as we walked back from our last stroll of the beach at sunset, there was a Navy ship departing for a patrol. It is always fascinating to watch them go by. But tonight we were also reminded that these are not pleasure cruises. There were several young women near us on the breakwall with small children. One of the young boys was yelling loudly that his dad was on that ship. The ship was likely on its way for a patrol that can last six to nine months, so the boy and his family will not see his father for Christmas or for many months to come. His father and hundreds of other sailors will be doing their duty in harm’s way.

Amelia Island

28 November 2007
We headed to Amelia Island today, but first made a stop to visit a plantation on St George’s Island. This was the Kingsley Plantation for a number of years in the early 1800’s. If you are familiar with the background of cotton plantations in the south, it was not remarkable except for a few interesting facts. First, thru skilled management techniques they managed to expand the plantation from just under a thousand acres to over 32000 acres. The most interesting fact was much more personal. Zephaniah Kingsley purchased a 13 year old slave (Ana) in Havana directly from a ship which brought her from Africa. He fathered three children with her. Several years later, he freed her and her children. He eventually married her and she became his partner in the plantation. Because of a change in Florida law that impacted her rights to hold land and other property, he moved his family to Haiti. After he passed away, she returned to Florida to claim his property left to her in his will. A Florida court denied her claim based on race and she appealed to the Supreme Court and was granted her property. At the time, she was likely the most successful former female black slave in Florida. Also of interest to me was the fact that during her time as a freed slave in Florida, she owned a farm in her own right and owned black African slaves of her own.

After passing thru the large new resort areas and mega housing developments that are threatening to sink the south end of Amelia Island, we stopped at the oldest town on the Island-Fernandina Beach. This has been a busy town since before the struggle for independent from Britain. It sits along a busy waterway; which has provided much of its success. Today, this small town is a regular stop for the waterborne snowbirds seeking the winter sun. Among its attractions are the many Victorian era homes and a recently opened Island Museum. Also of note, is the oldest operating saloon in Florida located on the main street.

Certainly, if we still owned our sailboat, it would be on our list of places to drop anchor for awhile.