Hiking at Fort Caroline

 

 

If you live in a populated resort locale like Amelia Island, you may be surprised to discover the amount of hiking and biking trails that are practically in our backyards. I’m spending some time with my friend Cindy in Jacksonville this week and the two of us decided to take a hike at Fort Caroline, located in the Timucuan Preserve, about halfway between Amelia Island and Jacksonville Beach. The Timucua were the Indians who made contact with the first European arrivals in the area in the mid-1500s. These people hunted and gathered in the forests and marshes, collecting clams and oysters, and they used the waterways like St. Johns Creek for transportation.

 

Within the Preserve is the Theodore Roosevelt Area, a place where people can leave the everyday pressures and stresses of life behind and enter a world where their senses can indulge  in the sounds, smells, and sights of Old Florida. The park is a gift given to the people by an insightful gentleman named Willie Browne, who lived his entire life on the property. Towards the end of his life he became worried that Jacksonville would become a concrete jungle with no wild areas remaining. Developers offered Browne millions of dollars to buy his land but he declined and donated the land to the park service so that future generations would have “a place in the woods to go to.”

 

Fort Caroline National Memorial is an area within the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, a fort that protected the first planned French settlement in the United States. Jean Ribault led the expedition in 1562, and erected a monument on the bluff above what is now the St. Johns River. Spain sought to dislodge the French and sent Pedro Menendez  to set up a base at St. Augustine. Menendez marched north with 500 soldiers and massacred 140 settlers and shortly after marched south and slaughtered 350 more men. This area was eventually named Matanzas, which means “slaughter.”

 

The original site of “La Caroline” no longer exists, possibly washed away after the river channel was altered in the 1880s. The fort exhibit is based on a 1500s sketch by Jacques le Moyne, colony artist and mapmaker. Cindy and I stopped into the visitor center to chat with the rangers, and then headed out to the hiking trails. There are many places you can hike within the Preserve; we began at the Timucuan Preserve Headquarters and hiked north, crossing Hammock Creek and on to a viewing area called Round Marsh. A connecting trail took us along the bank of St. Johns Creek where we saw mounds of oyster shells, built by the Timucuans. Taking a left off that trail, we came upon the grave of a Confederate soldier and then further down the trail, Browne’s home site and his family cemetery. We decided to loop around so we could hike back to our vehicle, but if we had continued northwest on the trail we would have come to Spanish Pond, where the Spanish soldiers camped before they attacked the French settlers.

 

What’s great about this hiking spot is that you can take in the beauty of the forest, the marsh and its wildlife, and St. Johns Creek, while learning the history of this very significant area. The trails are easy to hike and suitable for all ages and abilities. To learn more about Fort Caroline visit: www.nps.gov/foca.

A Long Walk Home

Last week I had a small mishap on my bike. Not an actual accident, but a silly thing where I started pedaling, my foot slipped, I lost my balance, and fell over. (Sort of like Artie Johnson on his tricycle in that 60s show, “Laugh In”.) Anyway, I ended up with quite a few bruises and decided to take a couple of days off from biking.

I took a day to run errands around the island on foot instead. When you’re a pedestrian, it’s important to plan a route because it’s time consuming to back track if you forget to stop somewhere. I started my day by walking about a mile to meet some friends for lunch (their treat!) and then headed down the street to the post office and pharmacy. Then I turned around and walked through a plaza where I did a little window shopping, and then crossed a main street and out to a different part of town where I visited two clients, stopped at the bank, and then went to a grocery store.

Groceries are heavy and this is where I miscalculated my endurance level. I took along a backpack and a canvas grocery bag, filling them both with heavy items like bananas, squash, celery, oranges, a bottle of apple juice, and other items. By the time I returned home I was completely exhausted! So even though I consider myself to be in pretty good shape, this five mile day of doing errands on foot was not the best option for me. And when I get back on my bike this week, I think I should peddle to the bike shop and buy a basket for my bike, or maybe even some saddlebags.

In closing, did you see on the news this week about a female  black lab who takes public transportation on her own? She and her owner take a bus to the dog park every day, but sometimes the dog gets on the bus by herself and gets off at the park, her owner meeting her there later. Smart dog! Here is a link to the story:

http://www.abc57.com/story/27840283/dog-takes-public-bus-to-dog-park

Pedestrian Pleasures Fact: According to the AAA, the average person spends $9,641 per year for the privilege of driving.

 

 

Notes from a Public Transportation Junkie

I realized that getting rid of my car was completely doable after trying out some public transportation last year. Greyhound travels all over the United States, and not just to the big cities. Last summer while visiting family in New England I took a bus from New Haven, Connecticut to Keene, New Hampshire. In between, the bus stops included large cities like Hartford, Connecticut and Springfield, Massachusetts, but even sleepy spots like a convenience store in Brattleboro, Vermont. And the cost was about $35.

I live in Fernandina Beach, Florida, and started traveling to Jacksonville a few months ago, once or twice a week. I discovered there is a bus offered by the Council on Aging that takes commuters all the way to Rosa Parks Station for $1 each way. From there, I can take a Jacksonville city bus nearly anywhere, for $1.50. When you enter the transit station you will see several people wearing yellow transit uniforms – these are your go-to guys for helping you get on the right bus. There’s a rack of schedules for each route and they’re very easy to understand.

But here are some even more new things I discovered about the Jacksonville bus system: If you need a ride to or from a place where there is no bus stop, you can call and request a ride; the cost is only $2. You can also tell the bus driver as you get on that you’d like him to stop at a non-designated location along the route. The Skyway traverses the city, from Rosa Parks to the Prime Osborne Convention Center, and across the St. Johns River into San Marco, running every 7-10 minutes, and it’s free!

My favorite place in Jacksonville is the Riverside area, and there’s a trolley that runs from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m., with its stop near Central Station, that costs $1.50. To get down to the Metropolitan Park area, where I’ve been working on a project, I can take the Tallyrand Community Shuttle directly to my destination, for $1.50. And if you want to see just how much money public transportation will save you, visit www.jtafla.com  -  there is place where you can punch in information about your car, how many miles you drive it, and the present cost of gas - it will tell you how much money you can save each year using public transportation.

Cycling on Amelia Island

Now that I’ve got a modern, new bicycle it’s much more pleasurable to cycle around Amelia Island. I’m still getting used to my Giant Liv Enchant – since I haven’t done much riding the last few years, I need work on my balance, speed, and stamina. But with miles of new bike trails, better sidewalks, and safer bike lanes, people are island-pedaling now more than ever. Did you know that the number one question asked by tourists when they visit Amelia Island is, “Are there safe places to ride a bike around the island?”
 

 

Cycling is one of the most versatile sports that anyone can participate in, and it’s also great fun. This past weekend I thought it would be enjoyable to try out some of the new trails that will now take you safely from the north end of Amelia Island to the very southern tip, and even beyond that. Some folks are under the misconception that there is one long, paved trail to take you through the island, but that is not true. The Amelia Island Bike Trail is a series of trails that connect together so that you can ride everywhere around the island safely. The thing I like about the island trails is they are diverse and distinctive everywhere you go, making your cycling experience fun and rewarding no matter where you cycle on the island.

      

I began my trip at Fort Clinch State Park, the most northern tip of Amelia Island. You can take the back trails if you have an off-road bike, and they are pretty challenging. But I chose to take the easier route on the main road, which brought me from the Amelia River though the state park’s maritime hammock and estuarine tidal marsh. When I got to the entrance of the park, I crossed Atlantic Avenue and continued out behind the Atlantic Recreation Center, where I entered Egans Creek Greenway.

 

      

The Greenway is one of my favorite parts of the trail. It is all off-road, but easy to bike, and I always see a multitude of birds, turtles, and occasionally a raccoon or otter. It was a beautiful, sunny day as I traveled the trail across Jasmine Street, and onto the southern part of the Greenway, which now goes all the way to Sadler Road, behind the Residence Inn. I highly recommend picking up a map of the Greenway, as there are other side trails and you can get turned around a little if you’re not paying attention. But I managed to come out unscathed, and then turned left toward the beach, riding on the sidewalk for a short distance until I came to 1^st Avenue, where I took a right.

      

1^st Avenue runs parallel to Fletcher, a quiet neighborhood street with very little traffic and friendly people who greeted me good morning as I cycled through. When I reached Bill Melton Drive and the Fernandina Golf Course, I rode through that neighborhood until I reached the Buccaneer Trail. The sidewalk along this road is very safe to ride on – it’s quite a ways back from the main road, and a treat awaits cyclists along that part of the trail - the Ten Acres Kraft Athletic Club. A private organization, Ten Acres has a large sign at its gate that welcomes bicyclists to come into the club to rest by the river.

      

This is a nice place to take a break, have a snack, drink some water, and enjoy the view of the river. If you ride down here at sunset, the view is especially picturesque. After my rest, I rode south until I came to A1A, which took me all the way to the south end of the island, to Amelia River State Park. This part of the trail is where I noticed so much improvement – the bike lanes are wide and safe, and cyclists are easily seen by motorists.

      

If I were to continue over the Nassau Sound, I would have discovered even more trails through Big and Little Talbot Islands, and if I was feeling even more adventurous, I could ride straightaway to Mayport, take the ferry across the St. John’s River, and ride all the way to Jacksonville, and even St. Augustine. Whew! I think I’ll save that for another day.

      

For a map of Amelia’s bike trails and more information, visit: www.ameliaislandtrail.org and www.ameliaisland.com/biketrails

 

Enjoy the Ride

I didn’t exactly choose to give up my car; rather my car chose to give up on me. It’s a ten-year-old PT Cruiser that has had more problems and idiosyncrasies than any other vehicle I’ve owned, but frankly, I loved it. But a few weeks ago the repairs it needed became substantial, even more than the car was worth, especially after the thousands I have already put into it. And so the PT and I decided to part ways.

As kismet would have it, a few years ago I came up with an idea to give up driving for a year, and write a blog about it. Something that I thought I might do when I was retired, when I would have lots of time on my hands to sit around in transit stations, writing my memoirs, watching other travelers come and go. But the PT chose not to see me into retirement, so I have become a pedestrian a little sooner than I had planned.

I’m lucky to live on a 13-mile long island, with great bike paths and bike lanes; there’s a grocery store one half mile from my home, and whether I choose to bike or walk, I’m only a few minutes from just about anywhere on the island. But becoming a pedestrian is still fraught with problems. Lousy weather, last minute appointments, and crazy drivers offer challenges to the nascent pedestrian.

 

My PT is still drivable, which is helping me through the transition period, and I plan to donate it to a charity in the next few weeks. In the meantime I’ve procured a new Giant Liv Enchant bike from Camden Bicycle Center in St. Marys, Georgia. Owners Darlene and Terry Landreth were extremely encouraging in my pursuit of peddle power. I doubt that I will become a cross-country cyclist or pedestrian athlete, but I think that walking and peddling my way through 2015 will be an experience I’ll never forget - I welcome you to come along with me!