Spring Break Trip - Day 5

We both were awake by 0730 and ate breakfast at the Navy Lodge. Mollie had Mollie determined that Cumberland Island was going to be "a money pit" (with all the ferry boat, tour and bike rental costs), so we decided to skip that National Park and stay in Florida. It was another beautiful day! We drove across the St. Johns River to Mandarin and I showed Mollie our old home there. We then took some back roads to St. Augustine so we could visit the two National Parks with stamps in Mollie's NPS Passport book. The first stop (1030) was at Castillo de San Marcos, an impressive Seventeenth Century fortification (built with coquina blocks) that withstood a 39 day siege by a British fleet launched from Fort Frederica (our last stop yesterday). When our family (sans Mollie) used to live in the area, we often visited the famous landmark. Today we watched a musket demonstration (performed in Spanish) and enjoyed the splendid views of the harbor. We'd already seen the benefit of having our National Park Pass and we noted it again - fee free entry to the fort! After we'd leared a bunch of Spanish history, we walked around in the Old Town, stopping in souvenir shops (Mollie got presents for Nicky) and sampling the ice cream (Mollie treated me!). We were in the area for about two hours before we crossed over to the barrier island and drove south to Fort Matanzas, a Spanish watch tower built with coquina. This was the first visit for both of us to the park and we were pleasantly surprised to learn that a ferry ride to the island fort was free and there were tickets available (despite the crowds). Enjoyed another "picnic" lunch in the car while for our ferry. We took the 1330 ride and explored the remote outpost - it was situated at the southern end of the channel that approached St. Augustine and repelled several attempts to outflank the town during the 1700s. Even more than the history, though, the wildlife (oysters, crabs, wood storks, ospreys, egrets, ibises and roseate spoonbills) was very impressive. We also talked to some fishermen who were anchored just off the coast and they told us they always caught something. One of the other guests (from Canada) remarked that it must have been a lonely place - in my heart, I completely disagreed and would have been happy to set up camp there for 30 days (typical stint for garrison watch). We left the area at 1430, bound for Jacksonville (on I-95 and "I-295") and more NPS Passport adventures! Once we were back in Jacksonville, we made our way to Fort Caroline, located on the larger Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve property in the northeast corner of Duval County. I’d visited in 2004 but it was new to Mollie. Actually, she was super happy with this place because she got two more NPS Passport stamps for one stop, making a total of four for the day! Our initial intent was just to explore the historic site and then go looking for wildlife in some of the park annex areas before the sun went down. However, we started our walk to the fort and immediately encountered three playful (hunting?) dolphins that hung around near the dock for over 30 minutes. Mollie was feeling great but then learned from some local people that manatees might be spotted nearby as well - this changed the visit from one of history and nature to "animals only!" She was a good sport, though, and went with me (for five minutes) to the replica fort that was built in memory of Hugenot settlers from France who were massacred by Spanish soldiers from Saint Augustine in the 1580s (to be fair, it should be noted that the French had sent their entire army to attack the Spanish but left "la Caroline" undefended). Nearby, we visited a memorial to the French Explorer Jean Ribault, who helped choose a location for the colony and who established good relations with the native peoples. The view of the river and nearby Mayport NAS was really great. We then left the park and proceeded on a manatee chase down the shoreline of the St. Johns River. We were unsuccessful in finding any but Mollie had heard about a nearby place called "Manatee Point" (at NAS Jax) so I took her in that direction. Just after we got back on the Base, we encountered a young sailor (Corpsman) whose car had broken down and gave him a ride to the Auto Shop (1800). Many times on this trip, we've experienced the camaraderie and respect of the service members who protect our country - it brings back a lot of good memories for me and reminds me how much the Navy meant to me. After the detour, Mollie and I walked out on a boardwalk to Mulberry Point. It had many ominous warnings about alligators and a few signs for manatees. It was still a beautiful day by the time we arrived (after another short drive) at Manatee Point but the wind had really kicked up. This made spotting wildlife (and especially marine mammals) very difficult. Somehow, I convinced Mollie to try another time and we returned to our room at the Navy Lodge. We cooked dinner (soup, fruit, snacks) - after several days of driving and eating in the car, it was nice to be able to cook ourselves some dinner in the kitchen we had! Must admit that I was disappointed we couldn't find manatees for Mollie but I told her how I'd never encountered wild manatees in over three years living in Jacksonville. I also told her I hoped the next time would be luckier but she replied that it was OK because she’d seen the dolphins. We watched TV, read books and Mollie did a little studying before we both went to bed (2200).