Cumberland Island

     I should be writing some C++ code but decided to take a break to continue backlogging past adventures.  Also, I am sad that I didn't go kayaking this past weekend - combination of stomach viral bug in the family and too cold/windy anyway.  We did make it to the MOSI Festival of Chocolate which was a blast - but that is another story for another day.  My husband and I took a mini vacation in November to Fernandina Beach, Florida intent on paddling to Cumberland Island.

      Fernandina is a lovely little town full of quaint Bed and Breakfasts.  Many of our trips are planned spur of the moment, so I had spent a couple days ahead of time trying to pull up websites and call said B and B's but the Internet was down in Fernandina the day I tried to make my calls..so many of the B and B sites were not up.  Eventually I decided on a local Hampton Inn.  We were pleasantly surprised that the Hampton had unique touches that made it seem a little less 'hotel-ish'.  The entrance had a spiral staircase and was jubilantly decorated for the season.  The breakfast area on the second floor had a 'seaside' theme and view of the pool.  Our room had a fireplace and a giant whirlpool jet tub.

     We set out on the first morning with a snack lunch I had packed the night before on the shore near Fort Clinch State Park. It was a cold, foggy morning.  I am not a fan of cold weather.  I had a tough semester of school which wasn't even finished at the point we took this trip, so I had not been out paddling in some time. My arms tired quickly and my husband asked to pull me across the channel to the island.  For the first time since we have been together, I agreed.  He enjoyed the exercise and I enjoyed the free ride and the chance to get some bird pictures.

 

  He accidentally passed the opening he intended to paddle up and we approached a building known as the Ice House.  We pulled ashore and I realized I did not have proper attire for this outing.  I am still searching for women's quick dry pants to wear kayaking..turns out they are not so easy to find.  I had cotton capri type pants and my croc sandals.  Next time I visit the island, I will bring a change of shoes.  Cold weather and wet sand in between your toes while doing lots of walking around an island is not pleasant.  My whining aside, we went inside the Ice House to escape the chilly wind and read up on some history of the island and the ruins.  I remember that ruins on the island were previously established by part of the Carnegie family..but I don't remember much else of the history.  It is fascinating however and there is a lot of information to be found about the island.

     We walked to the ruins and several other groups of families were roaming about the island, presumably having come over on the ferry.  My husband really wanted to show me the horses so we kept our eyes peeled but never did see a single horse.  My husband has been to the island several times and never NOT seen a horse, so I guess I was just unlucky.  I definitely plan on going back one day.  We walked on a nice boardwalk trail and also to the beach, which was quite cold.  I did see several bird species on the island, including an Eastern Towhee which had not been marked off my sighting list.  It was making a ruckus with its mate in the underbrush and despite crawling on my belly and snapping a dozen pictures, not one came out as distinguishable.

     The water was like glass on the paddle back to Fernandina and the temperature had dropped as well.  We stopped on one of the shores of the island across an inlet to look for some shark's teeth to bring home for the boys.  We found a handful and several interesting shells.

     That evening we took a stroll through downtown Fernandina which was walking distance from our hotel.  I used TripAdvisor to determine our eating destination for the night and settled on Lulu's at Thompson House.  It was basically a large detached garage of an adjacent historical home.  There was a small indoor seating area and two enclose outdoor porch areas with heat lamps.  I decided on the outdoor seating with the heat turned all the way up.  The food was delicious.  We had calamari, shrimp with fried grit cake and tasso sauce and a creamy pasta and shrimp dish that I don't recall the name of.  Afterwards, we wandered about to the tiny boutiques that lined the streets and wandered into a unique shop called Lemongrass.  My hubby bought me a beautiful casual belted trench coat by a company called SuperDry.

     Overall, it was a great trip and break from the kids.  I loved the freedom to roam the island as we please and that is one of my favorite aspects of kayaking - the ability to get to places that often seem untouched by others.  For the less adventurous, you can take the ferry and I suppose there are probably tour guides for the  island as well.  I am not knocking tours or guides - but I like to do things my own way most of the time.