Land of the Majestic Live Oaks

 

Once again we had a weather system moving in on us that was going to make things rough at the City Marina in St Augustine. The forecast was for gale force winds out of the north beginning on Friday. Safe to know that a gale is a lot of wind and something you don’t want to be in either at anchor or at a dock if you can help it. So we decided to go into the St John’s river to Jacksonville where there is a first class marina called Port 32.

So on Thursday morning we rolled out at 7 am for the 54 mile cruise to Jacksonville. Our route took us through the Tolomato River and on into a long dug section of the ICW. We passed by many beautiful waterfront homes especially in Palm Valley and Ponte Vedra. This is waterfront living at its finest. We then turned into the St John’s river and headed 20 miles to the mouth of the Ortega River where Port 32 is located.

The St John’s river to Jacksonville is mostly large scale industrial with numerous shipping ports of all types. As you pass Jacksonville it turns largely residential and then remote.  Port 32 Marina is full service providing free laundry, beautiful pool, gas grills and a wonderful boaters lounge. Not to mention everything a boater would need was almost within walking distance. We saw La Vida was moored just across from us.

We Looped a couple of different sections with them and enjoyed their company. So we connected and had a wonderful dinner at a great local Indian restaurant. The Canadian crew from Grand Vue also joined us. On Saturday we jumped on the bikes and rode five miles to downtown. The ride took us along the river front where stately old homes adorned with majestic live oaks some of which were around at the time of the civil war.

The live oaks are an ecosystem in and of themselves as they are home to beards of Spanish moss, ferns and many types of succulents. Birds, squirrels and lizards make these trees home. You can’t help but think Deep South when you are amongst these curly armed giants. These trees were highly prized by shipwrights as they utilized their curved branches to shape boats. Our ride also took us through the small area of Avondale which is about two blocks long and packed with eating and retail options. Down Jacksonville is a bit of an enigma. It has all the right bones to be a thriving Florida city but it just can’t seem to find its footing. There is a beautiful waterfront area but many of the commercial spaces are shuttered. However based on what I saw I believe it is currently a Florida bargain. There is signs that things are on the move. Only time will tell. 

On Sunday we rolled back out of the St John’s river to join back up to the ICW where we anchored just off to the side slightly north of Kingsley Creek which in total was about 25 miles. As we turned onto the ICW we noticed an unusual amount of small boat traffic. When I say unusual I mean like a steady stream of them miles long. When we went past Kingsley Creek all of them were turning into the creek.

We could see a mass of boats pulled up onto the shallows. Our objective was to go to the Kingsley Creek Plantation which is another national park. We dinghied to the park dock and did a self guided tour of buildings and slave quarters. The planter that owned this place was a bit different. First he married a slave and then gave her her freedom.

He then put her in charge of the whole operation as he traveled and conducted business around the country. He was also a believer that slaves were to be treated with dignity and respect at least to the level of that time. Eventually when Florida became a state and being married to a black man or woman became a crime he packed up his family and mover to Cuba. It was a real interesting stop.

After we hopped back into the dinghy and went to see where all the boats were. Well did we see them. There must have been no less than 3-400 boats of every shape and size hanging out enjoying Memorial Day. We anchored about a mile away in a beautiful spot over looking miles of marsh. It was so peaceful and serene. It was hard to leave the next morning. 

                                                         Slave quarters

     Note the cloud cover. This was a very rare cloudy day over the past year.