On My Own: November in Florida

November 3-19, 2025                                               Most Recent Posts:
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Fernandina Beach, Florida

I left the farm on Monday November 3rd and Walmarted my way south stopping in North Carolina, South Carolina and arriving at Fort Clinch State Park on Wednesday November 5th. This is my usual plan for getting from Virginia to Florida since in years past we have done the entire lovely coastal routes and the mountain to coast routes. So now I just drive straight down. It’s an easy drive down I-95 in the right lane letting everyone blast past me. I hope I don’t have to come up with a new plan because the inconsiderate campers abuse walmart by running generators, putting out their slides and awnings and in other ways not appreciating the generosity given them by the stores.

20251213_153919 Fort Clinch State Park in Fernandina Beach Florida has two campgrounds. One on the Amelia River aptly named the River Campground and one at the mouth of the river where it meets the Atlantic Ocean called the Atlantic Campground. I’m on my way to the latter. To get to either one you drive through a simply gorgeous treelined nearly 2 miles on Historic Canopy Road.

I managed to back myself into site 15 with no help. Chock one up for me.

Beautiful full moon over the ocean with a shrimp boat shining on the horizon line. I don’t guess I realized shrimp boats work all night. Fernandina Beach is known for its shrimp.

Next day and pretty much every day, I head for the beach. This path goes right off of the campground and straight to the river. Walking along the river shore to the right I end up at the Atlantic Ocean.

Along with another group of beach lovers.

This just made me laugh out loud. Caspian Terns are the largest tern and remind me of Groucho Marx. Boy somebody is getting a talking to.

First thing in the morning I can see some of nature’s wonderful sand art but it looks like a wide tire bike has been here before me. Still I wonder, how do the waves do this?

Breakfast.

The beauty of the sea oats on the dunes.

I love the little town of Fernandina Beach, probably my favorite in all of Florida. This week the library is having a book sale. Of course I have to go.

This is the 3rd or 4th day of the sale but there are still tons of books.

They are all sort of organized by category. I spend a fun hour looking around but thankfully don’t come up with anything I must have.

Walking around town, I take random pictures. This is one of my favorite permanent art installations. It’s located right next to the Visitors’ Center which is always my first stop to see what’s going on the two weeks I’m here.

The Visitor’s Center is in the historic Train Station. I often take a seat by the statue of Senator David Levy Yulee Florida’s first US Senator and largely responsible for the Railroad down the East Coast that put Fernandina on the map.

Back at the park with my gathered information, I ran into this handsome fellow.

Fernandina Beach has been my first stop in Florida each year since I pretty much finalized which parks I prefer to go to. One thing I love is being able to walk out and see the sunrise over the water every morning. I try to get out for dawn which is 40 minutes or so before actual sunrise.

This morning I see the shrimpers coming back in. The giant rock breakwater in the next two pictures extends the river channel into the ocean. It’s very interesting to watch it submerge and nearly disappear with the tides.

Here comes the sun!

Looking behind me to the west.

It’s so bright that my camera makes it look much darker than it actually is.
The clouds lining the horizon block the sun for some time.

At this point, the water has risen up and nearly over the breakwater.

Later in the week I discovered evidence of mice having been in my pantry probably while I was at the farm for such an extended period of time. So I spent several hours cleaning out all the shelves and making sure they had not been able to get into any of the jars or cans. I love many things about Winnona and the tqo door sliding pantry is way up on that list. Such an ingenious design.

The temperatures dropped during the 2nd week I was here and it felt more like Virginia than Florida.

The drop in temperatures also brought WIND which made it feel even colder than it was. For a number of days I abandoned my beach walks for the trails through the maritime forest.

Sometimes the wind died down in the afternoon and I was able to find these treasurers on the beach. Actually I’ll just call the sand dollar a treasurer and acknowledge the jellyfish is actually a lovely looking creature if I set aside its stinging potential. Mother Nature is amazing!!

Being on the river and ocean, this is the best I get for a sunset looking to the west from the beach.

I haven’t been kayaking since last March which I really hate. There are no good places to go near the farm so kayaking there requires long drives. I guess I’m getting lazy and always swear I’ll do better next time.

But Egan Creek goes right along the border of the park and although there is no launch in the park there is one very near by. Unfortunately they have not made it very possible for a solo kayaker without help to carry the boat from the on street parking to the boat ramp. I could drag it but that scratches the bottom of the hull too much on the pavement. In times past, someone has come along and been willing to take one end. But this time that didn’t happen.

It turns out that after this day, it was either raining or low tide every other time I wanted to go out.

One of two favorite reading spots when it isn’t raining or so windy the chair blows away.

I was out one morning as the water was rising and wondering how this fisherman was going to get back to shore. The water wasn’t exactly swimming temperature.

I guess he didn’t want to get his shirt wet

Earlier in my stay I had several days of walking in the waves. Though it wasn’t warm enough for me to consider swimming, others, especially kids, did.

I like to arrive mid week so I can do two Saturday Farmer’s markets.

I usually park a few blocks away from the market which is held on a side street in town. I like to walk by the beautiful Victorian era homes that line the streets in Fernandina Beach. In December I’m finally going to get to tour some of them.

I’ve gotten into a bit of a habit of eating out once a week to try various restaurants in the towns near the parks where I stay. At Timoti’s Seafood Shack I had their Chopped Salad Box which of course I didn’t take a picture of but it had fresh greens topped with beets, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, toasted pecans, feta, figs, croutons and their signature vinaigrette. It’s huge and you can get it as a wrap but I prefer it as a salad. Very good.

Those of you who have followed me for some time may remember that I once was part of a Book Box called The Traveling Reader. I absolutely loved it. Each month they sent a book about an area of the United Kingdom along with maps and tourist information and goodies from local businesses. It was wonderful and I was crushed when they closed. The problem for me was that they would only ship to one address which meant either the boxes piled up at the farm or I had to have them forwarded at additional expense. But now I’ve found another books in the mail similar thing which sends a book concerning a different state each month from an independent bookstore and goodies like those seen in this picture. This was my first box and the state was Oklahoma. There is a book mark holder and great stickers that I put in my journal. Also that cute little jar of apple butter from Southern Roots Sisters in Waukomis OK. I just love supporting independent businesses many of them owned by women. And the best thing is, the owner of Books in Boxes will take a new address from me every month AND has a book discussion at the end of each month on that month’s book. Really hope I like the book choices. I did like this one, a powerful story of what it took to survive the depression and the dustbowl simultaneously in Oklahoma. I received this here at Fort Clinch. So excited! Like Christmas once a month.

Back to other days at the beach. I couldn’t figure out what this gull was after even when he had it in his beak.

People enjoy walking on the breakwater when the lower half of it is out of the water and they don’t have to swim like the guy earlier.

I love seeing the early morning gathering of birds – gulls, terns and others - right at the river/ocean corner. You can barely see the breakwater behind the birds. They gather every morning after sunrise.

Another sunset this time I’m on the campground boardwalk looking back at the campground.

My first week in Fernandina I tried Timoni’s and for my second week I tried T-Rays Burger Station a real local favorite that has a daily special. I was moving on Wednesday so I got in line to order for the Tuesday meatloaf special. Comfort food from my childhood. And I remembered to take pictures.

Eat inside or out.

I chose out and it was way more food than I could eat in one sitting.

Gravy and 3 sides of your choice with fresh warm bread. No wonder it’s so popular.

My last sunrise for this visit was heavily clouded. The sun was really fighting to break through. But I’ll be back in early December too for Dickens on Centre so I can enjoy more early morning beauty.