WE TRIED TO HAVE A BEACH DAY.

Saturday, April 8 – With good intentions, we headed down to the beach just a few steps from John's house on Amelia Island, Florida. The weather report was not good, but we had high hopes any rain would hold off until later in the day. Of course, the boys have a great time even if the adults would never dream of going in that cold water. They wanted to remind us how wonderful it is to be young. They skim boarded, boogie boarded, dug in the sand, tossed the football, and of course did a little swimming.

Paul testing the waters.

Paul saying NO WAY!

These boys just crack us up! L-R: Graham, Hudson, Noah. Graham and Hudson are twins.

These guys kept us entertained while we waited for the sun to shine.

The sky was getting a little dark and the air was cooling down, so we decided to retreat back to the pool area. The water was warmer, but the adults remained as spectators while the boys challenged each other to swimming contests. After a short stay at the pool, we gave up on any hopes of enjoying a sunny Florida day at the beach and headed back to the house.

After a quick snack for lunch, the Mexican Train game was dug out. We enjoyed several hours of fun. Marsha was the winner, and of course, she didn't want to mention it in the blog! Her name and date are also placed permanently on the lid of the box as a historical documentation of the win. That's a neat tradition!

What would a family get together be without food? Soon it was time for dinner. Karen had prepared BBQ, corn on the cob, French fries, and baked beans. Yummy!

After visiting for a while longer it was time to bid our farewell for the day and head back to the RV for the night. Unfortunately, the weather isn't looking good for any more beach time, so we'll have to find other ways to enjoy some family time together for the next couple of days.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

FERNANDINA BEACH, AMELIA ISLAND.

Friday, April 6 - Having arrived a day earlier than planned here in Amelia Island, Florida, we had a day to kill before meeting up with Paul's brother and the family for dinner tonight. It was a beautiful day, so we decided to get a little exercise by visiting historic downtown Fernandina Beach. (You can always click on any photo to enlarge it.)

Our last visit to Amelia Island was back in 2013. The downtown area has expanded since then. It still retains its quaint small town feel, but there are many more restaurants, shops, and taverns to serve the expanding tourists trade. We noticed significant building taking place increasing the residential community and hotel space as well.

David Levy Yulee, the prime mover behind the Florida Railroad Company and the founding of modern Fernandina.

We enjoyed walking along the dock and stopping into several of the small shops to checkout the displays. We always enjoy visiting this downtown area because it is not overcrowded with tourists even though it is less than an hour from Jacksonville, Florida.

Thanks Fernandina Beach for caring.

Remember when we were in San Antonio and Paul wanted to try out to be part of a mariachi band. Well, now he thinks he might want to be a pirate instead. He thought this guy could answer some of his questions about how exciting it would be to be a pirate.

Later in the day, we headed to Paul’s brother John’s, who has a home here on Amelia Island. It was great to see John and Karen and a new addition, Grandpa Doc, Karen's father. John's son Ryan, Holly and the boys arrived shortly afterwards. We headed into town to enjoy pizza. After dinner, we returned to John's to enjoy some family time with the gang.

Karen, John, Paul, Ryan.

The gang.

If the weather cooperates, we have a little beach time planned for tomorrow. Stop back and enjoy the beautiful beach here at Amelia Island with us.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day.

OFF TO FLORIDA

Wednesday, April 4 – We awoke in Frog City RV Park in Duson, Louisiana, after a night of heavy rain and severe winds predicted. Thank goodness the heavy winds never arrived, but we sure got the rain. Luckily, it had stopped around 6 a.m. The roads were drying up before we headed out. We stopped to fill the fuel tank at the gas station out front of the RV park and jumped on I-10 heading through Lafayette and then on to Baton Rouge, LA. We passed through Mississippi and into Alabama where we stopped at Wilderness RV Park in Robertsdale, AL.

We haven’t seen the water this high ever.

Even between the divide highway.

Crossing the mighty Mississippi River.

Wilderness RV Park is okay for a quick overnight stop. We really wouldn't want to spend much time here. Most of the residents are here for work or to spend their retirement in the back woods of Alabama. There are numerous trees which might make it difficult to get satellite reception. We asked for a site in the open area, so we had no trouble getting the satellite to connect. The streets here are gravel, and the sites are grass with a little gravel. We have a FHU site with 50 amp electric (30 amp is $2 less per night) for $19 with the Passport America 50% discount. The sites are fairly close together, but we are only here for one night.

Site #14

Looking right.

Looking left.

Tomorrow we head into Florida and plan on stopping around Tallahassee. We are slowly inching toward our final destination of Amelia Island which is off the coast near Jacksonville, FL.

Thursday, April 5 – We left Robertsdale, Alabama, early this morning heading to our next destination, Beaver Lake Campground in Quincy, Florida. We knew we would be there earlier than the official check-in time, but that has never been an issue in the nine years we've been on the road.

Guess there is always a first time! The lady at the gas station where we were to check in told us we would have to wait about three hours to check in. No option to pay an early check in fee and no room for discussion. Paul was a little upset and told her it was time to reevaluate her business plan. We told her we would stay elsewhere. Interestingly, there were only two RV's in the campground, and two additional RV's pulled into the station as we were leaving. Guess they don't want or need the business!

We checked the Tallahassee Elks Lodge, but they were full and other area campgrounds were above our price range. So what started out as a short drive day turned into a long-drive day as we decided to simply push on to our final stop in Yulee, Florida. The drive was uneventful. We have to say that I-10 through Florida is wonderful to drive. What a difference a day makes.

We are at the Bow & Arrow Campground in Yulee, Florida, which is about 20 minutes from John’s house, Paul’s brother, on Amelia Island, FL. The rate is $185/week and this is no Florida resort! The campground is a typical “dated” campground that has seen better days! The roads are paved but narrow, and the sites are all pull-thru and gravel with FHU 50 amp electric. There is the Florida mandatory swimming pool, WiFi, laundry facilities and a little grass between close-together sites. Luckily we are in Site #1 which is an end site giving us a little more room. There are large shade trees so, if you want satellite TV ask for a site in one of the first two rows. We are here for six nights. Stop back and see what fun the Weaver brothers have.

Looking right.

Looking left.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!