Fort Clinch

Sunday morning we woke up and decided to take a family adventure somewhere out of the ordinary.  Our choices were St. Augustine or Fernandina.  We chose the latter.  This is mainly because it also came with a Ferry ride and the kids had never been on the Mayport Ferry before.  After Palmer’s morning nap we suited up and headed out.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day.  The Ferry ride was a lot faster than I ever remember it being.  We didn’t even have time to unbuckle the kids to let them out of the car.  Not that they would have gotten out anyway especially after the Captain blew the horn.  Everyone jumped and it made poor Palmer cry.  It was fun though and I know the kids enjoyed it.  Once on the other side of the ditch we started seeing a lot of cyclists on the road.  Come to find out we picked the wrong day to drive up to Fernandina, the day of the 2011 Fernandina Triathlon.    The cycling/running portion ran the entire drive up there.  It was almost laughable how slow we were driving as to not hit the hundreds of cyclists on the road.  We finally made it to the entrance of the fort but we weren’t out of the woods yet…this was the running portion of the race.  At least the race provided entertainment for Isla and Leo.  They just watched the athletes out of their windows and never once asked for us to put in a DVD.  After an hour of driving we were finally able to get out of the car and stretch our legs.  Everyone got to pick out a treat for being so patient on the drive up (and because we were all starving)!  John got some nutter butters, I chose a Snickers ice cream bar, Isla picked a strawberry shortcake bar, and Leo devoured his ice cream sandwich before we even stepped inside the fort.  The fort was really interesting to see.  I thought maybe Isla and Leo would be bored after like 5 minutes but they were the ones wanting to see every single room in the place.  They loved it!  My little history buffs.  We climbed stone walls, discovered secret tunnels and passage ways, saw the old jail, the cannon ball chamber, the laundry room, the outhouses (Isla was very inquisitive about how they went potty without a toilet), the hospital where they amputated people’s legs after giving them whiskey as anesthesia, the Captain’s quarters and more.  It was so peaceful being out there on the ocean with the breeze blowing and learning about the history that took place at Fort Clinch…

(like I said, DEVOURED it)

(The pnut even enjoyed himself)

After our history lesson we drove to a little outside café for lunch.  We sat under a tin roof while a million acorns fell one by one overhead.  It was hilarious and we jumped every time one landed with a thud.  We decided to take I95 on the way home and Isla, Leo, and Palmer were out like a light as soon as we took off.  It was such a great family outing  and really one of my favorite days.  We’ll be back, Fernandina!