Surprise of the Day

While we were walking along the top of Fort Clinch we noticed a lot of Coast Guard activity.


Then we found out why.

A submarine was being escorted through the channel and out to sea. The Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia is located nearby and is the east coast homeport for the Navy's Trident nuclear submarines.
Special barrier ships on each side provide protection.

A pilot is used to guide the sub to open water. Once through the channel the pilot is transferred to an awaiting ship.

Fort Clinch

Fort Clinch is located on the northern end of Amelia Island. Construction began in 1847 and it's purpose was to guard the the mouth of the St. Mary's River, protect coastal and interior shipping and defend the deepwater port of Fernandina, Florida.



While walking along the top of the fort, we had a big surprise. Check out tomorrow's photos to find out what it was.

More Florida Flora

Whose Tern is it?

Fernandina Beach, Fla.

Florida Flora

Pelicans in the Morning

Brown Pelicans at the Harbor Marina at Fernandina Beach.

Fernandina's Historic District

The historic district encompasses a 50 block area of downtown Fernandina that is cited on the National Register of Historic Places. It contains a large number of homes of late Victorian architecture.

Sunset on Amelia Island

Harbor Marina, Fernandina Beach

Morse Museum

One of the highlights of the day exploring Winter Park was the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art.

What make this museum special is that it has the largest collection of the works of American artist and designer Louis Comfort Tiffany whose life-long goal was "the pursuit of beauty". The collection includes many examples of leaded-glass, but also his paintings, jewelry, blown glass, enamels, pottery and mosaics.

The center piece of the museum is Tiffany Chapel which was designed for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. It fills a 1,000 square feet room with another world of intricate, reflective glass mosaic surfaces.

No cameras were allowed in the museum so here is a token photo from a postcard.

Winter Park Boat Tour

A scenic boat tour through the beautiful lakes and canals of historic Winter Park and the multi-million dollar homes.

The canal connecting two of the lakes was the most interesting part of the trip.

Flagler College

The centerpiece of Flager College in St. Augustine is the Ponce de Leon Hall which was built in 1888 as a luxury hotel by Henry Morrison Flagler, industrialist, oil magnate and railroad pioneer.

Flowers of St. Augustine

First Iris Bloom

Birds of Prey

While at Lake Junaluska, I was able to attend a presentation by the group, Save our American Raptors. Their goal is to educate people about these magnificent aerial predators.

Screech Owl

Bard Owl

Red-tailed Hawk

Bald Eagle (lost a wing but still proud)

Black Vulture video

Native Plants

Native plant garden at Lake Junaluska, NC