Amelia Island,January 9-11

Again, the drive from Charleston to Amelia Island was very uneventful.  We had lunch in the outskirts of Savannah and arrived at the Residence Inn on Amelia Island in mid-afternoon.  The hotel was up to the standards set by Charleston, although it had more of a resort feel.  After a quick trip to the supermarket, I drove down the street (merely one block) and checked out the beach.  We cooked our dinner in our room and had a quiet evening.

 On Friday morning, we set out to tour our area of the island (Fernandina Beach).  We drove through the historic district and ended up at Brett's Waterway Café, a restaurant on the intracoastal waterway, for lunch.  I got to try their Shrimp and Grits, which were fabulous! The restaurant was right at the municipal marina on the Amelia River, so we had the opportunity to walk the docks, even touching base with a couple on an Island Packet 40 that they had purchased in Rock Hall! We couldn't figure out why there were trucks loaded with wood arriving and leaving the island constantly, but later found out that Amelia Island has two paper factories (you can see one of them in a photo at the marina). 

On Friday morning, we set out to tour our area of the island (Fernandina Beach).  We drove through the historic district and ended up at Brett's Waterway Café, a restaurant on the intracoastal waterway, for lunch.  I got to try their Shrimp and Grits, which were fabulous!  The restaurant was right at the municipal marina on the Amelia River, so we had the opportunity to walk the docks, even touching base with a couple on an Island Packet 40 that they had purchased in Rock Hall! We couldn't figure out why there were trucks loaded with wood arriving and leaving the island constantly, but later found out that Amelia Island has two paper factories (you can see one of them in a photo at the marina). 
Later that afternoon, I went for a long walk on the beach--it was really pretty.  There are public accesses every block or two. 

There is a lot of history associated with Amelia Island.  One claim to fame is that in their over 400 years of history, they have been under 8 flags:  "Florida's Golden Isle that the French visited, the Spanish developed, the English named and the Americans tamed.  It is the only U.S. location to have been under eight different flags." In the 1850's Fernandina became the terminus for Florida's first cross-state railroad, organized by Senator David Yulee.