After crossing into Florida yesterday, we drove into Jacksonville, where we first went to the Treaty Oak, an oak tree in the middle of a park that's more than 250 years old, with a 25-foot (7.6 meter) trunk. Oak trees may just be our favorite type of tree in the American southeast, with their dramatic, diva-like branches sprawling up, down and out! These trees not shy; they like to take up as much space as possible and make sure that everyone knows it! There's a boardwalk leading up to the Treaty Oak, and since we have definitely escaped the colder climate up north, the oak was blooming, with vibrant green leaves (not a crunchy autumn leaf in sight).
Next up was the Prudential Building's Rock of Gilbraltar, a hefty limestone rock that's plonked outside the Prudential Insurance Company building back in 1995. There's not much more to say to describe it, but for some reason it was a gift from the British Navy, and sits on a platform, with an inscription pasted on the rock to this day.
A more recognizable attraction is the Friendship Fountain, a large fountain in the middle of St. Johns River Park, which was the world's largest and tallest fountain when it opened in 1965. And since we weren't in the northeast anymore, there was actually water in this fountain--it wasn't off for the season leading up to an icy or snowy winter! Having said that, if we hadn't looked it up we wouldn't have known that it was one of the largest and tallest fountains of its time--maybe because when we think of big fountains these days, the one outside the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas seems to be much bigger, and the Friendship Fountain wasn't putting on a big light and water show during the daytime.
Go West, There's More Sights Over There
Crossing the bridge across the St. Johns River, we drove west, parking our RV next to a brace of ducks (did you know that the terms for a group of ducks depends on whether they're in flight, in the water, or on land?), who sat very relaxed in the grass and looked like they had absolutely no intention of moving. Such is life in the Sunshine State!
We walked to Memorial Park, where people were enjoying the sunny and warm weather. There's a striking bronze sculpture in the middle of the park, simply called "Life", commemorating those who died during World War I. The sculpture is of a nude, winged male figure, with one foot on a globe, holding an olive branch up to the sky. Underneath, there are shapes of human figures.
We got back to our RV, the ducks were still there, having served as very effective security guards for our vehicle. We said goodbye (they didn't care), and made our way to the Riverside Arts Market, a farmer's market that's held on Saturdays under a bridge, selling food, trinkets, and the like. On one side there was an outdoor yoga session taking place, where we (and everyone else in the market) could hear the instructor booming out instructions through her headpiece, while a group of people all followed along, doing side planks while propped up on yoga mats. Now, perhaps it would be a start to the weekend, but with the car traffic, foot traffic, and all the surrounding noise, it would certainly be rather distracting and not particularly zen!
There was nowhere to park near the markets so we continued on our merry way--about 4 minutes' drive away, we stopped and got out to see the Beastie Boys Mural, which is unique because it needs 3D glasses to see it properly! The artist was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records for the largest 3D painting in the world. We didn't have any 3D glasses but we took a photo of the mural, which was behind a tall fence. Perhaps we can view the photo we took with 3D glasses at some point, and get the effect?
There were a couple of other places we had on our list to check out. The first was a quick drive past the Lift Ev'Ry Voice and Sing Park, a park celebrating the heritage and success of the once-segregated LaVilla neighborhood in Jacksonville. We will say, that this area was a little bit sketchy looking even during the daytime, and when we drove a little bit further along to the Jacksonville Public Library (there's a collection of antiquarian maps inside), Lisette ended up deciding that she wanted to move on. I know, maybe these maps would have been awesome and Lisette missed out, but sometimes we rationalize that we can skip things, knowing that it can sometimes be cumbersome to have to find a safe spot to park the RV, and decide whether we really want to see something or would be okay to skip it!
Fort Caroline and St. John
Florida has its fair share of forts, and at Fort Caroline National Memorial, we learned about the brief French presence in the state in the 16th century (wow, didn't realize it dated that long ago). The French attempted to have a colonial settlement here, but was at odds with the Spanish, who had established a presence in St. Augustine. The Spanish launched an assault on Fort Caroline in 1565; there were 200 to 250 people at the garrison, but only about 50 women and children survived. The Spanish destroyed Fort Caroline and built their own fort on the same site. The brutality of this attack shocked many Europeans, which is saying a lot because this era was a particularly bloody one! Then, in April 1568, a French force attacked, captured and burned the fort, then slaughtered the Spanish prisoners in revenge for the 1565 massacre. They didn't try to reclaim the fort--rather, they came to kill, then sailed off. The Spanish rebuilt the fort after this, but permanently abandoned it the following year. What a barbarous history!
While there may not be a lot to show for the fort today, there are some lovely trails, and it's fascinating to walk around and read about the events that have taken place here, and the native Timucua-speaking people, French explorers, and Spanish colonists that have all shaped the fort's history.
After our trek, we drove for about 15 minutes towards St. Johns River Light, a decommissioned lighthouse that stands near the mouth of the St. Johns River. It's a red brick lighthouse that was built in 1858 and decommissioned in 1929 after it was replaced with a lightship. Unfortunately, however, we could barely see it, as it was behind some private property and inaccessible. Even Michael could just make out the top of it in the distance. Oh well--fortunately, we have seen lots of interesting and distinct lighthouses on this trip!
We headed to Jacksonville Beach Pier, continuing south along the coast until we arrived at Vilano Beach Fishing Pier in the Florida city of St. Augustine. It's a free pier and kind of kitschy--a statue of a bright blue duck with a vibrant yellow beak and huge, anime-style eyes greets you at the entrance to the pier ("Happiness is Vilano Beach, Florida" is painted on its belly), while several sculptures of dolphins leap in the distance--but it's a lovely pier, and we saw plenty of folks fishing along it.
The First Night of Night of Lights
There's been times on this trip where we've been somewhere and it's coincided with an event, and as it so happened, tonight was the first night of the annual "Night of Lights" event in St. Augustine! The historic downtown district kicks off its holiday lights display that runs from mid-November to mid-January each year. And we would be there for the countdown to the first night of the lights display!
St. Augustine is the oldest city in the country, founded in 1565 by Spanish settlers, and unsurprisingly, isn't the easiest spot for parking an RV at the best of times--and it would certainly be next to impossible to do so at the start of this major event. So we drove away from the center of the city, and parked at a shopping complex carpark, near an Aldi grocery store and a Chipotle fast food chain. Then, as it got closer to the light show starting, we got on our bikes (Sheila in her dog trailer), and cycled to town. Cycling towards the historic city center was doable, although in typical Florida style there weren't any dedicated bike paths and sometimes even lacked footpaths for pedestrians (clearly everyone drives around here).
Once we got closer to the historic center, it was jam-packed with people! Cars, lit-up buggies, horse & carriages were driving along the main road, and the sidewalks were filled with people all walking towards the center, where there were singers performing leading up to the countdown for when the lights would first come on for the season. We fortunately found a place to park our bikes next to a pole, and stood on the sidewalk as the crowds grew thicker. Traffic continued down the road, however, which surprised us as it would have been less intense if the roads were closed for the lighting.
Soon, the singing tapered off, and the performers started a countdown...3, 2, 1... and all the holiday lights came on! Everyone clapped, cheered and celebrated. It was fun to be part of this occasion, but we also decided not to stick around for much longer, opting not to stay among the crowds and try to avoid getting stuck among the traffic heading out of St. Augustine for the night. Sheila also wasn't loving the chaos.
It was a little challenging to ride our e-bikes as it was rather dark in places, but we ended up stopping outside someone's house away from the historic district which was all lit up to celebrate in their own way. As we were taking photos, a lady came out and we had a lovely chat, and she pointed us through a shortcut that meant we could avoid the highway and go along some side streets. Given how dark it was, we couldn't speed back, but eventually we made it to the RV in one piece! We had a basic dinner (instant noodles to the rescue!), before chucking the e-bikes inside the RV and going to sleep.