A Rather Gray Day

Huguenot Memorial Park, Fort George, FL Site #3

It was overcast with a 50% chance of rain when we left Fort Clinch. It wasn't raining so I decided to chance it based on the local radar. That lasted two and a half miles until the gate where it was raining and Ellen was waiting in Speedy. Not an auspicious start. We piled the bike onto Speedy's rack and headed off to the local Harris-Teeter supermarket.

By the time we finished provisioning, the rain had stopped and I decided to try again. Off Ellen went to Huguenot State park and I followed on down A1A. Amelia Island has a great attitude towards bicycles. Not only is there a multi-use path along A1A for walkers, runners, skaters and meandering bicycle riders, they also have bike lanes on the highway for those traveling quickly. Where there is a stop sign at each intersection on the MUP, they bike lanes just stream on through with the rest of the traffic.

I made excellent time down the bike lane, but that was due to the strong tailwind. It was a bit chilly as well as overcast, but I didn't feel it going with the wind, but the fishermen on the bridge between Amelia Island and Big Talbot Island were very bundled up. A couple of them looked like they were wearing snowmobile suits.

There was a group of local birders by the road at the end of the bridge. They were at a hotspot called Spoonbill Pond. I stopped and it was, in fact, pretty hot. It was teeming with ducks. In the two minutes that I stopped and looked, I saw five species of ducks and three types of herons and egrets. The rain was still holding off, but for how long? I didn't tarry and sped on my way.

Ellen had already arrived at Huguenot park by the time I got there and she had checked into site #3. The park is on a peninsula overlooking the end of the St. Johns River and the Mayport Naval Station on the the other. Amazingly, the campground was empty with only one other RV, except for the volunteers. Well, I though it was amazing at first, but then reality set in. We were on a windy, wet, sandy point and it is a primitive campground...no electricity or water. That last bit isn't a problem for us, but it was unexpected.

No sooner did I arrive than the rain returned. It rained on and off for the rest of the day and night so we just stayed in Speedy. It did stay warm enough that we didn't need the heater.

There was one pleasant surprise. We were able to tune in the local PBS station and catch the first two episodes of Downton Abbey.