Day 3: Wednesday, February 22
Breakfast in the hotel was a cinnamon roll, sausage, milk, and cranberry juice.
Meet our guide loaded onto the bus for an hour ride to Kingsley Plantation which is located on Fort George Island along the St John's River. Two roads lead to the site, Palmetto Avenue, which is a dirt road that is often in rough condition. Fort George Road is paved but subject to flooding during weather events and extreme tides.
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| Kingsley Plantation and our guide |
The birds we heard were House Finch, Yellow-rump Warbler, White-eyed Vireo, Yellow-throat Warble, Carolina Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, Boat-tailed Grackle, and a couple of Peacocks.
We had about 45 minutes to tour the house, barn, gift shop, and gardens, there we saw a gopher tortoise.
Loaded back onto the bus and headed to Amelia Island where we walked along the sandy beach.
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| Amelia Island Beach and sand |
Loaded back onto the bus and headed to Fernandina Beach where we walked through the town and stopped to eat lunch at "The Happy Tomato", where hubby and I split a club sandwich, potato chips, and a couple bottles of water.
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| Club Sandwich with Lay's Chips |
We walked along the pier where we saw a great-gray heron and heard several grackles.
We saw several House sparrows and a yellow-tailed warbler.
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| Wall of Gray Butterflies |
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| Town of Fernandina Beach |
Loaded back onto the bus and headed back to the hotel to freshen up.
Our last stop of the day was Apple Bees for dinner, where I ordered grilled Chicken, a Caesar salad, and a brownie.
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Day 4: Thursday, February 23,
Breakfast at the hotel of a cinnamon roll, biscuit, and gravy with juice.
Loaded onto the bus and headed to St Augustine.
We stopped at the Visitor Center to pick up our guide. We also shopped and toured the museum inside the visitor center.
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| Our tour Guide |
We loaded back onto the bus, and our guide told us about the many historic sites in St. Augustine.
We stopped at Flager College, (the former Ponce de Leon Hotel) and several churches.
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| Flager College |
Rode back to the Visitor Center and were on our own for a couple of hours.
We walked to St George Street which is a pedestrian-only filled with unique shops and restaurants.
We ate lunch at St. Augustine Seafood Company. We ordered a shrimp plate with fries, cole slaw, and water. I also bought 2 bottles of their hot sauce to take home to my son.
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| Shrimp, Fries, and Cole Slaw at St Augustine Seafood Company |
We walked several blocks on St George Street stopping to take pictures of historic markers and sites.
We walked through the Cathedral Basilica of St Augustine and Saint Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine.
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| Saint Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine |
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| Cathedral Basilica of St Augustine |
We walked inside a mall area where we saw several people dressed up like pirates.
Got my picture made with them a few minutes later.
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| Me with the pirates |
We walked back to the visitor center and did a little shopping. Hubby bought a hat, and I bought a kitchen towel.
We loaded back onto the bus and headed to the Fountain of Youth.
At the Fountain of Youth, we walked around and stopped to taste the spring, suffer water, watch a show, watch a blacksmith at work, and the firing of a cannon.
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| Couple taking a sip from the Fountain of Youth |
Loaded back onto the bus and rode to Cucina Giovanni for dinner.
It took forever for them to take our orders, and the food was overcooked.
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| Salad |
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| Chicken Parmigiana topped with marinara sauce& mozzarella served with Spaghetti. |
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| Pasta Alfredo with creamy Alfredo sauce |
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| Cannoli |
The salad and dessert were good. We were there too long to enjoy our meal.
Day 5: Friday, February 24, Travel Home
Packed our bags and took them downstairs to be loaded onto the bus.
Ate breakfast and watched a couple of Scottish men play Amazing Grace on bagpipes.
Loaded onto the bus and headed for Hueytown, Al.
We stopped in Perry, Ga ate lunch at Fire House Sub.
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| Club sub |
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| Small Philly Sub |
Stopped at the Rest Area at Lake Park Suwanee River Valley, Ga
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| Rest Area at Lake Park Suwanee River Valley, Ga |
Arrived in Birmingham around 4:49PM.
Loaded our luggage into the car and headed home a 2 1/2 hour drive.
Stopped at KFC in Athens at 7:01 PM and home around 8 PM.
Had a great trip but woke up Monday morning with COVID.
